Welcome to the Spring Session!

We are excited to welcome some new teams to the league this week! We ask that our veteran players be patient and help these new teams as they learn the rules of APA and how to keep score. We also want to remind you that your Division Reps (DRs) are there to help answer any questions during league night. Their name and phone number are available in both APA apps. This message is a little lengthy, but hopefully it will answer many of the questions you may have ahead of league night. If not, feel free to call or text our office anytime, 904-585-8180. We’re here to help.

The league has been busy these past few weeks. There have been a lot of teams moving around, new divisions forming, divisions with wait lists, etc. For some divisions, there are still teams working to get a roster together in hopes of playing in the final qualifying-session of the league year. Please make sure your notifications are on, and your default league is set to Jacksonville APA in the APA Pool League app (not the one you keep score in) so you’ll see any changes to your division. You'll find table assignments posted ahead of league night on our website: https://jacksonville.apaleagues.com/tables.aspx  

Spring is a special time in APA. Teams already qualified for the World Qualifier only have the first four weeks to make roster changes before their roster locks (seriously, no exceptions). If you are still working towards qualification this session, you have a little longer to make roster changes, but keep in mind that players need a minimum of 10 lifetime matches by the end of the spring session (playoff and Tri-Annual matches count) to be eligible for the World Qualifier.

Teams can make roster changes themselves on the APA Scorekeeper app in the first four weeks. The only changes that need to come through our office are changes to the captain or co-captain. You’ll need to contact us to remove those players or make changes to who they are. Please text us if you need help with roster changes and we’ll get it done.

All players need to have a current 2025 APA membership before they play their first match of the spring session. The easiest way to pay your membership is by clicking the orange bar at the top of your APA app. You can also pay for your membership in cash with your team envelope. Memberships are $30 for the calendar year. Members who joined APA after August 15th this year renew for $15.

If teams allow a player to play before their membership is paid, our office will pay the membership on their behalf and put the past due balance on the team, causing the team to lose bonus points. Please don’t let this happen to your team and make sure all teammates have paid their memberships before they play.

Remember that players brand new to the APA, or who haven’t played APA in more than 2 years, play their first match free! Please make sure you note any free play or memberships paid on your team envelope (double check your team number before submitting your envelope – it may have changed since last session).

Some of you may have noticed (and started using already!) the new electronic payment option available through the app. We are working towards adopting this fully, but for now teams can still submit team fees in cash using the same envelope method we’ve been using, or you are welcome to use the online payment system instead. The online payment system allows any player on the roster to submit the full team fee. More information about our transition to online payments will be released closer to the first of the year.

The Scorekeeper app will show unranked players as a skill level 0 and will populate the race as though they were a skill level 3. Teams need to contact our office to start new players at a higher skill level if they know the player is likely better than a skill level 3. Failing to do this could cause problems for the player or the team later, so please call us and have a conversation if you have any concerns about the appropriate skill level for a new player.

Our bylaws include an option for teams to play someone twice in the first four weeks of a new session, if needed, to field. Details on this policy and procedures are outlined in the Jacksonville APA bylaws, but here are the important highlights:

• The opponent chooses who plays twice
• Players must have 10 lifetime matches to be eligible to play twice
• The same player can’t play twice in both 8-ball and 9-ball, if other options are available

And finally, after you’ve settled into the spring session this week, we hope you’ll come out and join us this Saturday for our Annual Holiday Player Appreciation Party. It’s always a blast – full of food, games, presents, awards, etc. This one hurdles us into the holiday spirit, and we would love to have you be a part of it. The party is Saturday, Dec. 14th at QBall Billiards, 5 PM – 9 PM. More details will come later in the week, but please make sure it’s on your team’s radar so everyone can enjoy and celebrate the season together!

Good luck this week, and thank you for playing Jacksonville APA!

Mike & Kelly

PS: There are plenty more announcements that come at the start of the new session and we’re working to get them to you as fast as possible (plus, this one is long enough…). Keep an eye out for MVP, Mini Slams, Grand Slams, Clean Sweeps, River City Shark, and more!