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9-Ball is rolling in Ramona league play

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By Eddie Brisendine

For the second year in Ramona, the summer session of 9-ball is under way for pool league play.

Ramona’s “Encore” Division currently consists of six teams and plays every Tuesday night at Molly Malone’s and The Turkey Inn.

Each team can have a maximum of eight players, but only five matches are played per week. Team members are assigned a ranking based on their experience and skill level, ranging between a 1 and a 9. This ranking helps to handicap each match so that players of a lesser skill level will have an opportunity to play and win against an opponent who is better.

Eric Whitford, captain of the District 9 team, explained it this way: “The lower your ranking, the less balls you have to sink to win the match. A person with a 1 ranking only has to sink 19 balls, while a person with a 9 ranking would need to sink 75 balls. It makes it fun for everyone, no matter who you’re playing against. To even further help keep matches even, the rank of each player on a team is added up for the night. The total amount cannot exceed 23. This prevents a team from loading up with high ranked players because they would not be able to play someone in all five matches.”

The sanctioning body for Ramona’s Division is the San Diego APA (American Poolplayers Association), which has 47 divisions in San Diego County.

The summer session started in early May and will continue into late August for their playoffs. The outright winner of the session, along with the winner of a season-ending playoff from each division, wins a cash prize of $800 and also earns a playoff spot in the next level, called “The Blast.”

Winning teams in The Blast continue on into a City Championship where the eventual winner is the eventual winner is sent to Las Vegas for the National Championships.

“It’s really a lot of fun. It only costs each team member who plays $8 a week. But if you can win the session or the playoffs, you get it all back,” said Whitford.

For more information on joining an existing team or starting a new one, go to www.sandiego.apaleagues.com. Those interested can also stop by Molly Malone’s at 1270 Main Street, or The Turkey Inn at 716 Main St., on Tuesday nights.

The matches begin at 7 p.m.

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