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Broomfield, Colo. - July 16, 2014 - The 2014 edition of the Billiard Congress of America's BCA Summit was held at the Louisville International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky., June 25 - 27, 2014.
Total buyer attendance for the three-day event was 740. Attendance for the 2013 show was 749.
"This year's event brought more opportunities for our industry to network and spend significant time with customers, prospects and peers," said Summit 2014 Chairman Chance Pack. "Not only was there a real energy on the show floor, but with all the social events the BCA planned outside of the trade show there was business taking place around the clock."
With 264 booths and 71 exhibiting companies, the show floor was comprised of 78,000 square feet of exhibit space along with the Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) Junior 9-Ball National Championships space. Of the 71 exhibiting companies, 11 were first-time exhibitors or returning to the event after an absence, including: Beijing Xingwei Sports Goods, Racket Power, MoPro, Mosconi Cup Team USA, Giant Dragon, Memphis Wood Fire Grills, Metroline, Party Animal, All Weather Billiards and Games, Snyper Games, and Winning Streak Sports.
In addition to Summit 2014's show floor activity, the Business of Billiards Seminar Series offered six seminars designed to provide tangible, immediately implementable business improvement solutions. "I believe that the Business of Billiard Seminars are as important as the show itself," said Kim Morrison-Heacock of International Billiards in Houston, Texas. "They are extremely informative and always give me tools to better my business."
The industry social, sponsored by the Billiard Congress of America, on Wednesday, June 25, attracted hundreds of show participants who enjoyed free cocktails and soda, while mixing and mingling with old friends, networking with industry leaders and watching a trick shot exhibition by Andy Segal, Steve Markle, Tim Chin, Jamey Gray, Nick Nikolaidis, and Dave Nangle.
Another successful social event planned by the BCA was the industry pub crawl, on Thursday, June 26. "As host of the first pub stop of the industry sponsored pub crawl, Presidential Billiards, was delighted with the turn out," said Elaine Gerber of Presidential Billiards. "It was a huge success, a great venue with an historic and unique ambience. The BCA pub crawl participants added to the lively convivial atmosphere."
New to the BCA Summit this year was the Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) Junior National Championships. "One of the best moves the BCA has done in years was to have the BEF Junior Nationals take place with the BCA Summit," said Skip Nemecek of Tweeten Fibre. "It was great to see the kids play and the whole event was excellent. I hope this leads to building more involvement between the players (especially the juniors) and the industry. Having the Junior National Championships in conjunction with the BCA trade show is a win-win for everyone."
Sponsors of Summit 2014 included: Ace Product Management Group, Inc., Championship LLC, Cue & Case Inc., CueStix International, Diamond Billiard Products, GLD Products, Iwan Simonis, Legacy Billiards, MetroLine Products, OB Cues, Presidential Billiards, RAM Gameroom Products, Tweeten Fibre Co., Siriani & Associates, Valley Dynamo L.P., and Z-Lite Jenamees Inc.
During the event, the Billiard Congress of America also announced Summit 2015 will return to Las Vegas, Nev. from Wednesday, August 5 through Friday, August 7, 2015. More information on Summit 2015 and the host location South Point Hotel and Casino will be available as it develops atbcasummit.com.
"2015 presents a great opportunity for the BCA Summit to return to Las Vegas," said BCA Chairman Mike Serra. "The location is great, the venue is top notch and it offers great room rates and perks, such as free wi-fi, parking and airport transfers. In addition, the dates of the show overlap with the Las Vegas Market, so many of our attendees will have the opportunity of attending two expos during one visit to Las Vegas. Our exhibitors were excited about the announcement, as we saw an increase in space commitment by many of our 2014 exhibitors." |
