I start this and the darts league thread hoping that all the comments will be about the leagues and not personal issues. As a moderator, I will follow this closely and will delete any reply (as will the other moderators) that step over the line and even close the threads if necessary.
The reason for starting these is, that I originated these leagues some six years ago and although they are now in the good hands of other people, I´d like to follow what´s going on there as I´m in Finland at the moment and can´t get that much info here.
So I hope the players, spectators and venue owners would give their comments here what´s going on, who´s playing, who´s winning and most importantly some insider information and jokes.
So, this thread is about the pool league(s) in Hua Hin.
Hua Hin Pool League
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Bamboo Grove
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Hua Hin Pool League
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Guess
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The pool leagues have undergone a major transformation in the last year. A number of separate groups were set up, each with their own league structure.
The main groups are the Hua Hin Social league that involves many of the venues that are in the busy part of town in what is know as "The Square".
The members are many of the venues that have been involved in the pool league from day one. Many of them play with the Thai half snooker tables. As far as I know this league only plays 8-Ball.
The next league is the original Hua Hin Pool Leagues which caters for anybody who wishes to join so long as they are in easy reach of Hua Hin. The venues range from Soi 102 in the south to Samopong to the north of Hua Hin. There are currently an 8-Ball and a 9-Ball league running under management and sponsorship of Mr Dan's Guest House. DEtails of the leagues and the guesthouse can be found here:
http://huahin9ball.leaguerepublic.com/
http://huahin8ballleague.leaguerepublic.com/
And Mr Dan is found at:
http://www.huahinafterdark.com/appletree-guesthouse.htm
The third league is the Hua Hin & Khao Takiap League based in Khao Takiap but open to any venue in the Hua Hin area.
Their results can be found at:
http://hhktpl.leaguerepublic.com/
Another important league is the Lucky Shot league that plays on Friday nights and focuses on high standard of venue, table and play. This league plays a mixture of 8-Ball & 9-Ball.
There are at least two more smaller leagues/competitions in operation which I don't have details of.
The main groups are the Hua Hin Social league that involves many of the venues that are in the busy part of town in what is know as "The Square".
The members are many of the venues that have been involved in the pool league from day one. Many of them play with the Thai half snooker tables. As far as I know this league only plays 8-Ball.
The next league is the original Hua Hin Pool Leagues which caters for anybody who wishes to join so long as they are in easy reach of Hua Hin. The venues range from Soi 102 in the south to Samopong to the north of Hua Hin. There are currently an 8-Ball and a 9-Ball league running under management and sponsorship of Mr Dan's Guest House. DEtails of the leagues and the guesthouse can be found here:
http://huahin9ball.leaguerepublic.com/
http://huahin8ballleague.leaguerepublic.com/
And Mr Dan is found at:
http://www.huahinafterdark.com/appletree-guesthouse.htm
The third league is the Hua Hin & Khao Takiap League based in Khao Takiap but open to any venue in the Hua Hin area.
Their results can be found at:
http://hhktpl.leaguerepublic.com/
Another important league is the Lucky Shot league that plays on Friday nights and focuses on high standard of venue, table and play. This league plays a mixture of 8-Ball & 9-Ball.
There are at least two more smaller leagues/competitions in operation which I don't have details of.
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Bamboo Grove
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Pardon me, but I still find the name "Hua Hin Social Pool League" misleading and ridic... sorry, funny. Social, to me is where you accept others, not where you pick up those you want to play with for your own advantage... 
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sandman67
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from my understanding sparky it wasn't a current member of the "social" league that started the handbag fight that resulted in half a dozen leagues....
this is sad as far as I see it......one league is now many....som nam na children......
so save the bitchy comments eh...mod or not.
just people like me and another regular poster here trying to patch this crap up and get people together again...
your last post is why we have half a dozen separate sodding leagues.
Happy now?
A social was what it was all about idiot......bars getting together .....
or would you rather we carry on being bitchy? Cos thats why we have this mess now..........
this is sad as far as I see it......one league is now many....som nam na children......
so save the bitchy comments eh...mod or not.
just people like me and another regular poster here trying to patch this crap up and get people together again...
your last post is why we have half a dozen separate sodding leagues.
Happy now?
A social was what it was all about idiot......bars getting together .....
or would you rather we carry on being bitchy? Cos thats why we have this mess now..........
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
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Bamboo Grove
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Sandman, you probably know more about this than I do but I also did watch a few games during my short spell in Hua Hin and once had a beer with a guy who ran the league so I´m interested in what´s going on there.
If you have more inside information about the diaspora, please, pm me, rather than start a new pool league war here.
I didn´t refer to any member of the current league or leagues, I was just critisizing the name of one of them. And I agree with you, it is sad.
Another point of wonder, what´s me being a mod got to do with this? Did I misuse my grand authority somehow when I posted my message?
By the way, how are you trying to patch it?
If you have more inside information about the diaspora, please, pm me, rather than start a new pool league war here.
I didn´t refer to any member of the current league or leagues, I was just critisizing the name of one of them. And I agree with you, it is sad.
Another point of wonder, what´s me being a mod got to do with this? Did I misuse my grand authority somehow when I posted my message?
If you and this other regular poster are really trying to do this, I raise my hat for you because I´d be happy to see that, although I don´t think it will happen and I´m not sure I´d fight for it any more Unfortunately, I can see that thing happening to the darts league in the future, too.just people like me and another regular poster here trying to patch this crap up and get people together again...
By the way, how are you trying to patch it?
It happened because of my last post? Wow?your last post is why we have half a dozen separate sodding leagues.
Had I been happy in the first place, I would have not posted my message.Happy now?
Indeed, that was what it was meant to be. I don´t mind you revealing my true character to others but as Lev has just asked, please let´s keep the language civilized.A social was what it was all about idiot......bars getting together .....
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Guess
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I think we will have to leave old scores as they are. If the leagues can work together with more inter league communication and the odd tournament I am sure the past can be forgotten.
There is no simple answer as to why the leagues got fragmented into so many different groups but one reason was that it had already been planned to a degree. Some venues were not prepared to wait and took things on in isolation.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
I think it best to take up any further discussions off of the forum.
There is a Pool Leagues email address at huahinpoolleagues@yahoo.com and "Contact us" button on the websites detailed in the previous post.
I revived this thread as the original intention was to use it to give both remote and local interested parties a focal point of information. There is now some new information. I have highlighted this with links to the two league web sites.
Ideally the other leagues will set their own sites up, or least make the information available for an administrator to maintain the site for them.
Another recent development in Hua Hin is the launch of the weekly newspaper AWOL (I hope I am allowed to mention that). The newspaper will have section dedicated to Hua Hin Pool.
There is no simple answer as to why the leagues got fragmented into so many different groups but one reason was that it had already been planned to a degree. Some venues were not prepared to wait and took things on in isolation.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
I think it best to take up any further discussions off of the forum.
There is a Pool Leagues email address at huahinpoolleagues@yahoo.com and "Contact us" button on the websites detailed in the previous post.
I revived this thread as the original intention was to use it to give both remote and local interested parties a focal point of information. There is now some new information. I have highlighted this with links to the two league web sites.
Ideally the other leagues will set their own sites up, or least make the information available for an administrator to maintain the site for them.
Another recent development in Hua Hin is the launch of the weekly newspaper AWOL (I hope I am allowed to mention that). The newspaper will have section dedicated to Hua Hin Pool.
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Wanderlust
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I think for the sake of others reading this thread, I should clarify exactly what happened to the pool league as I see it, and then after that maybe we can move on and deal with everything as it is now.
Basically, Osmo started both the Darts and Pool Leagues in the town, when there was only a dozen or so bars with the necessary facilities and were interested - anyone was welcome, and new places joined (and some dropped out) as time went on. For a brief period, myself and a Swedish guy, Magnus, took over the Pool League at Osmo's request, as he had other fish to fry, and the league expanded again at this time to 22 teams, which would have been too cumbersome and the season too long so it was split into two divisions for the first time. Even with this the season lasted over 9 months. However interest was growing in it all the time, as new bars opened and more had pool tables, and at the end of that marathon season Chris took over the running of the league, and did so for the next couple of years, with the number of teams growing steadily.
What ended up being the final season of an all encompassing Pool league was at the end of 2007, and for a number of reasons things began to go wrong; in my opinion though there were three main factors - one was the size of the league, which had now grown to 32 teams, 4 divisions of
, and the second was the geographical distance some teams had to travel, and the third was the perennial problem of how seriously some teams were taking it. All of these caused conflicts which affected the make up of the divisions (with some teams not wishing to play in 'serious' divisions or travelling to Cha Am for example) but also affected how enjoyable pool nights were. There was also a feeling amongst some bar owners that if the division their team was in contained largely teams made up of Thais that they were not getting as much business in drinks bought compared to if they were in another division Finally there were some players/teams that only wanted to play against their existing friends/rival bars. All of these in their own way were valid.
With all this in the background, there were then some communication problems at the end of that season, which resulted in many people believing that there was not going to be a following season, which in turn led to the various like-minded groups, or geographically linked teams, making plans and forming their own leagues. As it turned out, Chris had sent out information and had planned the season but this information never reached the intended destinations.
I think the fact that the 'Social League' was the first one to be announced meant that it got some flak, and Osmo was particularly disappointed, not because it had been formed but that it went against the all inclusive ideal he had set up initially. That is unfortunate but in the long run I think the splintering of the league was almost inevitable because of the points I listed earlier, and may actually be a better set up in the end from a social point of view, particularly if cross league competitions can be arranged as well, such as a Champions League for the winners of, or a competition for the top 8 individuals from each league, or similar. As long as people are getting out there, having fun and putting some money in the bar owners pockets then it should all be good.
Basically, Osmo started both the Darts and Pool Leagues in the town, when there was only a dozen or so bars with the necessary facilities and were interested - anyone was welcome, and new places joined (and some dropped out) as time went on. For a brief period, myself and a Swedish guy, Magnus, took over the Pool League at Osmo's request, as he had other fish to fry, and the league expanded again at this time to 22 teams, which would have been too cumbersome and the season too long so it was split into two divisions for the first time. Even with this the season lasted over 9 months. However interest was growing in it all the time, as new bars opened and more had pool tables, and at the end of that marathon season Chris took over the running of the league, and did so for the next couple of years, with the number of teams growing steadily.
What ended up being the final season of an all encompassing Pool league was at the end of 2007, and for a number of reasons things began to go wrong; in my opinion though there were three main factors - one was the size of the league, which had now grown to 32 teams, 4 divisions of
, and the second was the geographical distance some teams had to travel, and the third was the perennial problem of how seriously some teams were taking it. All of these caused conflicts which affected the make up of the divisions (with some teams not wishing to play in 'serious' divisions or travelling to Cha Am for example) but also affected how enjoyable pool nights were. There was also a feeling amongst some bar owners that if the division their team was in contained largely teams made up of Thais that they were not getting as much business in drinks bought compared to if they were in another division Finally there were some players/teams that only wanted to play against their existing friends/rival bars. All of these in their own way were valid. With all this in the background, there were then some communication problems at the end of that season, which resulted in many people believing that there was not going to be a following season, which in turn led to the various like-minded groups, or geographically linked teams, making plans and forming their own leagues. As it turned out, Chris had sent out information and had planned the season but this information never reached the intended destinations.
I think the fact that the 'Social League' was the first one to be announced meant that it got some flak, and Osmo was particularly disappointed, not because it had been formed but that it went against the all inclusive ideal he had set up initially. That is unfortunate but in the long run I think the splintering of the league was almost inevitable because of the points I listed earlier, and may actually be a better set up in the end from a social point of view, particularly if cross league competitions can be arranged as well, such as a Champions League for the winners of, or a competition for the top 8 individuals from each league, or similar. As long as people are getting out there, having fun and putting some money in the bar owners pockets then it should all be good.
Nice post WL. Very succinct and accurate too (IMO).-
Bamboo Grove
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I agree with WL´s points almost 100 %. There is a slight difference on how things happened after the 2007 league, but we´ll let that be. Hopefully, everyone will have a good night out playing pool on Wednesday nights. What I still want is that every venue will be given a chance to participate if they obey the rules.
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Guess
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WL,
AS BG says you have it 99% right. There were actually 40 teams in five divisions.
The fragmentation was partly planned and the Snooker Table League had already played one season and was popular. with the members.
Bear in mind that players always had the choice of where they wanted to play.
Khao Takiap was in a position where they had enough teams to have their own league. This made sense to the members of that league and everybody else in the other leagues.
What happened after that was that certain individuals would not accept the schedule and wanted it moved forward. Anybody who has run a league knows what a headache it is to reschedule at a moments notice.
The administration was not prepared to shift from the proposed date and some bars got together to form their own central Hua Hin League which was named the Hua Hin Social League.
As WL says, most venues were told that the next season would not happen but the truth was that the schedule had already been done and was due to start a mere 2 weeks later.
One major flaw in the old system was that the method of communication did not work for some venues. There was an internet site, fortnightly emails and hand delivered newsletters but still people were saying that they did not get the information.
Just think of the cost if a representative visited all of the 50 teams every week to deliver the newsletter. It was not a viable option
Many requests were made for assistance with delivery and personal contact, but apart from one committee member in the Snooker Table League, the requests fell on deaf ears.
My summary is that the main problem was communication. Issues regarding geographical location and table type were being resolved.
The unilateral breakaway made it difficult to manage an open league such as BG has mentioned. many teams ended up in the wrong leagues.
One year later everything has improved and I believe that now is the time to bring everybody back together to form a truly social league where everybody is welcome.
While I have my soap box at my feet there is a few things more I would like to say.
Wanderlust and Bamboo Grove built the Hua Hin Leagues from nothing and they have not ever received a single Baht for doing so. Many others, especially Lek from Rose Bar, have also lent their services for free.
Most of the bars, especially the ones who have been around a while, were very appreciative and expressed thanks but there were others who thought they had some god given right to join the league and give the organizers grief.
PS. One of the saddest things about the breakup was that Cha Am were excluded. Every effort was made to set a league up for them but there was just not enough players and all they could muster was two or three teams.
So forget the past, learn from it and build the future.
AS BG says you have it 99% right. There were actually 40 teams in five divisions.
The fragmentation was partly planned and the Snooker Table League had already played one season and was popular. with the members.
Bear in mind that players always had the choice of where they wanted to play.
Khao Takiap was in a position where they had enough teams to have their own league. This made sense to the members of that league and everybody else in the other leagues.
What happened after that was that certain individuals would not accept the schedule and wanted it moved forward. Anybody who has run a league knows what a headache it is to reschedule at a moments notice.
The administration was not prepared to shift from the proposed date and some bars got together to form their own central Hua Hin League which was named the Hua Hin Social League.
As WL says, most venues were told that the next season would not happen but the truth was that the schedule had already been done and was due to start a mere 2 weeks later.
One major flaw in the old system was that the method of communication did not work for some venues. There was an internet site, fortnightly emails and hand delivered newsletters but still people were saying that they did not get the information.
Just think of the cost if a representative visited all of the 50 teams every week to deliver the newsletter. It was not a viable option
Many requests were made for assistance with delivery and personal contact, but apart from one committee member in the Snooker Table League, the requests fell on deaf ears.
My summary is that the main problem was communication. Issues regarding geographical location and table type were being resolved.
The unilateral breakaway made it difficult to manage an open league such as BG has mentioned. many teams ended up in the wrong leagues.
One year later everything has improved and I believe that now is the time to bring everybody back together to form a truly social league where everybody is welcome.
While I have my soap box at my feet there is a few things more I would like to say.
Wanderlust and Bamboo Grove built the Hua Hin Leagues from nothing and they have not ever received a single Baht for doing so. Many others, especially Lek from Rose Bar, have also lent their services for free.
Most of the bars, especially the ones who have been around a while, were very appreciative and expressed thanks but there were others who thought they had some god given right to join the league and give the organizers grief.
PS. One of the saddest things about the breakup was that Cha Am were excluded. Every effort was made to set a league up for them but there was just not enough players and all they could muster was two or three teams.
So forget the past, learn from it and build the future.
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Guess wrote:
they had some god given right to join the league and give the organizers grief..
The pool leauge set up by Osmo was fun,his plan was to bring people for a night of fun and friendship were the bars might make a little in the low season,it achieved what it set out to achieve.Osmo went to Bkk the next year and Magnus and Steve took over and to this day I still tell them that everything went down hill after them.So maybe it is better if the truth comes out about the state of the leauges and where it went wrong.I know many people myself included who have not played since then.
I blame the new chairman(Chris sugar cane bar)and the other new organizers who took over the leauge for the state it is in now.
They had a problem with Magnus & Steves expences(petrol/photo copy etc),so they were removed from running it before the end of that season.
The new chairman had not attended not one away game that year.
The new board then took the fun out and replaced it with greed.Some teams pulled out that year other founding teams talked about forming a new leauge many rules had to be changed.
One bar owner had up to 5 teams entered-I know of one of these teams who played every home tie and 60% of their away games.We wanted these teams limited to 1 team but greed ruled the day.These bars plus the new chairmans bar wanted as many teams as they could get to increase bar profits,these bars also were the 1st bars to bring in ringers and there wifes familys to fill extra teams.Greed again.
A player with U-turn Peter had been no.2 player all season his wife went into labour the day of the knockouts(top 16) the board were informed yet he was disqualified.
The number 1,2 & 4(top 16)were all matched together in the 1st knockout(great seeding !)
One person lead the leauge from the 1st week(Kieran) but something strange happend the day before the top 16 final,kieran & his teamates
tried to find out where the final was on the day beforehand-we asked Magnus & Steve they claimed they had been removed and did not know where to go.We asked 2 new board members(Chris) they told us to contact Magnus(dead end).We found out at 4am on the morning of the final that it would take place in a bar that is full with 8 people in it-the Sugar Cane Bar,owned by the suprise suprise by our new chairman Chris
Kieran pulled out of the final in protest,so no no.1 or no. 2 played.
Osmos vison was that friends would get together and go to a differnt bar to play pool and make new friends but greedy bar owner ruined it.Last Friday another leauge started,the people behind it were tired of other bar owners using ringers and family members to boast their profits.When or if these teams played away they brought their own drink and the cost of food that the bar layed on was never covered but they still went to the greedy bar owners bars for the return game and spent a lot of cash.Even the team (farang)who played 60p.c. away games brought their own whiskey.
You can never forget the past you have to learn from it and build the future
