Whois & Analysis for poolplayers.com

The American Association (APA) was founded in 1981 by professional pool players Terry Bell and Larry Hubbart, although with roots dating back to the National Pool League (NPL), founded in 1979.

The APA conducts a system of franchised-based local amateur leagues of pool (pocket billiards) competition, including both eight-ball and nine-ball, with a unified APA ruleset.

The organization, which has international affiliates in Canada, Japan, and China, hosts regional tournaments the winners of which qualify for APA tournaments played in Las Vegas, Nevada twice annually.

In the spring, the APA hosts the APA Poolplayers Championships (formerly known as the National Singles Championships) which features individual and doubles competition.

In August, the APA hosts the APA World Pool Championships which feature Team (5-8 members), Doubles and Master's (3-player non-handicapped) competition.

The organization is recognized as the world's largest pool league with a membership of nearly 250,000 players.

In 2010, the APA National Team Championships (known today as the APA World Pool Championships) were recognized by Guinness Records as the World's Largest Pool Tournament.

In addition, the APA conducts the U.S. Amateur Championship, intended for highest skilled players, that's open to APA and non-APA members.

Japan (Nippon or Nihon; formally ' or Nihon-koku, meaning "State of Japan") is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia.

Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland (east of China, Korea, Russia) and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the southwest.

Canada (French) is a country in the northern half of North America.

Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering, making it the world's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area.

Canada's border with the United States is the world's longest binational land border.

The majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer.

Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra and the Rocky Mountains.

It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border.

One third of the population lives in the three largest cities: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Its capital is Ottawa, and other major urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Hamilton.