Prior to the Billiard Education Foundation being formed, junior billiard programs were created and produced by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) to aid in the promotion of the sport, beginning with the Junior National 9-Ball Championships in the late 1980’s.
By 1994, this segment of the sport had expanded faster than expected and at the suggestion of Jerry Breisath, Mark Cord, and Shari Stauch the BEF was formed as a 501(c)(3) foundation, with two principal goals in mind - 1)to continue junior national competitions that adhere to WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association)standards, that would allow American winners to compete in world junior events and 2)to establish scholarships for junior participants through both competition and academic prowess.
In the past, key programs of the BEF included the annual BEF Junior National 9-ball Championship, annual Junior State Qualifiers, the annual selection and support of juniors competing in the WPA Junior World 9-ball Championships, academic scholarships and awards, the Pool in School Program and junior billiards instruction in partnership with the Professional Billiard Instructors Association.
Today, we are continuing in this proud tradition with a few changes. We hold State Qualifying Tournaments, we award academic and competitive prowess with medals and scholarships, our partnership with the Professional Billiard Instructors Association is a strong force in the education of Junior Billiard Athletes, but the BEF Junior National Championship has grown and expanded to include 5 disciplines of pool, 3 of which are World Qualifying Events.