Situation Normal from Huntsville, Ala., was formed 13 years ago. Most of them had never played pool before joining the League, but wanted to find a weekly outing for their friends to do together. They started getting together to play pool at Diamonds Sports Bar. At the time, Diamonds only had two tables and they quickly realized that getting a table was often difficult. When they asked why, they were told about a pool league called APA. They were so intrigued that they decided to start playing!
“Unlike most teams, we have more females than male – the ratio is 5:3,” Team Captain Deborah McClure said. “At the time, ours was the only team that we knew of to have a female captain. Today, we have both a female captain and co-captain. Teams used to remark often that one look at our roster and they would expect an easy night— after all, we didn’t have a player above a skill level 3! They would quickly learn that we were not such an easy team to beat—we played for fun and somehow we’d win!”
Over the years, the team has improved and climbed through the ranks. To be a member of the team, you must love the League, follow the rules and exhibit the highest sportsmanship. They play for fun and never have issues adding players to the team when someone has to leave. Their goal is to always improve and teach the rules.
“We now have players join our team for the sole purpose of improving their play as well as their knowledge of the APA and the rules we play under,” Deborah said. “Our proudest moments are when one of our players starts another team! This League gave us the perfect outlet for us to enjoy each other’s company while feeding our competitive sides, and, in return, we hope to represent North Alabama and the APA as a whole with the utmost sportsmanship in a way that brings more players to the table.”
Members of the team include: Deborah McClure, Dona Kindred, Paul Nance, Stephen Drinkard, Valerie Harris, Michael Kindred, Samantha Imker and Miranda Hamm. They competed in the Open 8-Ball Division and were excited to be the first team from their Host Location to qualify for the National Team Championships.