We here at BPONG listen to our players and do the best we can to accommodate requests and implement quality ideas to our daily operations. Often, players use comparisons to other professional sporting leagues/organizations during discussions that periodically are responsible for generating some of those quality ideas.
One such comparison that happens to differ between BPONG and our “slightly” more experienced cohorts is the developmental programs that are available for players to participate in before taking their game to the next level.
Rooted in little league ball diamonds, pee-wee football fields and 7-foot basketball hoops; youth athletic programming is alive and well across the country; helping future athletes learn the basics of their favorite sports! Beyond that, those who fall in love continue to play throughout the various levels of high school and college athletics. Yet, this still is not the last stop (for some) before getting the opportunity to make a name for themselves within their sports professional circuit. Minor leagues, Developmental leagues, Scout leagues, Independent leagues, amongst various others are all also a part of the process, beyond the college athletic years, when pursuing a professional career for a lot of the athletes we admire in today’s games.
Obviously, BPONG has yet to break into the wide world of youth athletics and probably is still quite some time away from doing so. (Maybe not? Check out these little guys knocking down some cups.)
However, the disparity gap between implementing similar high school and college programming may not be as far off as it may seem.
(For those of you who are not aware, we here in the big leagues play with water in our game cups and DO NOT require ANY liquid consumption of ANY kind within our official tournament rules for a plethora of reasons. We like to have a whole lot of fun, create life-long friendships, fierce competition and win prizes/money!! So we thought we could sacrifice dumping beer down our gullets every time someone makes a shot in order to be able do that. (Legally, responsibly and sanitarily.) Though we definitely won’t discourage our of age players from responsibly enjoying a couple cold ones if they are available.)
In any case, these rules open up the potential for players under the age of 21 to enjoy the game we all love to play within a controlled environment. It gives parents and university recreational programs alike, a unique opportunity to extend a desirable “taboo” social experience onto younger generations without having to worry about any negative repercussions. The most positive aspect of this unique experience is unveiling an alternative way to play the game that has a greater participation substance established, in place of playing to get drunk. In theory, we hope this will help deter underage players from giving into the temptation to play “the real way” (that they will undoubtedly eventually get exposed to) and subjecting themselves to a situation that could potentially harm their future.
Around the country we have affiliated associations and organizations that offer these types of accommodations to interested groups. Hailing from Michigan, the Founder and CEO of Beer Pongers Anonymous (BPA), Joey Irimescu, is a sparkling example of just how family friendly our sport can be! While BPA offers a variety of public events on a weekly basis throughout the state, BPA also caters to private and corporate parties. A huge hit for BPA has been high school graduation parties!
Check out these youngsters putting on a show on the final table of a BPA graduation event!
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(Notice the water in the cups, the complete absence of any alcohol whatsoever and just how much fun the entire group is having!)
If you are in the Michigan area and would like more information about BPA, please visit their website at www.beerpongersanonymous.com/. Also, make sure you check out BPA on Facebook and Instagram! To connect with BPA directly to book an event: Email – [email protected]
If you are outside of the Michigan area and are interested in hosting a private, corporate or public event, drop us a line ([email protected]) and we’ll get you taken care of!