ACA Membership Details

PURPOSE OF THE AMERICAN CUEMAKER'S ASSOCIATION

The American Cuemakers Association was founded in 1992 to promote the American made Cue as a unique art form. In order to preserve the public's respect for the quality of work performed and the professionalism by members of the ACA, certain minimum membership requirements are necessary. Not all cuemaker members need to be able to make cues valued at thousands of dollars. All applicants do, however, need to be able to produce a quality cue that meets the minimum standards of the association, and to conduct themselves and their business in a professional and ethical manner.

MEMBERSHIP CLASSES

Voting Membership is restricted to cuemakers whose primary occupation is making cues (or whose company makes cues) wholly within the fifty states of the United States of America. Cuemakers who make cues outside of the United States, or use parts (other than raw materials) imported from outside the United States are not eligible. Cuemakers importing cues sold under their name are not eligible. Cuemakers providing design, construction, procedural or equipment consultation to foreign cuemakers, or in anyway aiding in the manufacturing process of cues outside the United States, are not eligible. A sample cue (see requirements below) must also be submitted and given a full acceptance by the Membership Committee. Exceptions can be made by the Board of Directors for cuemakers whose past and current contribution to cue making, make a sample cue unnecessary. This membership status is the only membership allowed to vote or hold office.

Merchandising Membership is restricted to individuals or companies doing business in the Billiard industry, but who are not cuemakers. This would include, but not be limited to, American case makers, cue material suppliers, resellers of American made cues (not necessarily exclusively), collectors of American cues (not necessarily exclusively), billiard associations, billiard equipment manufacturers, billiard publications, tournament promoters etc. The Board of Directors can accept others if they feel it is of benefit to the ACA.



All membership types are allowed to come to meetings and/or express their ideas at any time. .



CUEMAKER MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

An application must be sponsored by 2 or more voting members of the ACA. The applicant must complete an application form and submit a check for $1,000. If membership is accepted, this check will be used as an application fee and for the first year's dues. If membership is denied, the check will be returned.

A sample cue must be submitted to the Membership Committee at one of the events where the majority of the membership committee will be in attendance. Currently, this includes the Allen Hopkins Super Billiard Expo. To be accepted, at least 4 members from the Committee must judge the cue. The cue must have at least :

(1) A minimum of four "V-bottom" points with at least 3 veneers (spliced or recut).

(2) Inlays in the forearm and butt sleeve with at least 4 being multi layered. (inlays within inlays)

(3) Ring work in the joint, forearm and butt sleeve.

(4) An Irish linen or leather wrap.

(5) A butt cap and bumper.

All work must be done by the applicant in the United States. Only raw materials as defined below may be purchased. Pre-assembled parts or kits will be strictly prohibited. The Committee will not be judging the visual design, but only the construction and workmanship.

The cue will be returned to the applicant after judging along with feedback from the Membership Committee. If the cue does not meet the full requirements of the committee, the applicant's money will be refunded along with his cue.

If the cue receives full acceptance, the application will proceed to the verification phase. During this phase, the ACA will contact ALL of its members (Voting, Merchandising and Associate). The members will be asked to report any known problems that the applicant may have in such areas as ethics, or questionable business practices. Any adverse information reported will be discussed among the board. Further information or clarification from the applicant may be required. This process may take up to 60 days.

After any and all issues have been resolved, the applicant will start a 2 year period where he will be a member of the ACA except he will not be allowed to vote. The member will be allowed to display the ACA logo on all ads and correspondence. After the 2 year period, the cuemaker will become a full voting member of the ACA. The new member will pay an initial $1000 fee which will cover the first 2 years dues. After the two years the membership fee shall be the current $300 per year fee and be subject to any membership increase imposed on all membership fees.

NOTE! In special cases where the Board of Directors is familiar with a cuemaker's work and ability, the cuemaker may be granted membership without having to go through the judging of his cue. These applications will be handled on a case by case basis.

DEFINITIONS

Raw materials: Items used in the making of cues. These include natural materials such as wood, ivory, metals, shells and stones, as well as basic manufactured items such as brass inserts, joint pins, rubber bumpers, tips, linen, leather, metal rings, glues, plastics, phenolics, finishes etc. These manufactured items are typically one piece and commonly purchased by custom cuemakers.

Applications

Voting Member Application

Associate/Merchandising Member Application

Members receive a Newsletter and minutes via email so make sure you white list the email address membershipXamericancuemakers.org Replace the X with the @ symbol