maximum-skill-level handicap); this permissiveness is highly unusual in an amateur league in any sport. As in most leagues, membership is annually renewed, and active players also pay nightly dues on the nights they play (a portion of which goes into prize funds). The league has an annual national amateur championship, held in Las Vegas, Nevada (where most other large US-based leagues do the same; a single events vendor/promoter warehouses thousands of Diamond and Valley-Dynamo "" tables rented out by all of these events each year). The UPA National Championships are a week-long set of tournament brackets in various divisions, most of them team-based play but also featuring singles mini-tournaments. Various marketing materials also use the names UPA Nationals and UPA Las Vegas Nationals. The seventh annual UPA Nationals will be held June 22–28, 2020, at Binion's Casino, and offers a combined nine-ball and eight-ball prize fund of US$40,000 in the team competitions, which (depending on division) may pay out all the way down to 16th place. The dress code of the UPA Nationals is stricter than most amateur events, in that it requires matching team shirts. UPA Tour The UPA Tour (in long form, the UPA Touring Professional Program) is a professional tournament series and player ranking system with an annual membership fee. Some events have more open registrations, especially when co-organized with other bodies, and all of them are open to certain qualifying UPA League players with 20 or more singles matches played in the current year. The organization has previously co-sponsored other noteworthy events, including the 2005 World Summit of Pool. Other programs The UPA also offers pool instruction by professionals via UPA Pool School events, held primarily in Las Vegas. The organization has also sometimes provided pool-related event promotion and production, including for tournaments and vendor exhibitions. References External links UPA official website Pool organizations Pool leagues Cue sports governing bodies in the United States Sports leagues in the United States 2002 establishments in Arizona Organizations based in Manhattan