Article Archive

WCC Hall of Fame 2018

West Coast Challenge July 2018 Hall Of Fame

		AL BALLESTEROS (Los Angeles) July 2018 Al Ballesteros is a seven-term President of the Board of Governors of the Los Angeles Pool League and one of our inductees for the 77thWest Coast Challenge Hall of Fame. Under his leadership and together with the Board, Los Angeles has maintained and expanded its league to new venues, has recruited new membership and created new teams. This has allowed Los Angeles to send new players to WCC to compete on behalf of our city at home and away. As President of the Los Angeles Pool League, Al has led the efforts to organize two West Coast Challenge events including WCC 77. To this end, Al together with an organizing committee managed the logistics, venue negotiations and fundraising efforts. Prior to becoming league President, Al assisted other local WCC events as a sponsor donating funds to support the set-up of tables for at least five different WCC s. In most recent years, Al has taken on the majority of the fundraising efforts bringing in new sponsors to help support the WCC in Los Angeles. This fundraising effort helps provide the best venues, amenities and playing room set-up for players from all four cities. Al has also served as an official and back-up referee at approximately six WCC events away and at home. Al joined the Los Angeles Pool League in 1987 and played on the Little Joy, JR team. He has a continuous history of 30 years playing in the LAPL. To this end and at the local level, Al assisted in organizing at least two charity events with the assistance of the LAPL during the height of the AIDS crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s, raising money for local AIDS organizations generated from pool tournaments and raffle ticket sales. Al first captained one of the Little Joy teams which went to the West Coast Challenge in the spring of 1992. Al has been to WCC seven times on a team, five times as an individual and once on as a hi-lo player.
		MALISA MAPU (Los Angeles) July 2018 Malisa Mapu started playing pool in the San Diego pool league in the fall of 1999 and from the beginning was winning qualifiers to get her to WCC. In January 2006 she took her first trophy at WCC as the first-place woman and has not slowed down since. In her lengthy career she has qualified to play at WCC a total of 17 times and has won a total of 11 trophies for the Women’s Division and one first-place trophy for Individuals. She has represented 3 cities at WCC winning trophies for all of them and through it all she has remained humble and always willing to support and teach along the way. She continues to give at WCC every season whether she is playing, running the tournament, refereeing or making people laugh. She has been a part of this amazing group of pool players for 19 years and hopefully will continue for many more years to come. One thing is for sure, no one is happy when they see her name in the same bracket as their own. In addition to her stellar pool playing, Malisa has been involved in assisting with the West Coast Challenge organizing and especially this WCC77. As a multi-term board member of the Los Angeles Pool League, Malisa has assisted in organizing our league locally with fundraising, logistics and development of new players on her teams. Her colleagues on the Board truly value her and her involvement to make the LA Pool League and our participation in the WCC the best that it can be. Thank you for all the many years of service!