World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association facts for kids
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| Sport | Snooker (professional) and English billiards |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | International |
| Abbreviation | WPBSA |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Headquarters | Bristol, England, UK |
| Chairman | Jason Ferguson |
| Replaced | Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA) |
| (founded) | 1946 |
| Official website | |
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the main organization in charge of professional snooker and English billiards. Think of it as the "government" for these sports. Its main office is in Bristol, England.
The WPBSA was started in 1968 to look after professional players. It was originally called the Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA), which was first created in 1946 with the famous player Joe Davis as its leader. Today, the chairman of the WPBSA is Jason Ferguson.
The association does many important jobs. It writes the official rules for snooker and English billiards. It also works to make these sports more popular all over the world, from beginners to top professionals. The WPBSA makes sure players follow the rules of conduct and investigates any unfair play. It also helps train new coaches and referees.
The WPBSA is a part-owner of World Snooker Ltd, the company that organizes the main professional snooker tournaments, known as the World Snooker Tour.
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What the WPBSA Does
The main job of the WPBSA is to govern professional snooker and billiards. This means it sets the rules, helps the sports grow, and approves the professional tournaments. For amateur (non-professional) snooker, there is a different group called the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF).
The WPBSA works with several other key organizations:
- World Snooker Tour: This is the commercial part of the sport. It runs all the big professional tournaments you might see on TV, like the World Snooker Championship. A company called Matchroom Sport is the main owner, but the WPBSA also owns a part of it.
- World Billiards: This group, owned by the WPBSA, is in charge of professional English billiards tournaments and player rankings.
- World Women's Snooker: This branch focuses on women's snooker. It organizes tournaments and manages the world rankings for female players. It joined the WPBSA family in 2015.
- World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS): Created in 2015, this organization helps people with disabilities play cue sports.
In 2020, the WPBSA decided to split its duties between two new groups. One group, "WPBSA Governance and Development," handles rules, discipline, and fair play. The other group, "WPBSA Players," focuses on supporting and representing the players.
History of the WPBSA
How It All Started
Long before the WPBSA, an organization called the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) was in charge of snooker. In 1946, professional players formed their own group, the Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA), with snooker legend Joe Davis as chairman.
After a quiet period, the PBPA became active again in 1968. Two years later, in 1970, it broke away from the BACC and changed its name to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). From then on, the WPBSA took control of the professional game.
Growing the Sport
In 1982, the WPBSA became a limited company. This allowed it to organize tournaments and make deals with TV channels and sponsors directly. Before this, private promoters handled most of the business side of snooker.
Over the years, different people have led the organization. Rex Williams was the chairman for 13 years until 1987. Jason Ferguson has been the chairman since 2010.
Challenges and Changes
Like any big organization, the WPBSA has faced challenges. In the late 2000s, some top players, like John Higgins, felt that more could be done to promote snooker in new countries. This led to some players creating their own tour, the World Series of Snooker, to bring the game to more fans.
There were also disagreements about tournament schedules. In 2008, a major tournament in Bahrain was scheduled at the same time as another event. This meant some top players couldn't compete in Bahrain and lost out on important ranking points.
To help solve these issues, a successful sports promoter named Barry Hearn became the chairman of the WPBSA in 2009. He worked to make the professional tour bigger and better for both players and fans.
Making Snooker More Popular
The WPBSA and its partner, World Snooker, have worked hard to grow the sport globally. They have been very successful in making snooker popular in China, which is now a huge market for the game. They have also brought major tournaments to other countries, like Germany.
In 2008, the WPBSA held the first big tournament in the Middle East, the Bahrain Championship. In 2020, it also launched a major event in Saudi Arabia.
Snooker for Everyone
The WPBSA wants more people to play snooker, especially young people. In 2013, it started a program called "Cue Zone into Schools," which brought smaller snooker tables into schools to get kids interested in the game.
The association also wants to see snooker in the Olympic Games. It tried to get snooker included in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Although that bid was not successful, the WPBSA created the World Snooker Federation in 2017 to continue working towards getting snooker into future Olympics.
World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS)
The WDBS is an important part of the WPBSA. It was founded in 2015 to give people with disabilities the chance to compete in snooker and billiards. The WDBS organizes tournaments and helps create a welcoming community for players of all abilities.
See also
In Spanish: World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association para niños
