World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association facts for kids
| 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 group that manages professional snooker and English billiards. Its main office is in Bristol, England. It started as the Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA) in 1946. Later, it was restarted in 1968 and changed its name to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in 1970. The current leader of the WPBSA is Jason Ferguson.
The WPBSA creates and shares the official rules for both snooker and billiards. It helps these sports grow around the world, from beginners to top players. It also makes sure players follow the rules and helps stop cheating, like looking into strange betting patterns. Plus, it helps train coaches and referees.
The WPBSA owns a part of World Snooker Ltd, which runs the professional World Snooker Tour. It also supports other groups like World Women's Snooker, World Disability Billiards and Snooker, and English billiards through World Billiards.
What the WPBSA Does
The main job of the WPBSA is to guide professional snooker and billiards. This includes making and using rules, helping the sports grow, and approving the Professional Snooker Tour. Another group, the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF), manages snooker and billiards for non-professional players.
The WPBSA works with several other organizations:
- World Snooker Tour is in charge of running professional snooker tournaments. These include big events like the World Open, UK Championship, and the World Snooker Championship. This group also handles the business side of professional snooker. The WPBSA owns 26 percent of World Snooker Tour.
- World Billiards manages the English billiards tournaments and player rankings. The WPBSA owns all of World Billiards.
- World Women's Snooker (WWS) focuses on women's snooker. It manages their tournaments and rankings. WWS became a part of the WPBSA in 2015.
- World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) was set up in 2015. Its goal is to create chances for people with disabilities to play cue sports.
In 2020, the WPBSA members decided to split its duties into two parts. One part, "WPBSA Governance and Development," handles rules, checking betting, and drug testing. The other part, "WPBSA Players," helps and represents the players.
Jason Ferguson became the chairman of the WPBSA in 2010. He had also been chairman from 2001 to 2003.
History of the WPBSA
A group called the Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA) started on July 26, 1946. Joe Davis was its first chairman. Professional snooker was not very popular in the 1950s and 1960s, so the PBPA was not very active. It was restarted in April 1968 with eight professional players.
Before the WPBSA was formed, another group called the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) managed both snooker and English billiards. In 1968, the BACC announced that the world professional snooker championship would be a knockout tournament. This was a change from the old challenge system.
The PBPA separated from the BACC in October 1970. It then changed its name to the WPBSA on December 12, 1970. Soon after, the WPBSA took over running the professional game.
The WPBSA became a limited company on January 13, 1982. This change helped it make deals with TV companies and sponsors. Before this, promoters handled these deals. In 1985, the WPBSA moved its main office from Birmingham to Bristol.
In 2001, a court case involving players like Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams found that the WPBSA had too much control. It was making players ask for permission to play in tournaments. This could stop other groups from competing with the WPBSA.
In the late 2000s, some people criticized the WPBSA. Player John Higgins felt that World Snooker was not doing enough to promote the game in new places. In 2008, a new group called the World Series of Snooker was started by some players, including Higgins.
Promoting Snooker and Billiards
A special company, WPBSA Promotions Ltd, was created in 1983 to help promote the sports. World Snooker has done a great job promoting snooker in China, where the sport is growing fast. It has also helped the sport grow in other countries like Germany.
The 2008 Bahrain Championship was the first ranking tournament held in the Middle East. In 2019, World Snooker announced a new ranking event in Saudi Arabia for 2020. This event is planned to happen for ten years.
The WPBSA helps with coaching in cue sports through a special program. In 2013, it started the "Cue Zone into Schools" program. This program brought smaller tables into schools to get kids interested in playing snooker. In 2019, the WPBSA announced a new group in the UK Parliament for snooker.
In 2015, the WPBSA tried to get snooker included in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but it was not chosen. Another attempt has been made for the Paris 2024 games. This effort is led by the World Snooker Federation, a part of the WPBSA formed in 2017.
See also
In Spanish: World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association para niños
