Women’s Snooker seems to have come a long way. That’s kind of what this series is trying to convey. This will be quite a short article in the series and it’ll link very nicely with the 2018 WLBS World Women’s Snooker Championship, which will run from 14-17 March at the Dolmen Hotel, Malta. This will be the second World Championships in a row taking place outside of England and having this in a small, yet snooker-savvy country like Malta shows the ambition of the Women’s Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association (WLBSA). Yes, this is the hotel.
The Dark Days
The worst moment regarding the calendar is back in 1974 World Championships in India was panned to such an extent that Alison Fisher turned her back on snooker in favour of pool. This brought back an unpleasant taste in the mouth and there hadn’t been a World Championship abroad into 2017. This was especially because there had been numerous delays to get it sorted in the first place. The fact that she ended up playing in “just a concrete room with the air conditioning hanging out of the door and a red curtain on the wall.” [1]
Back in the noughties, many have complained that since that the WLBSA were forced to be left to rot by WPBSA because of the tobacco ban left them with little money. Many alongside Fisher turned to pool and a number of international players, especially Asian players didn’t have the money, means, interest, and motivation to pursue a career at all. [2] Many players had to have different careers on the side in order to earn a living because of lack of money, lack of players and lack of interest. Professional Suzie Opacic details this in more depth:
“Yes, my first tournament was in 2006. I had a four-year break from the circuit largely due to studying and completing a Masters, but also because the circuit was going downhill, with low entry numbers, fewer tournaments and no real incentive to play.” [3]
On the up
Then things started to turn around:
….The last few years, however, have seen a huge change to women’s snooker with backing from sponsors like LITEtask and Eden but the change of structure too, which has been a real boost. I’ve been really fortunate this season to have the backing of Billiards Boutique, and this sort of sponsorship really boosts the circuit and allows more players to compete.The circuit is seeing new faces at every tournament, and more tournaments abroad which is increasing the standard and giving the game more appeal. I was very impressed in Singapore by the standard of some of the younger Thai players especially.” [3]
Like the men’s tour, the money put led to a huge globalisation of the sport, from Germany to Bulgaria to Thailand. More interest = more players = more international tournaments. The Paul Hunter Classic became one of the first international ranking events in Germany and there are now 6 ranking events in total. Personally, I do hope when the contract of the Gibraltar Open does end on the men’s circuit that the venue can be used for women’s snooker and amateur events alongside it.
But the fact that it managed to secure the World Championships in Toa Payoh, Singapore shows that they are prepared to grow. This is worlds away from the likes of Llanelli, Cambridge and Leeds and the MIGHT of Bury St. Edmunds, where past WC’s hosted. The decision to host the event was made up to not only show off their local talent Regina Toh and Jessica Tan but to “raise the profile of Singapore and place us on the global map of snooker … to leverage on this event to promote the sport among the ladies.” [4]
You could say from a business point of view, this is a gap in the market and even WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson marked this as the moment where more women have greater opportunities to take up competitive snooker from all over the world. [4] It succeeded, mainly helped by the lovely idea to stream the final of the World Championship between Ng On Yee and Vidya Pillai, trending all on Twitter, especially the final frame and the battle when the final pink and black were on the table. In the end, there’s not too much that can be summed up by Opacic again:
“Singapore was a fantastic experience. To be able to play the game you love on the other side of the world, meeting new players in a new environment, it was great. It was clear that there’s some huge talent across other parts of the world and there’s no reason why the women’s game should be so restricted to UK tournaments. More tournaments in Asia will boost the profile of the women’s game and help increase the standard too.” [3]
In a recent interview, 18-year-old Thai Nutcharut Wongharuthai, who made her WLBS debut in Singapore, made her first ranking final in this season’s British Open – only to lose 4-0 to Reanne Evans. What an unfortunate first visit to the UK! She mentioned that she hopes to participate in more events provide she receives sponsorship and hopes that in the future there will be a ranking event in Thailand. [5]
Could very well happen at this rate!
Ending
So what happens now? Not much is known calendar by calendar but I hope Gibraltar will be taken advantage of. It wouldn’t surprise me if Thailand is WLBSA’s next destination or maybe even Australia. There are a few Australian women on the circuit but the WLBSA has a disadvantage of players who may not be used to the long travel and jet lag before matchplay to such excess that the men are currently under. So it may look like we can see a few more ranking events within the next five years in Continental Europe. There are clearly facilities there as shown by the Player’s Tour Championship events in the men’s tour in countries such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Belgium. It would be a fantastic reaction if this happens a few years after Singapore.
In the meantime, Malta has big shoes to fill and let’s hope lightning doesn’t strike twice. WLBSA doesn’t seem to do too much wrong, as it rather smugly (and I don’t blame them!) have a tiny Testimonials section on its homepage by current players saying how great they are! At least they have results to back it up! Tournaments are better well-run, are more available and accessible to women and is promoted with professionalism.
Malta are certainly preparing something big, thanks to the World Snooker Federation. The winner of the Women’s event receiving an invitation to compete in the World Championship Qualifiers as before. But the Top 8 players from the Women’s World Championship and the Top 8 players from the Senior’s event will automatically qualify for the WSF Championship, meaning there is a huge incentive to win it and get a tour card. It would create huge headlines for the sport if a lady won it. [6]
The 2018 WLBS World Women’s Snooker Championship will run from 14-17 March at the Dolmen Hotel, Malta. This tournament will house the Top 30 players as well as additional nominations. The deadline to enter has passed on 1st March so we can expect the draw to come up soon. Will this be as successful or better? Will it have any impact on the future at all? Only time will tell.
[1] Buckley, W., “Allison Fisher beat the men at snooker, now she earns more than them playing pool.” The Guardian. (8th November 2009). Accessed on: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/nov/08/allison-fisher-pool-interview
[2] Monique., “Some thoughts about the Ladies in snooker…” Pro Snooker Blog. (21st November 2009). Accessed on: https://www.prosnookerblog.com/2009/11/21/some-thoughts-about-the-ladies-in-snooker/
[3] WPBSA., “Opacic Plans Flying Start at UK Women’s Championship.” (21st September 2017). Accessed on: http://www.wpbsa.com/opacic-plans-flying-start-uk-championship/
[4] Lee, D., “World snooker championships set for Singapore in 2017.” The Newpaper. (12th September 2016). Accessed on: http://www.tnp.sg/sports/all-other-sports/world-snooker-championships-set-singapore-2017
[5] Huart, M., “Nutcharut Wongharuthai Q&A.” WLBS. (no date). Accessed on: https://www.womenssnooker.com/nutcharut-wongharuthai-qa/
[6] Day, M., “MALTA BOUND – EXCITING TIMES FOR WORLD WOMEN’S SNOOKER.” The Cue View. (6th March 2018). Accessed on: http://www.thecueview.com/malta-bound—exciting-times-for-world-women-s-snooker.html
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This is the third article in the “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” series. The published articles so far are:
THE REFEREES: https://clusterofredssnookerblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/25/sisters-are-doin-it-for-themselves-the-referees/
THE PLAYERS: https://clusterofredssnookerblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/sisters-are-doin-it-for-themselves-top-female-players/
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