World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
Encyclopedia
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, often abbreviated to the WPBSA, founded in 1968 and based in Bristol
, England
, United Kingdom
is the governing body
of professional snooker
and English billiards
. It sets the sports' rules, organises tournaments and the pro-am and pro tours, and engages in various promotional activities.
(IBSF), as well as a trade association
promoting snooker and billiards more generally generally.
Its subsidiary, the World Snooker Association, is responsible for running and administering snooker's main ranking circuit events
. These include the Shanghai Masters, World Open, UK Championship
, Welsh Open
, China Open
and the World Snooker Championship
. The latter is one of the most famous and popular events on the sporting calendar, with a global audience which runs into hundreds of millions. Staged at the Crucible Theatre
in Sheffield
since 1977, it is the richest, most prestigious and most important tournament in snooker. The subsidiary is often referred to informally as simply World Snooker, although this is more properly the title of its website.
The WPBSA is also responsible for organising invitational events such as the Masters
. The head office is based in Bristol
, England
. Now Jason Ferguson appointed WPBSA Chairman. The organisation also determines the rules and regulations of snooker, including disciplinary matters.
World Snooker owns and runs a snooker training academy in Sheffield, which is a coaching centre for talented players from the UK and overseas. Top professionals such as Ding Junhui and Peter Ebdon use it as a base, and it also houses the Paul Hunter Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a promising junior player.
In 2008, World Snooker launched the HotShots campaign, which is aimed at boosting the popularity of the sport among a younger audience, by raising the profiles of emerging talents such as Mark Selby, Mark Allen and Jamie Cope.
World Snooker also has a charitable arm to help players who have fallen on hard times. In 2008 this was investigated for accounting irregularities and the apparent involvement in the decision-making process of World Snooker officials. The decision to decline an application for a grant from Chris Small
, a former player who retired due to Ankylosing spondylitis
, was also criticised by several of the game's leading figures.
World Snooker's commercial interests are managed by IMG, who also own Transworld International, who produce the game's coverage for the BBC.
was launched by a consortium including Higgins in 2008.
Controversy also occurred when World Snooker scheduled the 2008 Bahrain Championship
on dates which clashed with Premier League Snooker matches scheduled five months earlier with World Snooker approval. This causes four leading players (coincidentally including Higgins) to miss the Bahrain event and consequently lose ranking points - Higgins called the clash "laughable" Premier League organiser Barry Hearn
commented that "I am very disappointed and I can't understand why World Snooker hasn't discussed dates with us", while Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney threatened legal action over the ranking points situation. In response, World Snooker referred to the Premier League being a 'Third-party promoter', noted that they run events on 11 out of 13 weeks between September and November, and (ignoring the threat of legal action if the players involved broke their Premier League contract) declared that "our members have the freedom of choice to pick which tournaments to participate in". The idea of scheduling the event in free time in January or March, or arranging it in advance of Premier League scheduling, was not mentioned.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is the governing body
Sport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
of professional snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
and English billiards
English billiards
English billiards, called simply billiards in many former British colonies and in Great Britain where it originated, is a hybrid form of carom and pocket billiards played on a billiard table. Billiards is less well known as "the English game", "the all-in game" and "the common game".The game is for...
. It sets the sports' rules, organises tournaments and the pro-am and pro tours, and engages in various promotional activities.
Overview
The WPBSA operates as both the professional governing body of the two cue sports, alongside its amateur counterpart in the International Billiards and Snooker FederationInternational Billiards and Snooker Federation
The International Billiards & Snooker Federation is the organisation that governs non-professional snooker and English billiards around the world . The organization is presently headquartered in Reims, France.-History:...
(IBSF), as well as a trade association
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
promoting snooker and billiards more generally generally.
Its subsidiary, the World Snooker Association, is responsible for running and administering snooker's main ranking circuit events
Snooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
. These include the Shanghai Masters, World Open, UK Championship
UK Championship (snooker)
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is the second biggest ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the Triple Crown events.-History:...
, Welsh Open
Welsh Open (snooker)
The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which started in 1980 and was only open to Welsh players.- History :...
, China Open
China Open (snooker)
The China Open is a professional snooker tournament. It is one of a number of ranking tournaments and began in 1997.-History:The first international snooker tournament in China was the China International in September 1997, a non-ranking tournament for the top 16 players and local players. The...
and the World Snooker Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
. The latter is one of the most famous and popular events on the sporting calendar, with a global audience which runs into hundreds of millions. Staged at the Crucible Theatre
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
since 1977, it is the richest, most prestigious and most important tournament in snooker. The subsidiary is often referred to informally as simply World Snooker, although this is more properly the title of its website.
The WPBSA is also responsible for organising invitational events such as the Masters
Masters (snooker)
The Masters is a professional snooker tournament and the second longest running tournament outside the World Championship. Although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit, earning the second biggest prize money.-History:The tournament was held...
. The head office is based in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Now Jason Ferguson appointed WPBSA Chairman. The organisation also determines the rules and regulations of snooker, including disciplinary matters.
History
The organisation was founded in 1968. Prior to the formation of the WPBSA, the world governing body of both snooker and English billiards was the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC).Promotional activities
In recent years, World Snooker has been successful in promoting the sport in China, snooker's biggest growth area. Both the Shanghai Masters and China Open (in Beijing) are fully funded by promoters in China; likewise the Jiangsu Classic, an invitation event. Further tournaments are expected to be established as the sport continues to thrive in the Far East. In 2008, World Snooker made inroads into the Middle East by staging the first ever ranking event in the Kingdom of Bahrain.World Snooker owns and runs a snooker training academy in Sheffield, which is a coaching centre for talented players from the UK and overseas. Top professionals such as Ding Junhui and Peter Ebdon use it as a base, and it also houses the Paul Hunter Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a promising junior player.
In 2008, World Snooker launched the HotShots campaign, which is aimed at boosting the popularity of the sport among a younger audience, by raising the profiles of emerging talents such as Mark Selby, Mark Allen and Jamie Cope.
World Snooker also has a charitable arm to help players who have fallen on hard times. In 2008 this was investigated for accounting irregularities and the apparent involvement in the decision-making process of World Snooker officials. The decision to decline an application for a grant from Chris Small
Chris Small
Christopher "Chris" Small is a retired Scottish professional snooker player. His career was ended by the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis.-Career:...
, a former player who retired due to Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis , previously known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev syndrome, and Marie-Strümpell disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures...
, was also criticised by several of the game's leading figures.
World Snooker's commercial interests are managed by IMG, who also own Transworld International, who produce the game's coverage for the BBC.
Criticism and controversy
The body has received much criticism in the late 2000s. John Higgins has been particularly vocal in his opinion that World Snooker has not done enough to promote the game in new territories, particularly in Eastern Europe. The rival World Series of SnookerWorld Series of Snooker
The Sportingbet.com World Series of Snooker was a series of invitational snooker tournaments set up as a complement to the WPBSA's tour Its first season was played in 2008/2009, consisting of four two-day tournaments in St...
was launched by a consortium including Higgins in 2008.
Controversy also occurred when World Snooker scheduled the 2008 Bahrain Championship
2008 Bahrain Championship
The 2008 Bahrain Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 8 November and 15 November 2008 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama, Bahrain...
on dates which clashed with Premier League Snooker matches scheduled five months earlier with World Snooker approval. This causes four leading players (coincidentally including Higgins) to miss the Bahrain event and consequently lose ranking points - Higgins called the clash "laughable" Premier League organiser Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
commented that "I am very disappointed and I can't understand why World Snooker hasn't discussed dates with us", while Higgins and his manager Pat Mooney threatened legal action over the ranking points situation. In response, World Snooker referred to the Premier League being a 'Third-party promoter', noted that they run events on 11 out of 13 weeks between September and November, and (ignoring the threat of legal action if the players involved broke their Premier League contract) declared that "our members have the freedom of choice to pick which tournaments to participate in". The idea of scheduling the event in free time in January or March, or arranging it in advance of Premier League scheduling, was not mentioned.