It was announced in April that the W.P.B.S.A. was to dissociate itself from Billiards and that Professional Billiards would be controlled by a Committee unconnected to the current W.P.B.S.A. but that the parent body would give the new Billiards controlling body what effectively amounted to a golden handshake of £100,000 over the next four years. It didn't happen. At an extraordinary meeting of the W.P.B.S.A. held in Sheffield during the Snooker Championship, this proposal was not carried due to its being presented as two separate items, a) the question of secession, and b) the question of the subsidy. Why the question of Billiards was not presented as a package deal remains a mystery, especially as, at the same meeting, some matters relating to the future of Snooker, on which it seems that members wished to vote separately, were presented as a package. Be that as it may, Billiards is to remain under the auspices of the W.P.B.S.A. for the present though the time must surely come when it will control its own destiny. More positively Billiards is in a healthier financial state than for many years. It was reported in December last year that the W.P.B.S.A.was to subsidise Billiards to the tune of £32,500 for Prize money and Expenses for the season 89/90, and it seems that the £100,000 mentioned above is still available over four years. Strachan will continue to sponsor the U.K. Professional Championship putting in £40,000 over the next three years. The World championship will continue to be played in Australia for the next three years at least, promoted by Eddie Charlton, and this will not draw on the sum granted by the W.P.B.S.A. Professional Billiards would thus seem to have a marvellous financial base on which to build. Professional players must however realise, and surely they will, that this money is not simply to provide some payment when they meet to play each other two or three times a year, but to promote the game as a spectator sport, as a public entertainment, albeit a minority one. And entertainment is not too strong a word; anyone who saw some of the games at Marton, or the Gilchrist - Dagley Final in Leeds, would agree that Billiards can not only be entertaining, but, at times, highly dramatic. The current Billiards Committee of Mark Wildman, Bob Close, Howard Griffiths, and Clive Everton, carry no light responsibility and the Billiards world is looking to them. This Magazine offers whatever support it can give.
Strachan U.K. are to sponsor a "Carom" tournament during the week of the U.K. A number of British Professionals have already tried their hand at the game and the Tournament should be interesting. Whether Carom will become popular with English Billiard players is a different matter, not the least problem being that there are few if any tables to play on here. The game is played on a smaller table than we are used to, with no pockets and larger balls. I have personal experience of the game. For some years I worked at the University of Naples and played "Carambola," quite regularly. I wrote an article "Billiards in Italy" published in, "he Billiard Player" of March 1958., P12. One of the reasons I returned to England was that I was 'missing,' the Long in-off - I'm still missing them!
Although there are no Amateurs in the game today playing to the standards of Beetham, Driffield, and Edwards; Karnehm, Wildman, and Close, and above all, Norman Dagley, the general standard of Amateur play has possibly never been higher and there are some young players who may eventually reach the standards set by the great Amateurs of the past. That standards have improved and are improving is obvious to anyone who has regularly played the Mini-Prix circuit. The Editor of this Magazine used to go to Mini-Prix Tournaments confident that if the draw kept him away from Dagley, Close, and one or two others, then there was every chance of doing well. Nowadays he reckons he's done well if he gets through the first round no matter who he draws, even though his own game is no worse, and possibly a little better, than two or three years ago. There are a number of reasons for this. Mini-Prix itself is one of them. One day Pro-Ams played in venues as far apart as Widnes and Exeter have been a great boost for the game providing regular competitive play for youngsters who would otherwise have been limited to two or three Tournaments a year. The Influence on Billiards of the Teesside Boys Billiards League can hardly be over-estimated; we have only to remind ourselves that the holders of all the major Amateur and Professional Titles are products of that league. National Championships organised and sponsored by the B.& S.C.C are well supported and the entry for this year's English Amateur in its 102nd year reached the record number of 106. National Coach Jack Karnehm is tireless in his missionary zeal for the game. Other influences at work - well - one of them can be summed up in a word - Russell! Suddenly everybody is making for the spot -end, it's a hard life for the old-timers.