Editorial
Future issues
This Issue (No.5) completes the first year's cycle of the Billiards Quarterly Review. The response has been encouraging enough for me to continue with the publication next year on a true quarterly basis. The extra work involved, together with rising costs of materials and postage, means that there will have to be a price increase. I enclose a subscription form for next year and hope that readers will feel it worth while to renew. The Winter approaches, leagues are well under way, and individual competitions will soon be starting. There will be the usual crop of successes and failures, delights and disappointments, winners and losers. Billiards Quarterly Review will try hard to cover them all. Play hard, play to win, but above all play the game for relaxation and enjoyment. Good cueing.
Strachan U.K. Results
The last issue contained very full coverage of the Strachan U.K. Billiards, but I became so involved in trying to convey the drama of the match and the quality of the play that I managed to omit the actual final score! This was Mike Russell 1794 - Geet Sethi 1538.
Midlands Counties Billiards League
The last issue gave some details of this new league but gave a wrong telephone number. Any enquiries should be addressed to Malcolm Lax on 0788 562289. Apologies for any inconvenience. Apologies to Eric Hodgkinson for the inconvenience this error caused him.
Mini-Prix
Many players will already know that Des Heald, after seven years, is no longer organising Mini-Prix tournaments. BQR will be involved to some extent this year and Des has promised the benefit of his experience. Full details on Page 3.
Darley Dale
It is with great delight that we are able to inform readers that the Darley Dale Invitation is on again this year. See the notice on Page 17. Highly Recommended Amateur Championships - By the closing date there were 95 entries for the English Championship. This is not far short of the record of 106 set a couple of years ago and it has to be born in mind that a number of players from that year have turned professional. It is a good entry and the B&SCC have informed me that they will be willing to take one or two late entries (people returning from holiday, etc,) providing they are not late by more than a few days. It is hoped that the final stages will again be at Cubbington and negotiations are under way. Though there is as yet no definite news, there is just the faint possibility that there might be a World Amateur Championship in the not too distant future in a location not a million miles away from where I am writing this.
Professional
Mark Wildman has recently returned from a snooker commentating job in the far east but this has not stopped him from devoting a deal of his considerable energy towards the promotion of billiards. There are some interesting developments which are outlined on Page 24. BQR wonders for how much longer Mark will be able to stand the pace.
Billiards on TV
I expect that many readers will have seen the coverage of the final of the World Championship as recorded on sky T.V. There is a distinct possibility that the Strachan U.K, scheduled for early March, and probably in Sheffield, will be covered by Screensport. This is encouraging news, one has only to think of what telly did for darts, or for that matter what it has done for that funny game which is played on a billiard table with a lot of coloured balls.
Under 16 and 19
The B.&.S.C.C. under 16 and under 19 championships are to be merged into one competition - Under 18. There are arguments for this (financial) and arguments against this (the difference in maturity between 16-year-olds and 18-year-olds.) Last year the BQR sponsored three boys, gave then some coaching, persuaded a club owner to let them have free practice time, and 'fetched and carried.' This magazine will not be sponsoring any boys this year and the fact that the two championships have been merged into one has little or nothing to do with it. If any reader is curious as to know why then I will tell them in private. Teesside are leaving it up to individual players as to whether they enter or not.
Happy Christmas.