The Tournament was played at the Brunswick Club, Melbourne, in December, but attracted only eight entries. It was won very convincingly by Robert Marshall protege Rhys Cochrane (Queensland.) Cochrane's superiority may be measured by the fact that he had three centuries during the tournament, highest 125, and 12 other breaks over 50. The next highest break was a 72 by R. Norman (Victoria) who reached the final by defeating A. Fitzgerald (NSW) by only 3 points in the semi. The low entry may possibly be due to the distances involved in travelling to tournaments, "own Under. "he English Under 19 had 16 entries most of whom were from one area (Teesside.) This figure puts the Australian entry into a more favourable context.
| R. Cochrane
| 894 | A. Waller
| 373 | ||
| R. Norman
| 467 | A. Fitzgerald
| 464 |
| R. Cochrane
| 999 | R. Norman
| 600 |
The event was won comfortably by Joe Minici who was far and away the most experienced of the nine entrants. Joe had the days top break of 111 - not a lot for him - and was perhaps never under very much pressure. The second group (Round Robin) was won by Matt Dumrul who was outclassed by Minici in the final.
| J. Minici
| 331 | M. Dumrul
| 178 |
There were only eight contestants for this event and it is reported that the standard was unusually poor. The highest break of the day was, incredibly, only 21. However, the winner's score of 327 in the 90 minute final, was not too bad.
| B. Hallam
| 327 | A. Dennawald
| 200 |
There was the rather better turn-out of 13 players for this event. The standard was also rather better - the day's highest break getting up to 25. The Under 21s and Under 18s must have had bad days as it is quite inconceivable that these youngsters cannot play to a higher standard.
| R. Budd
| 312 | I. Barber
| 309 |
There was a much better entry (48) for this tournament held at the Smithfield RSL Club on the, "Round Robin," format over two weekends. The standard was not all that high but many players made a 50 + break. The highest of 91 was recorded by both D. Taylor and J. Hull.
| D. Taylor
| 632 | B. Ashby
| 480 | ||
| V. Sacco
| 608 | M. Dumrul
| 324 | ||
| V. Gravino
| 575 | J. Spiteri
| 351 | ||
| E. Worsley
| 488 | V. Mifsud
| 471 |
| V. Sacco
| 684 | D. Taylor
| 664 | ||
| V. Gravino
| 605 | E. Worsley
| 586 |
| V. Gravino
| 822 | V. Sacco
| 790 |
It has been announced that Brien Bennett is to retire from his position as Executive Director of the New Zealand Billiards and Snooker Executive. Mr. Bennett has had a long career in billiards and snooker administration and was for ten years chairman of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation. In 1984 he was honoured with the award of the Queen's Service Medal for services to the games. Bennett was not just an administrator. He can also play the games. He was New Zealand snooker champion in 1971, and represented his country at the 1975 and 1979 World Amateur Billiards Championships. Nor is he to relinquish his contacts with the game, he has announced his intention of using his extra free time to get back into serious practice. Good Luck Mr. Bennett.
Who indeed; Quentin Hann is a 15-year-old Australian Snooker player who has the distinction of being the youngest player ever to have made a snooker century on the telly. That is not his only first. He is also the first player to be banned from the game and not allowed to compete again until he had had a course of counselling from a sports psychologist. This is as a result of having what he thought was a poor refereeing decision go against him, and consequently he is said to have told the organisers of the junior tournament in which he was playing exactly where they could put their tournament. He was also found in an area of the club housing the gaming machines and where juniors were not allowed. Previous to these incidents Hann had been given a two years ban (suspended contingent upon good behaviour) for spitting on a fellow competitor's mother. But the Hann family took the case to court the upshot of which is that the ban is to run from the original date, even though it was suspended, and that Hann will be able to return to competitive play in October of this year. If this young man turns professional then he will be eligible for next year's qualifying school. Look out Blackpool. Let us hope that Hann does not turn his hann(d) to billiards.
When I was fifteen and just starting to play in a few matches I was more than once disappointed at losing. But if my disappointment had taken the form of telling the referee to stick his tournament, and if I had then been banned from playing in the Notts Institutes Association tournaments, I don't think my father would have taken the matter to court. He would more likely have smashed my cue - over my head!
Overseas readers should rest assured that though this young Australian player has made the headlines, the Antipodes has no monopoly of bad behaviour. I heard a number of tales from the last year's qualifying sessions in Blackpool that made me shake my head in sorrow and almost disbelief. There is no doubt that the majority of snooker players are as well-behaved and civilised as anyone else and the example from the top is exemplary - but - the 22 ball game does seem to have an attraction for some of the more unsavoury characters from the Snooker Club World. The sad thing is that they are nearly always very good players. Why does it not happen at billiards? I've never known it. I have, however, known many club-owners who have been quite surprised at the civility and comradeship of the players at a one-day tournament. At this year's Amateur Championship final, "Snooker Scene," corespondent Phil Yates, who spends much of his time at snooker tournaments, commented on the decorum of the proceedings compared with a run-of-the-mill amateur, or Ppro-Am, snooker event. But then, there's not quite the same money available in billiards.