European Snooker - Who are they?

Europe is one of the largest snooker playing regions in the world, with more than thirty active member countries in the EBSA and the numbers are growing all the time. 

The EBSA hosts three major tournaments annually, The European Championships with events for Men,Women and Seniors and the European Under 19 Championship, displaying the best up and coming talent from across the continent. 

In 2004 the EBSA launched a new event - The European Team Cup, featuring events for Men, Seniors and Ladies. The inaugural event, which incorporates the former Continental Team Cup, was held in Riga, Latvia in March 2004.

The EBSA also organise the WSA European Play Offs, with the winners gaining coveted professional places on the WSA Challenge Tour.

Miss the Miss Rule?

You can be sure that there is one rule in snooker that will divide opinion, and that is the miss-rule or the various interpretations of it. Sadly in my opinion this rule is ruining the game I love.

There was some healthy discussions on the rule when I took the opportunity to express my opinion on the current miss rule to the various referees of all nationalities at our European event this week.This is how I see it.


The Referees viewpoint

"We only enforce the rule, the player can choose to accept the miss or not" was one of the views expressed by a very senior tournament referee. All well and good, however I have witnessed players lay a good snooker, then sit back and wait for the points to role in, irrespective of (a) how close the opponent came to getting out of the snooker or (b) being left a simple pot but refusing to take the shot as he full well knows (c) the points will continue to accrue while the referee enforces the rule. Laughable.

The Players viewpoint (AKA my viewpoint, I can't speak for other players)

In the scenario above, following a foul stroke and the obligatory 'miss' call, I have witnessed players turn down laughably easy shots and with that frame winning opportunities, just to have the ball replaced so their opponent can 'gift' them another four easy points, one step closer to getting over the winning line.

Two points on this. Who decides whats an easy shot? In my opinion, the referee needs to make that call. We are all international players, with a better than average degree of skill around the green stuff, and I for one would appreciate some input from my match referee on this other than "it's up to the player"....no, its up to the referee, take the decision making ability from the player by not calling a 'miss' in the first instance.

Lets give our hard working referees more authority other than..."I just enforce the rules" and allow them, no encourage them, to take a more proactive role in our game.

Think on this. I know for a fact if my opponent tried and failed to get out of one of my fiendishly difficult snookers, and left me an easy chance to mop up the frame, I wouldn't for one moment question the referees opinion that I've been left an easy chance....

"Sorry Ref, I'm only here as I'm the best my country has to offer, and that easy red hanging over the middle pocket I've been left? Don't think I can make it, replace the balls please, its a miss".

Second point, same scenario. I'm for one not traveling thousands of miles around Europe to deliberately try to deceive or con my opponent or the referee by playing a deliberate miss. I'm playing the game for the love of it, and unlike the professional game there is not thousands of pounds riding on the outcome of one frame of snooker.

It galls me that currently, in any frame I play, utilizing the skills (or not) developed and honed over years of practice, I can build and develop a healthy frame winning lead only to see this decimate 4 points at a time because (a) the referee is 'enforcing the rules' (b) my opponent just wants to use the opportunity he has been given to accrue as many easy points as possible or (c) its somehow implied that I am deliberately giving away my hard fought lead, I've just missed my last attempt and left a ball hanging over the middle bag for $%& sake.

Don't get me wrong folks. There is a need for the miss rule in our current game. However we need to differentiate between the pro and amateur games and the level we are currently playing at, and not loose sight of why the rule was called for in the first place.

I for one don't want this rule ruin the sport I love. What do you think?

PS...In my blog post yesterday I praised our Belarus referee Tatiana. And rightly so, here's why.

I did leave Frank (my opponent) one of my fiendishly difficult snookers, which he attempted once to get out of, and failed.
"No Miss..." well done Tatiana, again.
Another referee and it could have been a very very long night.

The Search for Flags

Some of the players received an email from Maxime this week, advising that the organizers had difficulty obtaining some flags for the venue, Northern Ireland being one of them.

Now you would think coming towards the 12th of July or 'The Twelfth' here in Northern Ireland you would be in a position to obtain said flag anywhere. Not so. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty attached to the lamposts in certain areas, but I for one wasn't reaching for the ladder.
A quick call to the local council who advised they couldn't be seen to supply flags, an email to a local radio station (no reply) a tweet on twitter (thanks for the offer Jason) and another phone call to a local flag shop in Belfast who seemed to be closed constantly. It appeared that this was going to be difficult. A request was even made to the local DUP office, again no success (thanks for the help anyway Johnny).

Northern Ireland Flag (and some well known Golfers)

Anyway, I was in Dublin on Friday evening to pick up my passport, which is another long story, more of that later. Before making the long journey from Cookstown to Dublin I decided to source some flag suppliers 'down south' and was fortunate to come across O'Regan Flags in busy Pearse Street, Dublin.

The owner, a lovely man welcomed me at the door to what looks like a private residence, before beginning the search for a solitary Northern Ireland flag, advising that he hasn't received many requests of late due to the National team 'not doing very well'...which I thought was funny.

A few frantic searches in what is obviously a busy shop saw the proprietor present the needed flag, with relief. So one Northern Ireland flag to take to Latvia with me for the tournament organizers, even if I had to travel to Dublin to purchase it.

European Snooker - Group Stages

Just checked the EBSA website this evening and it appears the round robin groups have been decided and the draw made. Group F reads as follows:

• Phil Mumford (England)
• Marc Choullier (France)
• Yakov Shaashua (Israel)
• Mindaugas Maisiejus (Lithuania)
• Vilnus Mainulis (Latvia)
• Michael McDonald (Northern Ireland)

A very interesting group and an opportunity to again cross cues with Yakov Shaashua from Israel, having been beaten 3-2 by him in last years group stage despite taking a 2-0 lead then. As his compatriot Doran advised at the time, remember the story of the tortoise and the hare!

This years event promises to be as competitive as ever. A quick review of the Snooker Breaks in last years event shows that the player who consistently scores with 50+ breaks will be a hard man to catch. The eventual winner Steve Judd (England) managed a total of 9 breaks over 50 on his way to the title,with beaten finalist Alan Trigg (Ukraine) hitting an impressive 11 breaks over 50 points each. Nice snooker.

As far as my own game goes, I managed to get in some practice time today, an enjoyable couple of hours at the Pot Black Snooker Club, in Cookstown. The Pot Black is the longest established Snooker Club in Cookstown and it was good to catch up with Ivan, who hasn't aged a day. The practice went well, I will be using my late Uncle Harry's snooker cue at the event this year, so it was good to get some time on the baize with it.

The only other piece of business to complete before the flight on Sunday evening is the drive to Dublin, to pick up my new passport. Odds are that the old one will turn up before then.

Hello Latvia! It's that time again, The European Snooker Championships of 2012 have come around so quickly. 

It's difficult to believe just under 12 months ago we were in Sofia, Bulgaria for the 2011 EBSA tournament. If this one is half  as successful then we all should be in for a very good tournament.

I'm in a very fortunate position to be again representing Northern Ireland at a major European event, one that I enjoy tremendously both for the competition and the camaraderie, although it will probably be my last, as family, work and severe lack of playing time are taking their toll. I will surely take this opportunity to savor the event for a final time.

So once my participation was confirmed by NIBSA Chairman Joe McGonnell and Secretary Brian Richmond it was a case of getting the Atlas off the shelf, book flights and start practicing (well, think about practicing, can never get around to it!)

This year Tournament is held in Daugavpils, Latvia at the grandly titled Olympic Sport Centre which reminds me a bit of the Ice Hockey stadium we competed at in the 2008 Championships in Poland. Time to start doing some 'research'.