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CueZone at the Winter Gardens, Sheffield, World Championships 2025
Governance
Governance
The World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA) is the official World Governing Body for Billiards and Snooker. The WPBSA is responsible for governance, the rules, support for professional players and future development, including coaching.
The English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards is the national governing body in England, with responsibility for organising and running amateur competitions, general participation and developing a pipeline for refereeing.
Snooker coaching
Snooker coaching
Both Annette and Iain are accredited Level 1 WPBSA snooker coaches through the WPBSA's coaching programme, which is recognised by 1st For Sport and UK Coaching. To gain accreditation, both had to complete training that focused on safeguarding and child protection.
The course covers the basics of technique as well as how to set up and run a Snooker Academy - which is exactly what we are doing in Darwen.
Coaches follow the WPBSA's White to Black coaching framework, which takes players from complete beginners at White and Red level through to advanced techniques at Pink and Black level that are used by the professionals.
WPBSA Level 1 Coaching course delegates, March 2025. Our coach Iain is doing his best to be front and centre in this picture!
EPSB under-14 tournament held at Hollins Grove, 2018.
Competitive junior snooker opportunities
Competitive junior snooker opportunities
As your child progresses at the Academy, they may start to think about playing competitively. This is something we are keen to encourage, and there are options available to give them a taste of match snooker when we all agree they are ready.
One such option is to play in friendly matches against other junior academies. We've just announced such a match against Baxenden Junior Snooker Club. We can tailor these so that games are reasonably balanced and it's a great way to learn tactics and other aspects of competitive play without any pressure.
If we hear of any competitions where we feel Academy members would benefit, we will be happy to discuss this with parents and responsible adults. Not long ago, we hosted the qualifying rounds of the EPSB Under-14 championships and are keen to do so again.
Whilst keen to see Academy members competing, we are conscious that even at the younger age levels, competition at regional and national level can be fierce and the standard at times very high. Young players often have overly high expectations and struggle to handle the emotions, especially at first. We prefer to introduce competition gradually, making sure players are ready for the next level, and can help with advice and preparation.
The WPBSA Junior Snooker page has more information on competitive junior snooker events.
Womens' snooker
Womens' snooker
For girls who want to get involved, they may be inspired to learn that there is a thriving Womens' Tour.
Again, the standard of the top players is very high, but there are opportunities for girls once they're at the higher levels of the White to Black coaching framework, which is a realistic goal if you are sufficiently motivated here at Hollins Grove.
Our coach, Annette, played on the Womens' Tour for three seasons so please ask us if you want more information on ladies' events.
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