Australian Billiards & Snooker Council

News

President's Report 2003
19 Nov 2003

Here is the report given by Mike Peachey at the ABSC AGM held on 15 November 2003.

Another year has passed us by - but what a year it has been for Australian Snooker & Billiards, with some magnificent Snooker and Billiards, very high standard Championships and some great results for our snooker players in particular.

To comment since my last report, firstly, the 2002 Bob Hawke Australian Open Championships was won by Neil Robertson, who pounded the newly crowned IBSF World Snooker Champion Steve Mifsud to win the final 8-0, with some of the most powerful and scintillating snooker play you are likely to see anywhere. Then in the last two weeks of November 2002 we were treated to the sport of Billiards to its highest standards, when Australia held the 2002 World Billiards Championships at the Mounties Club in Sydney. Australia took on the responsibility of holding the Championships at a very late stage and all credit must go to the initiative of Rex Swain in bringing the Championships to Australia and to Dave Jackson, Don Stewart, the NSW Board for all their hard work. Mike Russell from England won the timed Championship and Ashok Shandilya from India won the 50 up Championship. To conclude 2002, the CL&S Junior Team Challenge and other Junior Championships were staged at the Penrith Club in Sydney.

The Australian Ladies Championships kicked off the year 2003 at the Brunswick Club in Melbourne, which was again admirably won by Kathy Parashis. Then followed Australia's second World Championship win in these past 12 months, when Melbourne's Kathy Howden partnered with Wendy Jans of Belgium to win the World Ladies Doubles Championships in England. Neil Robertson followed up on his ever improving career to win the Australian Under 21 Snooker Championships in Brisbane and also in Brisbane Steve Mifsud won the Australian Timed Billiards Championships and Dave Collins won the Australian 50 Up Billiards Championships.

Through many of the highlights of 2003, Neil Robertson probably stood out proudly the most for Australia. In the World Under 21 Championships in New Zealand, in one of the strongest fields ever assembled for this event, Neil reigned supreme to become the 2003 World Under 21 Snooker Champion - a great display of both aggressive and controlled snooker, played to the highest of standards.

Back in Australia, Michael Lupton won the Australian Under 18 Snooker Championships, Victoria won the Bill Barrie Interstate Challenge, Steve Mifsud the Australian National Snooker Championships and the CL&S 2003 Junior Team Challenge and other Junior Championships were brought forward to earlier in the year with great success and with vastly increased numbers participating. A big thank you to Heather Zappia for taking on this Championship with support from the Victorian Association and the Brunswick Club.

In the IBSF World Snooker Championships recently held in China, although we had our top three players unable to play as they were playing in the WSA Main Tour. However, Australia was represented extremely well in the men's event by two of the younger brigade in Shannon Dixon and James Mifsud, along with the experienced and number 4 ranked player Joe Minici. Joe played particularly well by finishing top of his group and reaching the round of the last 16. In the women's event Australia was represented by Sam Ridley, Renata Hedrick and Australian Champion Kathy Parashis, who also managed to reach the round of the last 16.

Steve Mifsud was honoured for his past achievements and future potential, especially for winning the IBSF World Snooker Championships, by being awarded an Individual Athletics Scholarship by the Victorian Institute of Sport. Congratulations Steve on an another magnificent achievement.

Australia also has a great representation on the WSA Tours this year with Quintin Hann already qualified to the main events because of his World Ranking of number 14, Steve Mifsud, Johl Younger and Neil Robertson on the Main Tour and Adrian Ridley and Aaron Mahoney on the Challenge Tour. From one of the qualifying events, Neil Robertson has reached the final stages of the televised European Championships to be held in Malta in 2004.

The accounts of the ABSC have again been very well looked after by Frank Dewens, although we have taken some hard accountancy decisions to keep within our budgets and financial procedures. However, although unfortunately there is still need for constraint, it is most pleasing that the accounts now present themselves as well as they have done for many a year now. Recognition with extreme thanks, must be given to CL&S and all of the Atwell family for their continued and generous sponsorship and support of the ABSC.

The secretarial workload has for sure increased this year due to Australia's many different avenues of exposure to Championships and events throughout Australia and the World that we have taken on this year, and the improved standard again of communication and information that he has been supplied to all players, officials and States. I must compliment on Barrie Jones's extreme commitment and to thank him very much for performing his position of Secretary to a very high standard and I know this has been well appreciated by everyone concerned from within our sport.

The website is fully up and running and in my view one of the best cue sport websites available on the net. Thanks to Adam Wyard for donating so much of his time and expertise to our sport through the website. This has proved the most invaluable tool for communication and a great asset to the ABSC.

The Australian Billiards & Snooker Referees have been again very active and supportive of both Billiards and Snooker in Australia and indeed some World Championships as well. Ron Pope has stepped down as Chairman/Convenor and we thank Ron for his many years' service in the administration side of refereeing. The secretary Tommy Watson has undertaken an enormous amount of work and once again a big thank you to Tommy and to all of the other referees throughout all of Australia for the sterling work that they perform.

Noel Gourlay, the National Director of Coaching, has also been working very hard keeping all the coaching requirements up to date and re submitted and once again to Noel and all of the Coaches throughout Australia - a huge thank you for your successful efforts in improving the standards of our sport.

During the year we have seen the resignation of Dennis Brown due only to the fact that he has moved to Brisbane from Canberra. Dennis has been a great contributor to the ABSC Board and although I am very sorry to see him have to leave, I have the inclination that somehow we will again see Dennis one day involved with the ABSC. On the positive side though we welcome Bob Fraser from Canberra as the new representative to the ABSC.

Unfortunately the Australian Confederation of Cue Sports has not moved forward hardly at all this year. This has not though been the fault of the ACCS, but mainly the fault of the major dispute that has occurred between the IBSF and the WCBS. An outcome of an arbitration case overseen by the IOC is still being awaited so that we can evaluate where the ABSC/IBSF are going to go from here. It is most disappointing that we have not been able to go forward from last year, as without doubt, for the possible future funding of Cue Sports in Australia from Government bodies, this is the only way to go.

Through my duties as President I am very grateful for the opportunity of being able to represent the ABSC to visit the Australian Ladies Championships at the Brunswick Club in Melbourne, the Australian Billiards Championships at the Super Eight Centre in Brisbane, the Australian National Snooker Championships at the RACV Club in Melbourne, the IBSF World Snooker Championships and IBSF Annual General Meeting in China, and the Australian Open Snooker Championships here in the Mounties Club in Sydney. However, to offset some costs, I have also managed to contribute to several of those events as a referee while attending.

I have also at my own expense visited New Zealand for the World Under 21 Championships, an experience of seeing Neil Robertson win that I can only describe as incredible and I visited the U.K. and saw Johl Younger, Steve Mifsud and Neil Robertson play in their second WSA Main Tour event at Prestatyn in Wales, in which Johl in particular performed exceptionally well.

I would like to thank especially the ABSC Board who have been so supportive of myself and of our sport in Australia and to all the other volunteers of our sport - a big thank you to everyone who has offered their services and contributed to the success of Australian Snooker and Billiards this past year - the list of names is too many to name individually.

To Mal, Trevor and Ray Atwell and the CL&S Group, the Board of Directors of the Mounties Club, the Brunswick Club, the Penrith Cue Sports Club, the Matchroom Club, the Super Eight Centre and the Q-Masters Club, all of which have held Australian Championships this year - to the other clubs that have held ranking events and to our other sponsors - to the members of the Billiards & Snooker Supporters Club - to our Patron Bob Hawke who has given so much time and effort to our cause this year -
on behalf of the Australian Billiards & Snooker Council - thank you all for helping to make the year of 2003 such a memorable year for Australian Snooker and Billiards.

How do we beat the successes of Australian Snooker and Billiards of 2003 in the coming year 2004 - I am not so sure - but I tell you what, from all of the committed bunch of people that have the interests of Snooker and Billiards solidly locked in their hearts - we will be doing our level best.

Michael Peachey
President Australian Billiards & Snooker Council.