As we are well into the second half of the year it is a good time to reflect on the highlights in Snooker and Billiards in NSW.

The Association has successfully met its commitments in running the first half years events including the Men’s Snooker, Ladies Minor Snooker, 6 Red Minor Snooker, Minor Snooker, Minor Grade Billiards and the Masters Snooker played early in the year. A notable result was Roger Farebrother winning the State Snooker 3 years in a row defeating Richard Peric in the final.

There are still a number of events left on the calendar so we hope to have all your support as NSW continues to attract strong numbers in all of our events. The next event is this weekend being the NSW State 6 Red Snooker being held at Club Marconi. As well as the State Ladies Snooker and the Junior events, Sydney is also host to two more National Ranking Snooker events: the South Pacific Open Snooker (Club Marconi – September) and the Bob Hawke AC Australian Open Snooker (Mounties – October). Thank you to all of our partner Clubs that have supported these events and to all of the referees and officials.

Behind the scenes the Association has been quite busy on a number of initiatives. Before I go on I would like to acknowledge the great teamwork demonstrated this year by the members of our Committee. Our team is comprised of Dave Waller, Stuart Tait, Shannon Dixon, Carlie Tait, Justin Sajich, Jeff Farrujia, Chris Todd, Hassan Kerde, Theresa Whitten and Grant Meadley.

The first key development I would like to acknowledge is the work that has been done by the Committee to secure a NSW Government grant for Junior Development. A program proposal was put to the Government requesting $20,000 in funds so that NSW could work with the ABSC on developing Junior’s in NSW. Shannon Dixon is now leading this project which is still in the early planning phase. A component of the Program will involve the procurement of some fold-away tables.

The second key development is the planning work that has been done to revitalise the NSW Snooker League. The League is in the final throws of development and there will be more announcements shortly about the proposed League and format for 2017. Well done to the Sub-Committee which has been led by the hard work of Carlie Tait.

NSW continues to invest time and effort in its online activities which include website enhancements and regular publishing of content on FaceBook. We have also recently launched a new ‘mobile app’ that allows users to get regular updates straight to their device. We will soon be launching mobile payments and other exciting features. The ABSC have also launched a similar app. More information can be found at https://snookerandbilliardsnsw.teamapp.com/ Make sure you download the app to be in the running for a free entry into the South Pacific Snooker and the Australian Open Snooker.

Next year marks the 100 year anniversary of the NSW Snooker & Billiards Association. The Committee is discussing some initiatives to make it a great year for NSW. We have also recently revived the redevelopment of our constitution which is quite out of date and needs to reflect todays day and age. A revamp of the constitution will bring us in-line with other NSW Sports. We hope to have this ready for publication in the New Year.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Alex Render
President