The Q School of Snooker

05:35:00 Ramona Dragomir 0 Comments

The World Snooker Q School
The snooker’s new era has begun as the captain Jean Luc Picard (aka Barry Hearn) is taking the World Snooker Enterprise ship to the next frontier! :-) The Main Tour is richer that ever with more tournaments and bigger prize money, with more passion involved and more players on the run. This year, 96 players have their names on written on the big list, but each year the last 32 lose their card, unfortunately. What is to be done about them? Well, they must gain back their place...but next year things are going to be a bit different as the brand new "Q School" will open its doors for the "naughty" boys and girls who have lost their card but also for any amateur snooker players all around the world.


Things are pretty simple. If you are a professional player or an amateur one it really doesn’t matter, what matters is that if you want your name to be written in golden letters, then you’ll have to go back to school :-)) Don’t worry, it won’t last forever, but there will be three weeks of intense snooker and at the end, the best 12 players will be awarded a place into the Main Tour. But let’s see the rules, shall we?


Ok, so first of al, these three weeks of "going back to school" will start in May 11-31, 2011. Now, please keep in mind that these dates are provisional as they depend on the numbers of entries and also don’t forget that the deadline is March 1, 2011.
The competition is open to both male and female snooker players all around the world, with the only condition that they will be registered at their own Nation Governing Body and be aged 16 or more on May 11, 2011.

Going back to school for some practice...
There will be three events, each event lasting one week, the fee for taking part being establish at £1,000 (for all three events). Each event will take place as any other kind of snooker event (with referees involved) with one main difference - they will come until the semi-finals. This means that the four players that will reach the semis will be automatically awarded with a place in the Mail Tour. Drawing the line, 12 spots are waiting to be filled :-)
Oh...and one more thing: the tournaments will be hold in the town of snooker, Sheffield at the World Snooker Academy.
So, how does this sound to you? I think is pretty cool, especially for those players living abroad who will find this pretty convenient - only three weeks for the ultimate frontier :-))


If you want to know more about "The Q school" please visit their official web-site at: www.worldsnookerqschool.com


And since going back to school is a very important step, the South West Snooker Academy from Gloucester has thought of making the transition easier. They will hold a "Qualifying School Preparation Series" where each player will be able to train and prepare better for the big tournament in Sheffield. So will probably ask:"
Yeah, so what’s the big idea, entering a tournament to be prepared for another? " Now, hold your horses, for there are some really nice surprises involved in the equation, one of them being that the top 4 players will receive a full paid entry to World Snooker Q School. Eh? What do you say now? And there are more surprises from where that come from, so play a visit to www.southwestsnookeracademy.com and find out how you can take advantage of the "snooker goodies" :-))


This new concept of giving a more transparent and honest chance to the players who dropped out of the Main Tour but also to the amateur players was welcomed by many professional players.
The 2000 and 2003 world champion Mark Williams said:
"You had to win ten or 12 matches just to qualify for a tournament. It seemed like you were in Blackpool forever. The way of doing it now with the Q School is much better and easier. The players will only have to be in Sheffield for three weeks and if they are good enough they will get on to the circuit."

Also, the 2005 world champion, Shaun Murphy added:
Time to dust your snooker books :-))
"It's a fair system and it will give everyone who enters a clear cut goal. It will be cut-throat, but that's the way sport is. You have to make sacrifices to get to where you want to be. And it has to be difficult, so that when you get there you appreciate it more.
The Q School system is used in golf and other major sports. I'm sure the pressure there will be intense - it's one thing clearing up the balls when you're trying to win a tournament, but another when you're fighting for your professional status. But that's what sport is all about - there's comes a time in everyone's life when they find out whether they are good enough."


The new way of "doing snooker" is bringing the sport to more players, this being Hearn`s intention - of making known snooker globally and it` s a pretty ingénues idea if you were to think about it. To have a second chance to get back on track is an opportunity you should not miss although will have to world your but out to make a "full recovery". :)) But in the end it will be all worth it - just think about it..."Passports to the big time" as "Q school’s" motto says ;-)

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)