The Olympic Thought
By Bert van Manen,March 2013
If I find an old bottle on a beach, rub it, a genie comes out and I get three wishes? The first and second one shall remain nicely private, but here's nr. three: Billiards will be part of the Olympics.
As far back as the 1950's, cue sports have attempted to become part of the Olympic family. It was soon obvious that fragmented bids to the IOC would have no chance, and only firm coöperation between snooker, pool and carom billiards could possibly do the trick. An umbrella organization would be needed to represent all three global federations, and - mostly thanks to the hard work of Mr. Andre Gagnaux, former UMB president, the WCBS was founded in 1992.
The World Confederation of Billiard Sports still exists, but we are no closer to seeing a cueist holding a gold medal. If you have a few minutes to spare, you can read up on the short history of the WCBS on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Confederation_of_Billiard_Sports
Our representatives did win the opening battle: billiards is a sport. The acceptance of the WCBS into the GAISF, the General Association of International Sports Federations was proof of that. Billiards is now officially NOT a game, but a sport, even if Cabinet members in the greatest 3-cushion country in the world seem to think otherwise. But being a legitimate sport is just the first item on the IOC's list of demands. They need global uniformity of rules and formats, federations in enough countries, and there may be other demands that I am not aware of.
Pool is in decent shape. A megalomaniac rich guy did some damage a few years ago with lots of empty promises, but that's over and the sport survived just fine. The shady days of hustling are all but gone. Professional pool is properly refereed now, it has a broad base on all continents, a good online publicity machine and established, prestigious tournaments. The Mosconi Cup has become a beautiful rivalry between the USA and Europe, it is truly a Ryder Cup with bigger balls. Last but not least: pool has BY FAR the highest playing level of and exposure for female players of all cue sports.
Snooker is in its second youth, with Mr. Barry Hearn now at the helm of the WPBSA. His bulldozing management style is controversial, but his commercial prowess and leadership are undisputed. China is such an immense new market for snooker, tens of thousands of new talents and tens of millions of viewers on TV; on that wave alone, snooker will thrive in the next decade. And it has what carom billiards most wants, most needs and shall never again have: tv-coverage.
Third and last, the red-haired stepchild that is 3-cushion. We should grab the hand to our left and the hand to our right, and hope our siblings will pull us along. On our own, we are not going to keep up. Average age is going north, money is going south, membership numbers are going down even in some traditionally strong countries. Ironically, the level of play has never been higher, the number of players that are able to win major tournaments has never been larger. But sponsorship money (and therefore, prize money and salaries) have gone down for more than a decade now. Are there signs that it might get better in the upcoming years? Maybe in the Mediterrenean countries, maybe in Korea and Vietnam, but not in Western Europe where there is no more (Crystal Kelly) Joop van Oosterom, and only one (Agipi) Claude Fath. We need a dozen like him.
So what about that WCBS bid to give snooker, pool and carom billiards Olympic recognition? I would love to tell you what has happened since 2004, when billiards was last rejected by the IOC. But I can't, because I DON'T KNOW. My national federation (KNBB) never told me, and neither did the European Confederation (CEB) or the UMB. As we all know, sports governors tend to be very apt at getting re-elected, not so good at communicating. They must have tried again since 2004, right? 3-cushion players worldwide should accept nothing other from their representatives than a renewed attempt at every opportunity.
I would like to ask Mr. Jean-Claude Dupont, the current UMB president, to give us an update on that matter. What has happened, and what is happening? I realise the chances of our sport are slim, given the strict IOC policies. But there is no doubt in my mind, that the UMB (i.e. the WCBS) should pursue this as if it was the HOLY GRAIL. Because it is. Olympic status for the cue sports - even if limited to only three events (9-ball, snooker and 3-cushion being the obvious choices) would bring to carom billiards a much-needed injection of enthusiasm, exposure, and money. Let us hear from you, JCD.