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OUR minds may be occupied with summer holidays and lazy days on the beach at the moment but the new Cuestars season is just over six weeks away.
Below are 12 things you need to know about the 2016/17 campaign, from car parking in Coulsdon to increased prize money to where to find a recommended loft converter.
SPONSORS
The list of sponsors is growing by the day. Hover over ‘About Cuestars’ on the home page of cuestars.co.uk and click on ‘Our Sponsors’. It’s quite a list!
There are some useful firms there from loft converters to financial advisers to snooker equipment suppliers. And one advantage of using them is that the owners are all known to Cuestars. In fact, most are players themselves.
As Cuestars director John Hunter said: “Cuestars is like a family of snooker players and snooker enthusiasts. I’m delighted with the support I’ve got.”
Q SCHOOL PLACE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR WINNER
The winner of the 2016/17 Cuestars South of England Championship Tour will receive a free entry into World Snooker’s Q School. There is no cash alternative and the winner must be a member of his or her country’s national governing body, eg, the English Association of Snooker & Billiards (EASB).
INCREASED PRIZE MONEY FOR GOLD TOUR
Thanks to our sponsors, the prize money for the Under-21 Gold Tour will be increased by 50%. And, new for this coming season, the runners-up in the Gold tournaments will receive trophies.
CLUB RANKINGS
Who is contributing the most points to your club’s rankings? A new feature on the website answers that question.
Hover over ‘Rankings’ on the home page, click on ‘Club’ and then click on an individual club to see a breakdown of the points won by each player.
For the new season, Championship Tour points will be doubled so that that circuit carries more weight in the club rankings.
WHAT HAPPENS IF TWO OR MORE PLAYERS TIE FOR THE VARIOUS RANKINGS TITLES?
In 2013/14, John Hunter and Wayne Muddiman tied for the Seniors rankings and Brad Chappell and Mark Lloyd tied for the Gold Tour rankings.
If this happens again, the most tournament wins that season will decide the champion. If they still can’t be separated, it’ll go back to number of runners-up and if necessary to semi-finals, quarter-finals and group positions. In the unlikely event that it’s still a tie, their performances in the last tournament will be used or the previous one, etc.
NEW HIGH BREAK CRITERIA FOR UNDER-21 GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE
Breaks made in friendly or practice matches are disregarded this season. Only breaks made in some kind of organised competition count.
Gold players who have not made a 60 and Silver players who have not made a 40 can apply, if they want, to drop down a level. The application must be done by email to John Hunter before the season starts. Requests on the day of an event will be denied.
SENIORS TOUR (40+) FINALS DAY
Following the seven-leg tour, the top 20 ranked players will be invited to a finals day in Newbury when a guaranteed £500 prize pot will be up for grabs.
PROFILE PAGES ON THE WEBSITE
The Cuestars IT department (ie, John Hunter) is in the process of adding profile pages to the website. These will include titles, pictures, breaks and a few other interesting things.
FUNDING FOR INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
Cuestars is considering paying the entry fees for any player who has been selected by England to compete in an IBSF or EBSA tournament.
LIVE STREAMING OF FINALS
One interesting suggestion is that finals should be streamed live on Facebook. If anyone has experience of this sort of thing, please contact John Hunter.
NEW SEASON TOURNAMENTS AND VENUES
Cuestars has 27 events planned for next season. The Championship Tour consists of eight legs. The Seniors Tour is seven legs plus a finals day. The Under-21 Gold, Silver and Bronze Tours have been extended to ten legs plus the usual finals day.
The calendar cannot be finalised under the EASB’s is published. But we can reveal that Cue T’s in Marchwood is probably returning as a venue and Top Spot in Havant may be used for the first time. Depending on the EASB calendar, the season may kick off with the Under-21s in Woking on September 11.
CAR PARKING IN COULSDON
And finally, some excellent news from Coulsdon. The car park has re-opened and it’s free on Sundays.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
Below are 12 things you need to know about the 2016/17 campaign, from car parking in Coulsdon to increased prize money to where to find a recommended loft converter.
SPONSORS
The list of sponsors is growing by the day. Hover over ‘About Cuestars’ on the home page of cuestars.co.uk and click on ‘Our Sponsors’. It’s quite a list!
There are some useful firms there from loft converters to financial advisers to snooker equipment suppliers. And one advantage of using them is that the owners are all known to Cuestars. In fact, most are players themselves.
As Cuestars director John Hunter said: “Cuestars is like a family of snooker players and snooker enthusiasts. I’m delighted with the support I’ve got.”
Q SCHOOL PLACE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR WINNER
The winner of the 2016/17 Cuestars South of England Championship Tour will receive a free entry into World Snooker’s Q School. There is no cash alternative and the winner must be a member of his or her country’s national governing body, eg, the English Association of Snooker & Billiards (EASB).
INCREASED PRIZE MONEY FOR GOLD TOUR
Thanks to our sponsors, the prize money for the Under-21 Gold Tour will be increased by 50%. And, new for this coming season, the runners-up in the Gold tournaments will receive trophies.
CLUB RANKINGS
Who is contributing the most points to your club’s rankings? A new feature on the website answers that question.
Hover over ‘Rankings’ on the home page, click on ‘Club’ and then click on an individual club to see a breakdown of the points won by each player.
For the new season, Championship Tour points will be doubled so that that circuit carries more weight in the club rankings.
WHAT HAPPENS IF TWO OR MORE PLAYERS TIE FOR THE VARIOUS RANKINGS TITLES?
In 2013/14, John Hunter and Wayne Muddiman tied for the Seniors rankings and Brad Chappell and Mark Lloyd tied for the Gold Tour rankings.
If this happens again, the most tournament wins that season will decide the champion. If they still can’t be separated, it’ll go back to number of runners-up and if necessary to semi-finals, quarter-finals and group positions. In the unlikely event that it’s still a tie, their performances in the last tournament will be used or the previous one, etc.
NEW HIGH BREAK CRITERIA FOR UNDER-21 GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE
Breaks made in friendly or practice matches are disregarded this season. Only breaks made in some kind of organised competition count.
Gold players who have not made a 60 and Silver players who have not made a 40 can apply, if they want, to drop down a level. The application must be done by email to John Hunter before the season starts. Requests on the day of an event will be denied.
SENIORS TOUR (40+) FINALS DAY
Following the seven-leg tour, the top 20 ranked players will be invited to a finals day in Newbury when a guaranteed £500 prize pot will be up for grabs.
PROFILE PAGES ON THE WEBSITE
The Cuestars IT department (ie, John Hunter) is in the process of adding profile pages to the website. These will include titles, pictures, breaks and a few other interesting things.
FUNDING FOR INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
Cuestars is considering paying the entry fees for any player who has been selected by England to compete in an IBSF or EBSA tournament.
LIVE STREAMING OF FINALS
One interesting suggestion is that finals should be streamed live on Facebook. If anyone has experience of this sort of thing, please contact John Hunter.
NEW SEASON TOURNAMENTS AND VENUES
Cuestars has 27 events planned for next season. The Championship Tour consists of eight legs. The Seniors Tour is seven legs plus a finals day. The Under-21 Gold, Silver and Bronze Tours have been extended to ten legs plus the usual finals day.
The calendar cannot be finalised under the EASB’s is published. But we can reveal that Cue T’s in Marchwood is probably returning as a venue and Top Spot in Havant may be used for the first time. Depending on the EASB calendar, the season may kick off with the Under-21s in Woking on September 11.
CAR PARKING IN COULSDON
And finally, some excellent news from Coulsdon. The car park has re-opened and it’s free on Sundays.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)