IBSF World Championships in Malta CANCELLED

[legod]

:upset:

It's hard to know what the future for this event (and the IBSF itself) entails if there is no tour spot for the winner.



Dear Members

Unfortunately Malta has advised the IBSF that due to circumstances beyond their control they are unable to host the Men's, Women's, and Masters Championship scheduled for November 2017.

The IBSF wishes to offer this opportunity to any IBSF Member country that feels they can manage to host the Championship in this short time frame and would like to hear from such a country by the 18th August.

We would like to advise the IBSF membership that these Championships will take place as we have a reserve already if no other country nominates.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused through this late change but it is totally outside our control.

Best regards,

Mohammed Kammah
IBSF General Secretary

[Byrom]

Shocking.....

[Terry Davidson]

Shocking.....

Sarcasm? There were going to be 4 Canadians going if it was held in Malta but all had the proviso if it was switched to Egypt or India none of us will go. I suspect the stand-by country will be Egypt. Sad state of affairs for amateurs as this only leaves the Q School which I suspect is exactly what the WPBSA wanted. Q School and their coach training program is generating a lot of revenue for them.

[Byrom]

No I actually think it is shocking that they lose the tour cards on offer - they do have form for doing this kind of thing eg the English amateur champion used to get one and the local organisations used this as a revenue stream to organise events - when they take away the tour cards then the grass roots of snooker is severely effected by this terrible decision - I think it is a very short sighted and selfish one to make. Q school should not be the only avenue in to the pro game. World snooker are the big oak that has just cut off a few of its own roots that help make it strong.

I think it is a terrible decision. It has implications for any future Olympic bid and it cuts down on participation of other countries like yours - once the interest is gone its gone - taking away the tour card reduces this event and organisations standing to a joke. Its now just an international friendly knockabout playing for what a few quid and an egg cup...

People and organisations fall out - I don't think I ever heard of a committee that did anything right all the time. This however is the worst decision WS has made so far. It has made a lot of good ones but this is just bad for every snooker lover, especially those countries that where encouraged into snooker UAE, India etc.... The ISBF provided a outlet for coaches, players, refs and WS and its members did benefit in lots of ways by this other organisation widening participation and interest in our game.

Lots of great players have found the place on tour via this route in the past I am sure they will feel sad about this too - These are the reasons I say this and that is why I think its a short sighted decision by WS and I actually think whoever made it should resign.

[Londonlad147]

No I actually think it is shocking that they lose the tour cards on offer - they do have form for doing this kind of thing eg the English amateur champion used to get one and the local organisations used this as a revenue stream to organise events - when they take away the tour cards then the grass roots of snooker is severely effected by this terrible decision - I think it is a very short sighted and selfish one to make. Q school should not be the only avenue in to the pro game. World snooker are the big oak that has just cut off a few of its own roots that help make it strong.

I think it is a terrible decision. It has implications for any future Olympic bid and it cuts down on participation of other countries like yours - once the interest is gone its gone - taking away the tour card reduces this event and organisations standing to a joke. Its now just an international friendly knockabout playing for what a few quid and an egg cup...

People and organisations fall out - I don't think I ever heard of a committee that did anything right all the time. This however is the worst decision WS has made so far. It has made a lot of good ones but this is just bad for every snooker lover, especially those countries that where encouraged into snooker UAE, India etc.... The ISBF provided a outlet for coaches, players, refs and WS and its members did benefit in lots of ways by this other organisation widening participation and interest in our game.

Lots of great players have found the place on tour via this route in the past I am sure they will feel sad about this too - These are the reasons I say this and that is why I think its a short sighted decision by WS and I actually think whoever made it should resign.

First of all the decision to withdraw the tour cards from IBSF was made by WPBSA not WS: they are two entirely different organisations. The EASB used to get TWO tour cards to allocate once upon a time, which was reduced to one a year or two before being withdrawn completely.

I suspect that WPBSA has a bigger picture which will develop in time. I have no doubt that this decision is all part of a master plan.

Whilst the IBSF places were important, it must be remembered that there are further tour cards up for grabs, other than through Q-School, so it's not all doom and gloom!
- EBSA play-offs (2)
- CBSA nominations (2)
- International nominations

• - ACBS 2)
• - EBSA (2)
• - Americas (1)
• - Oceania (1)
• - Africa (1)

It's a shame though that 12 places are up for grabs via Q-School which is a really poor way of getting to the qualifiers.

[JimMalone]

First of all the decision to withdraw the tour cards from IBSF was made by WPBSA not WS: they are two entirely different organisations. The EASB used to get TWO tour cards to allocate once upon a time, which was reduced to one a year or two before being withdrawn completely.

I suspect that WPBSA has a bigger picture which will develop in time. I have no doubt that this decision is all part of a master plan.

Whilst the IBSF places were important, it must be remembered that there are further tour cards up for grabs, other than through Q-School, so it's not all doom and gloom!
- EBSA play-offs (2)
- CBSA nominations (2)
- International nominations

• - ACBS 2)
• - EBSA (2)
• - Americas (1)
• - Oceania (1)
• - Africa (1)

It's a shame though that 12 places are up for grabs via Q-School which is a really poor way of getting to the qualifiers.

I think it was a really good way of qualifying though. Usually also a better chance for player from non-british nations.
And with every cut of tour cards at other places - at least until they are replaced - you strengthen the importance of the Q-School.

[Terry Davidson]

I think it's a real shame but in line with LondonLad I hope the WPBSA or WS do have something in mind to allow more amateurs to turn pro. I don't agree with those critics who say allowing more amateurs will lower the pro players as a class since if the amateurs aren't good enough they will soon drop off the tour but you have to keep the grass roots fertilized somehow.

I have been disappointed with the IBSF in the past and in fact still am for a few reasons (not that I'm trying to turn pro). The champs in India in 2014 were a joke and after 8 years of bugging them by email and in person they still haven't put my profile as Examiner up on their website, after me paying a fee for them to do so. It seems to be the IBSF has forgotten who their customers (the players) are and do things for their own advantage.

[Terry Davidson]

Has anyone heard which country it will be going to? Important for me as I intend to go if it's held in a decent location where I don't need to fly for 24hrs or more.

[Hugo]

https://snookerhq.com/2017/08/19/qat...-championship/

[Terry Davidson]

Thanks Hugo. I think I'll give it a pass although I'm sure Qatar will be nice as they held it last year.

[Londonlad147]

As I said, I was sure WPBSA had something up their sleeve!

http://www.wpbsa.com/world-snooker-federation-wsf/