is snooker dying out in uk?

[j6uk]

most of my most memorable moments in watching snooker has been some of the money matches iv witnessed waiting for the fella who struggles to make a 20 break. he's my lift home but after the comp has ended at 2am he offers someone out for a hundred pound a game till 6am. yeah your upside down on the sofa, up to your neck in teas n toast and your nodding off every five mins but, you remember all those mad pressure shots and crazy ending to frames..
its entertainment and, a circus.. long live our cruel game, wherever its played

[Darren Maudling]

Maybe a shorter format of the game with a shot clock (ala 9 ball pool) may make it more enjoyable and less 'formal'
( I hear the purists turning in their coffins )

[golferson123]

It's like watching paint dry, I love playing the game but these days with the amount of other shows/sport/films etc i rarely if ever watch snooker anymore

Too true. Some would have you believe that snooker is all about the pro game nothing could be further from the truth.i have played this game for many decades and spent many full sessions at the crucible when younger but its only now when my eyes have gone my knees are shot that i realise that sport is to be enjoyed personally and thats where the growth or more realisticly the halt of its decline can be found but i dont know how. At the moment the pro game is riding the chinese wave but that wont last forever. On another note i enjoyed the six reds seemed to be less messy and suited televised snooker well

[GeordieDS]

Probably a controversial statement but I find televised snooker pretty boring
I don't know what the answer is, I think matches are too long to watch on TV, and I really think its one sport better enjoyed than watched
Just my opinion of course

It's like watching paint dry, I love playing the game but these days with the amount of other shows/sport/films etc i rarely if ever watch snooker anymore

[Darren Maudling]

Probably a controversial statement but I find televised snooker pretty boring
I don't know what the answer is, I think matches are too long to watch on TV, and I really think its one sport better enjoyed than watched
Just my opinion of course

[Leo]

If my pockets are tighter than the TV one's does my break count as double ?

lol valid point

[jrc750]

Ok proper size pockets then

If my pockets are tighter than the TV one's does my break count as double ?

[Leo]

yes I get that but star table pockets are not tight they are correct! don't think that all snooker tables that are not star tables are buckets.

Ok proper size pockets then

[jim evans]

We have one in Sheffield very similar, was a rileys now steelers bar, as a heated match table in a separate room,about 12 other full size, 2-3 3/4 tables,9 ball and other pool tables,a bar billiards, big screen and smaller screens, and other stuff you say,and must say it's a big improvement from the rileys of old.

[DeanH]

i'm gonna have a bar billiards table in my club

oh I miss bar billiards
used to play in a league many years ago, great fun
I hear that a table (singualr) may be coming back somewhere local but not confirmed yet.

[golferson123]

is snooker dying out in uk?

yes I get that but star table pockets are not tight they are correct! don't think that all snooker tables that are not star tables are buckets.

[j6uk]

i'm gonna have a bar billiards table in my club

[Byrom]

I agree with a lot of what has been said - during world war two Japan got nuked and they rebuilt it in a new fantastic way - new cities are springing up all over developing countries - in these new developing snooker countries they are opening up clubs using star tables and stuff and this is one reason that they will develop more pro's than us unless we seek to re-develop our playing conditions -

I mean if you had a car you would change it in ten or twenty years or upgrade it to a modern retro look if you wanted to keep it - its not rocket science - Clubs like Rileys charged the earth for playing on crap and invested in the wrong areas away from what they should have - snooker.

I think its good to appeal to a variety of snooker players - casual players and everyone - If I had a club I would have two or three maybe four match tables star tables or steel blocked match tables - I would have a great lounge area section with pro pool tables a few 9 ball tables, proper darts sections, small table snooker tables for the kids or for a laugh, a pinball machine and a few retro arcade games - a bandit or two set to pay out now and again, a poker table - and a range of nice big pocket club tables all with new lighting on every table - G 1 Balls or T C at the very least, good food selection - a lounge bar with big screen - the odd exhibition high breaks board - electronic scoring, coffee machine, a fit chatty blonde behind the bar, discounts on rates for OAP's, free coaching days and school days to attract young players in on quiet mornings. Cheap all day rates for the addicted players and discounts of the bar for members and someone who cares about the place to keep it clean cover iron and clean and cover tables properly - I would also be open to new ideas and left of center things to appeal to all and keep it fresh.

A selection of great cues and bits for sale - tagged rack cues that trigger an alarm if they walk out the door down someones leg lol

EDIT - I would also ban bar billiards - keep the riff raff away

Job done - snooker saved.

[itsnoteasy]

I will play on anything too but for me its not the size of the pockets that puts me off - its the speed of the cloths - Playing on a match table with fast cloth and steel blocked cushions G1s and good lighting can not be bettered in my opinion. Decent tables make decent players - Most of us on here play a totally different game than the pro's condition wise. They don't need to whack it around to get position as much - and cannon the pack on a match table and the pack splits lovely. Sometimes on club tables you need to hit them with a sledge hammer - the pockets are tighter on a match table yes but on a fast thin cloth it does not turn off with the nap and because you don't need to whack it encourages a nicer smoother cue action to develop - if your stroking it they go in and tighter pockets do help you concentrate more because they are unforgiving. The lighting matters too - cant beat proper lighting - how many clubs still have coffin lids with dull lighting urrr.

Most local clubs are in the dark ages still using old tackle old tables and this is not showing any foresight - Maybe if a every club or a few of them invested in a few Star tables or aristocrats then they would find a number of good players flock back to play - in turn inspiring others to play or improve - Its worth paying a bit more to play on a good table. I'm not saying fill the club with them but one or two great tables to appeal to everyone would possibly help the cause.

Also at grass roots we need more comps and sponsorship of leagues - perhaps a free junior club on Saturday-Sunday mornings with coaching to inspire the next generations of youngsters to pick up a cue.
It also helps to have a few more people doing great write ups in the local press like Neil Tapperell - Have I spelled that right?

On the national side of things a 1 million first prize for the worlds does say to youngsters this is a game worth taking up - Rooney earns more in a week than the top prize in our game and the money has not actually gone up - discounting inflation - for years.
It would be nice too if the association or our government gave sporting grants - like they do with other sports - as this would help our new generation of youngsters with the expenses of competing in what is now a world wide sport - taking the edge off if they break onto the tour for a few years at least.

That's my 2 pence worth.

Have you been sneaking into my club and playing on our tables lol, our club not only has the coffin shades, they have energy saving bulbs in them, so the first twenty minutes are played in the dark while they heat up and even at their brightest they are not good. You are also very very very lucky to get it brushed and ironed, so it's slow, dirty and full of finger trails, but to be honest, it doesn't bother me, sometimes all the kicks get on my nerves, but at least I'm playing snooker and that's all I want, if it shut I would have nowhere to go and as a club, the lads that go in ,the owner etc etc, you couldn't ask for friendlier.Our club has two tables with tight pockets and I used to play on them, but the table I play on now got recovered and they didn't so that's why I play on it, I would describe the pockets as average club size
I would like to add, we had a lad at our club who had over 150 147s a lot of them on these tables, not line ups , all against players , so if he can do it the only thing stopping me from doing it, is I'm not good enough, it's not the table, it's the lack of talent.

[Leo]

well I've made centuries with bonzolene/old crystalites/super crystalites/and some sets that look like the surface of the moon but with your logic they don't count because they aint been made on a super tight star table (sic)

that's great and I am sure you are a great player,but think you are losing where I am trying to come from in terms of difficulty between tight pockets & big pocket break building