is snooker dying out in uk?

[Byrom]

World wide snooker is growing but clubs seem to be shutting and snooker leagues shrinking in the UK - less youngsters playing it and the interest is clearly not what it was - so is it dying out?- is it inevitable that China will take over? What needs to be done to stop this decline here or is it too late?

[Inoffthered]

Yup, and unfortunately Barry does not care.

[maryfield]

I have lost count of the number of tables I have scrapped in recent years. Combination of factors. Cheap supermarket booze, smoking ban, recession and games consoles. No youngsters taking it up. We own a club too and even my son doesn't want to play and he gets it free.

[maryfield]

I have lost count of the number of tables I have scrapped recently. Cheap supermarket booze, recession, smoking ban and games consoles have all taken their toll on snooker.

[Eferata]

Hi all,
I believe it is due to the change in trend. In my country youngster are more keen onto PC games and other activities instead of snooker.

Snooker lover,
Eferata

[matt926_uk]

a new type of snooker club needs to come through, snooker is a sport, people shouldn't need to drink 6 pints to enjoy it. this is why kids don't take up the game, because most clubs don't allow kids to play. too much of a drinking culture in england

[golferson123]

a new type of snooker club needs to come through, snooker is a sport, people shouldn't need to drink 6 pints to enjoy it. this is why kids don't take up the game, because most clubs don't allow kids to play. too much of a drinking culture in england

Well as for snooker being a sport thats open for debate! Its roots are built round socialising and its heyday has indeed gone no doubt speeded up by the recession and smoking ban because no pastime/hobby/sport can survive just with dedicated enthusiasts you need casual participants as well

[cyberheater]

From my point of view, it doesn't help that there isn't a single tournament staged in Scotland where I live and yet we are starting to get used to seeing PTC events held in remote places that hardly have any audience attendance. It's really annoying and frustrating.

[Leo]

Darts used to be seen as boring until sky sports etc got involved and made it more exciting with huge crowds loud noise better atmosphere ,i just wondered if snooker could go down this road,you watch snooker on tv and let's be honest you look at some of the people in the crowd and many don't look like normal human beings,maybe rearrange the arenas and make snooker comps an atmosphere where woman want to go like they do darts.
we love snooker as we know the game and how it's played,but you stick a neutral in the crowd at an event they would walk out in frame 2 as they would either fall asleep or say it's boring as hell.
Good atmosphere brings in crowds not people from outer space with jumper s on their mum has knitted for them

[tony9ball68]

Yes snoooooooooooozzzzzzzzzzzzer is dying and has been for years, I remember playing in a club where we used to have competitions on weekdays, people would even skive off work to play in them. Smoking ban didn't help, nor did the rise of home entertainment. Too many robot players on tv don't help either. Zzzzzzzzzz
Darts has never been boring, apart from the BBC amateur events

[matt926_uk]

Well as for snooker being a sport thats open for debate! Its roots are built round socialising and its heyday has indeed gone no doubt speeded up by the recession and smoking ban because no pastime/hobby/sport can survive just with dedicated enthusiasts you need casual participants as well

Snooker is on Eurosport, that makes it a sport don't it? lol
yeah, in its heyday you had players like Alex Higgins and Bill Werbeniuk, hardly what u would call sportsmen, but times have changed and now the top players like Neil Robertson and Ding Junhui are proffessional on and off the table and good role models for kids.

Granted though there are two types of players i guess, those who treat the game a bit more seriously and play it as a sport and those who just want a casual game and a few pints, sometimes there is a conflict of interests between the two. I don't think youngsters are really catered for which is a shame, i'm suprised anybody under 18 takes the game up!

With the smoking ban and strict drink driving laws the casual players are dwindling. Players who took the game up in its heyday are getting older and maybe giving up the game too. Just heard about Rileys clubs closing down, but i'm sure many clubs however are still doing well, as is the club i play at.

Would a well run club where there was no bar and people under 18 welcome be successfull?, i'm not sure, many pros and cons

[guernseygooner]

not people from outer space with jumper s on their mum has knitted for them

Spurs fans

[svendh]

I think snooker will shrink but never die out.

[matt926_uk]

theres only a handfull of pros who really pull in the crowds, ronnie being the main one

[Inoffthered]

theres only a handfull of pros who really pull in the crowds, ronnie being the main one

To possibly be more precise ( subjective, I know ), ROS, Neil Robertson and Ding.. not sure who else puts bums on seats? ( Unless Jimmy makes it through to the main venues ).