Women's Billiards Association: Difference between revisions
→Activities: pro. champions |
added details about Billington-Grieg |
||
Line 29: | Line 29: | ||
==Formation== |
==Formation== |
||
The Women's Billiards Association (WBA) was founded on 13 May 1931 at the Women's Automobile and Sports Association, Buckingham Palace Gardens, [[London]], with the objective of controlling the amateur and professional [[English billiards]] and [[snooker]] championships for women, and promoting other tournaments and competitions. [[Viscountess]] Elibank was appointed president, Mrs Longworth was Chairman, and [[Teresa Billington-Greig]], who had chaired this initial meeting, became acting honorary secretary. Miss Marx of the Women's Sports and Automobile Association became honorary treasurer. Other council members appointed included Mrs Eddowes, runner-up in the previous year's amateur championship, [[Thelma Carpenter]], and Lady Constance Childe-Pemberton.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Proposed Formation of Women’s Association |magazine=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |page=8 |date=12 May 1931 }}</ref><ref name="LANCS">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships. |magazine=Lancashire Evening Post |page=10 |date=1 October 1931 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=(Untitled Article) |magazine=Staffordshire Sentinel |page=8 |date=21 May 1931 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Women's Billiard Association formed |magazine=The Billiard Player |issue=June 1931) |page=2 }}</ref> The majority of the council members were members of the [[International Association of Lyceum Clubs|Lyceum Club]], which had a billiards "Circle" (groups for activities). Billington-Greig's husband sold [[billiard table]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dougan |first1=David |last2=Gordon |first2=Peter |title=Women, Clubs and Associations in Britain |year=2009 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=9780415368667 |pages=53, 81}}</ref> |
The Women's Billiards Association (WBA) was founded on 13 May 1931 at the Women's Automobile and Sports Association, Buckingham Palace Gardens, [[London]], with the objective of controlling the amateur and professional [[English billiards]] and [[snooker]] championships for women, and promoting other tournaments and competitions. [[Viscountess]] Elibank was appointed president, Mrs Longworth was Chairman, and [[Teresa Billington-Greig]], who had chaired this initial meeting, became acting honorary secretary. Miss Marx of the Women's Sports and Automobile Association became honorary treasurer. Other council members appointed included Mrs Eddowes, runner-up in the previous year's amateur championship, [[Thelma Carpenter]], and Lady Constance Childe-Pemberton.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Proposed Formation of Women’s Association |magazine=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |page=8 |date=12 May 1931 }}</ref><ref name="LANCS">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships. |magazine=Lancashire Evening Post |page=10 |date=1 October 1931 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=(Untitled Article) |magazine=Staffordshire Sentinel |page=8 |date=21 May 1931 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Women's Billiard Association formed |magazine=The Billiard Player |issue=June 1931) |page=2 }}</ref> The majority of the council members were members of the [[International Association of Lyceum Clubs|Lyceum Club]], which had a billiards "Circle" (groups for activities). Billington-Greig's husband sold [[billiard table]]s for [[Burroughes Hall|Burroughes & Watts Ltd]], and she had substituted for him at work during part of [[World War I]] and again in 1923.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dougan |first1=David |last2=Gordon |first2=Peter |title=Women, Clubs and Associations in Britain |year=2009 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=9780415368667 |pages=53, 81}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1=McPhee, Carol |editor2=Fitzgerlad, Ann |title=The non-violent militant : selected writings of Teresa Billington-Grieg |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0710212321 |page=21 |year=1987 }}</ref> |
||
The jurisdiction of the WBA covered the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Ireland]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=(Untitled Article) |magazine=Belfast News-Letter |page=14 |date=27 January 1934 }}</ref> |
The jurisdiction of the WBA covered the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Ireland]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=(Untitled Article) |magazine=Belfast News-Letter |page=14 |date=27 January 1934 }}</ref> |
||
==Activities== |
==Activities== |
||
Control of the professional billiards and snooker tournaments for women, and the trophies for the previous events run by |
Control of the professional billiards and snooker tournaments for women, and the trophies for the previous events run by Burroughes & Watts, were handed over to the Association. A subcommittee including four professional players, [[Joyce Gardner]], [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]], [[Margaret Lennan]] and [[Eva Collins]], was appointed to organise the professional championships. The Association provided [[Thelma Carpenter (billiards player)|Thelma Carpenter]] with a certificate for having made a break of 59.<ref name="LANCS" /><ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=(Untitled Article) |magazine=Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette |page=18 |date=18 September 1931 }}</ref> The Association organised the Amateur and Professional championships in snooker and billiards, girls' championships, inter-club competitions, and regional competitions.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Billiard for Women: Centres All Over The Country Association's Work |magazine=The Observer |page=15 |date=23 December 1934 }}</ref> |
||
In 1930, the cue sports company [[Burroughes Hall|Burroughes and Watts]] had organised the British Women's Billiards Championship,<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Midland Girl's Billiards Title |magazine=Birmingham Daily Gazette |page=1 |date=4 April 1930}}</ref> also known as the Burwat Billiards Cup. It WBA would take over the running of the competition as the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]], with the same trophy used in 1930.<ref name="UXB18SEP" /><ref name="LEP18SEP">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships |magazine=Lancashire Evening Post |page=10 |date=18 September 1932}}</ref> [[Joyce Gardner]] claiemd the championship on seven on the fourteen times that it was held, with [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] taking two titles, and Carpenter winning the last four editions.<ref name="EVERTON" /> |
In 1930, the cue sports company [[Burroughes Hall|Burroughes and Watts]] had organised the British Women's Billiards Championship,<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Midland Girl's Billiards Title |magazine=Birmingham Daily Gazette |page=1 |date=4 April 1930}}</ref> also known as the Burwat Billiards Cup. It WBA would take over the running of the competition as the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]], with the same trophy used in 1930.<ref name="UXB18SEP" /><ref name="LEP18SEP">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships |magazine=Lancashire Evening Post |page=10 |date=18 September 1932}}</ref> [[Joyce Gardner]] claiemd the championship on seven on the fourteen times that it was held, with [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] taking two titles, and Carpenter winning the last four editions.<ref name="EVERTON" /> |
Revision as of 11:13, 15 July 2021
Sport | Amateur and professional women's Snooker and Billiards |
---|---|
Jurisdiction | UK and Ireland |
Abbreviation | WBA |
Founded | 1931 |
Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Replaced | 1976 |
The Women's Billiards Association, founded in 1931 and based in London, United Kingdom, was the governing body for women's English billiards and snooker, and organised the Women's Professional Billiards Championship and Women's Professional Snooker Championship.
Formation
The Women's Billiards Association (WBA) was founded on 13 May 1931 at the Women's Automobile and Sports Association, Buckingham Palace Gardens, London, with the objective of controlling the amateur and professional English billiards and snooker championships for women, and promoting other tournaments and competitions. Viscountess Elibank was appointed president, Mrs Longworth was Chairman, and Teresa Billington-Greig, who had chaired this initial meeting, became acting honorary secretary. Miss Marx of the Women's Sports and Automobile Association became honorary treasurer. Other council members appointed included Mrs Eddowes, runner-up in the previous year's amateur championship, Thelma Carpenter, and Lady Constance Childe-Pemberton.[1][2][3][4] The majority of the council members were members of the Lyceum Club, which had a billiards "Circle" (groups for activities). Billington-Greig's husband sold billiard tables for Burroughes & Watts Ltd, and she had substituted for him at work during part of World War I and again in 1923.[5][6]
The jurisdiction of the WBA covered the United Kingdom and Ireland.[7]
Activities
Control of the professional billiards and snooker tournaments for women, and the trophies for the previous events run by Burroughes & Watts, were handed over to the Association. A subcommittee including four professional players, Joyce Gardner, Ruth Harrison, Margaret Lennan and Eva Collins, was appointed to organise the professional championships. The Association provided Thelma Carpenter with a certificate for having made a break of 59.[2][8] The Association organised the Amateur and Professional championships in snooker and billiards, girls' championships, inter-club competitions, and regional competitions.[9]
In 1930, the cue sports company Burroughes and Watts had organised the British Women's Billiards Championship,[10] also known as the Burwat Billiards Cup. It WBA would take over the running of the competition as the Women's Professional Billiards Championship, with the same trophy used in 1930.[11][12] Joyce Gardner claiemd the championship on seven on the fourteen times that it was held, with Ruth Harrison taking two titles, and Carpenter winning the last four editions.[13]
The Association encouraged the formation of "Billiards Circles", local groups of players, that would become affiliated. Some of the places where Billiards Circles were established were Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Cardiff, Norwich, Torquay and Bournemouth.[14][11]
On 14 December 1933, the WBA Council announced that any players entering open events not organised or sanctioned by the WBA would be prohibited from entering WBA competitions, that no permissions would be granted where tournaments differentiated between men and women, and that any players accepting payment would lose their amateur status.[15] The following year, leading player Thelma Carpenter resigned from the Association, as she was not granted permission to play in the Junior Amateur Championship organised by The Billiards Player magazine. She claimed that the sport would not thrive under the Association's control.[16][17]
The WBA held a Women's Professional Snooker Championship tournament ten times from 1934 to 1950, with a break from 1941 to 1947 due to World War II. Ruth Harrison won the first eight of the ten championships, followed by Agnes Davies taking the title in 1949 and Carpenter in 1950. The first seven championships were held at Burroughes Hall, London, with the tournaments from 1947 taking place at Leicester Square Hall.[13][18]
Relationship with the Billiards Association and Control Council
In 1933 John C. Bissett, Chairman of the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC) praised the work of the Women's Billiards Association, and said that the BA&CC had "no desire to interfere" in the running of the woman's game.[19] In 1935, the WBA affiliated to the BA&CC[20] and on 10 June 1936, the Billiards Association and Control Council agreed to take over management of the WBA.[21] Lord Lonsdale, president of the BA&CC, also became president of the WBA.[22]
Bisset, chairman of the BA&CC, was elected chairman of the WBA in 1939, with Miss G. M. Burton as the new vice-chairman.[23] Bisset resigned as Chairman in 1948, noted at the WBA Annual General Meeting held on 13 December that year, which started twenty minutes late due to the late arrival of the Honorary Secretary, Joy White. The meeting re-elected the absent film star Valerie Hobson as president, but did not attract enough candidates to fill all the vacancies on its council.[24]
The 1950 Women's Professional Billiards Championship and Women's Professional Snooker Championship were the last professional championships to be organised by the WBA.[13][25]
Successor organisations
The Women's Billiards & Snooker Association (WBSA) was formed in 1976, and appointed Wally West as Secretary 1978.[26][27] However, although the WBSA revived the world snooker championship, within a few years it had lost control of the game to the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association (WLBSA), founded in 1981 by Mandy Fisher.[13][28][29][30]
The Women's Professional Billiards Championship has not been held since 1950. The Women's Amateur Billiards Championship was not held between 1979 and its revival by the WLBSA in 1998.[31]
The WLBSA was restructured as a subsidiary of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in 2015, and became a full member of the World Snooker Federation in 2017.[32] In November 2018 the WLBSA was renamed, as World Women's Snooker,[33] and is responsible for women's snooker and billiards and the women's ranking list.[34]
References
- ^ "Proposed Formation of Women's Association". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 12 May 1931. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 1 October 1931. p. 10.
- ^ "(Untitled Article)". Staffordshire Sentinel. 21 May 1931. p. 8.
- ^ "Women's Billiard Association formed". The Billiard Player. No. June 1931). p. 2.
- ^ Dougan, David; Gordon, Peter (2009). Women, Clubs and Associations in Britain. London: Routledge. pp. 53, 81. ISBN 9780415368667.
- ^ McPhee, Carol; Fitzgerlad, Ann, eds. (1987). The non-violent militant : selected writings of Teresa Billington-Grieg. London: Routledge. p. 21. ISBN 0710212321.
- ^ "(Untitled Article)". Belfast News-Letter. 27 January 1934. p. 14.
- ^ "(Untitled Article)". Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. 18 September 1931. p. 18.
- ^ "Billiard for Women: Centres All Over The Country Association's Work". The Observer. 23 December 1934. p. 15.
- ^ "Midland Girl's Billiards Title". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 4 April 1930. p. 1.
- ^ a b "(Untitled Article)". Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. 18 September 1931. p. 18.
- ^ "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 18 September 1932. p. 10.
- ^ a b c d Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker – The Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 154–156. ISBN 0851124488.
- ^ "Fair Cueists. Formation of Women's Billiards Association". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. 1 October 1931. p. 7.
- ^ "Womens' Billiards. Rules Controlling Championship Entries". Leeds Mercury. 15 December 1933. p. 11.
- ^ "Woman Champion". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 6 February 1934. p. 9.
- ^ "Miss Thelma Carpenter Resigns from Womens' Billiards Association". Bournemouth Graphic. 10 February 1934. p. 13.
- ^ "Women's Snooker Championship". The Times. No. 46690. 28 February 1934. p. 6.
- ^ "No interference". Gloucestershire Echo. 30 November 1933. p. 5.
- ^ "Certificates for records". Londonderry Sentinel. 8 October 1935. p. 6.
- ^ "World's Snooker Record". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 11 June 1936. p. 4.
- ^ "Personalis". Grantham Journal. 18 July 1936. p. 11.
- ^ "(Untitled Article)". Liverpool Daily Post. 17 May 1939.
- ^ "The Women who missed their cue". Daily Mirror. 14 December 1948. p. 7.
- ^ "World Ladies Billiards Champions". World Billiards. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Jennifer Hargreaves (11 September 2002). Sporting Females: Critical Issues in the History and Sociology of Women's Sport. Routledge. pp. 427–. ISBN 1-134-91276-5.
- ^ Martin Polley (11 September 2002). Moving the Goalposts: A History of Sport and Society in Britain since 1945. Routledge. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-1-134-76689-5.
- ^ Mike Shamos; Michael Ian Shamos (2000). The Complete Book of Billiards. Gramercy Books. ISBN 978-0-517-20869-4.
- ^ Everton, Clive (25 July 1978). "The Leeds mystery still lingers". The Guardian. p. 19.
- ^ Everton, Clive (24 October 1997). "Young Stevens silences Parrott". The Guardian. p. B11.
- ^ "World Ladies Billiards Champions". World Billiards. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "About Us". World Women's Snooker. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Huart, Matt (28 November 2018). "World Ladies Billiards and Snooker now known as World Women's Snooker". World Women's Snooker. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Women's Snooker". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
External links
- World Women's Snooker
- Women's Snooker World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association