CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Playing the angles is nothing new to pool shooters so that’s the idea as organizers aim to restore a provincial billiards association.
Their meeting goes tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Dooly’s in Charlottetown and meeting chairman Andrew Sprague said it’s time to take the game to the next level.
“It’s a sport like any other (and) we want to try to legitimize the sport,” said Sprague.
Voting in a provincial association, which Sprague intends on doing, would bring billiards – 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball and snooker – into the realm of most sports on P.E.I.
That means it can acquire insurance, be part of Sport P.E.I. with proper application, attract sponsorships, develop the game with youth and junior events and send players to regional and national meets – all with the goal to grow the game.
Sprague said it’s important to ride the momentum built during the last few years where the sport, keyed by Charlottetown 8-Ball League, has doubled its ranks to more than 150 players, ran 8-, 9- and 10-ball provincials for the first time last year, secured new provincial tournament sponsors and paid out cash money in total prizes to its division-winning teams.
Sprague and crew also held the Maritime CCS (Canadian Cue Sport Association) championship last October in Charlottetown, and there are plans for a youth development league and hopes for provincial ranking tournaments.
It’s heady stuff, but Sprague credits the people in the volunteer-driven league and the board he’s a part of with the ideas and the fire in the belly to make a provincial organization work.
“It’s all the volunteers, they love the game. Pool is a social game, people like to have fun and compete. It has a cool atmosphere and energy,” Sprague said.
Contact Sprague at 902-314-0945 or shafer.greeley@gmail.com for more information on the Charlottetown 8-Ball League and the provincial organization.
