THE Huddersfield Billiards and Snooker Association open a new season tomorrow night, when once again the League will be sponsored by SMileS, the business text messaging system.
ME Consultancy are a local telecoms consultancy that assist businesses with their telecoms choices, and this year will be the ninth season they have backed the Huddersfield Billiards and Snooker Association.
More than 1,000 players will be competing every week in the SMiles Open Snooker League (which comprises seven sections), the SMiles Open Billiards League (with 11 teams) and the SMileS Veterans Snooker League with 36 teams in three sections.
Once again the race will on to halt Robert Read’s progress to a 12th Open Snooker Championship (and a fourth in a row) which makes him the most successful player over the past 20 years, while his Lindley WMC team are the reigning League champions.
Read has also been a regular winner of the Leonard Oldham Pairs with his partner Andy Boothroyd, but last season they had to be content with the runners-up trophy after losing out to League President Tony Clegg and his Springwood BC teammate Rob Armitage.
Other well-known players coming out of the Huddersfield League, include Craig Butler and Kuldesh Johal, the latter starting at Shelley Sports & Social, who now plays on the professional tour.
And the late Paul Hunter had close links with Huddersfield, having used the Sygenta club as a practice base for a number of years. Following his death in 2006, his family donated one of his trophies to the League, to be named the Paul Hunter Memorial Trophy and awarded for the highest break of the season, which last year went to Brian Quinlan, who plays for the Police SC at New Mill and made 95.
The Open League has a number of ladies playing in the teams (and would welcome more), and one of them, Catherine Lawson, who is also League secretary, has won the ladies competition for the last four years.
To encourage youngsters into the sport and help develop their skills, the league operates a pro-active youth policy, running a successful coaching scheme headed by ex-Huddersfield and Yorkshire champion Denis Rourke. The scheme continues in November.
The Open League programme gets under way tomorrow, while the Veterans Snooker League starts on Monday, October 5, with the Billiards League starting on Tuesday, October 6.
SMileS have backed the League since 2003, and director Mark Evans said: “we feel it is important to support the community in which we work – and while the Snooker and Billiards Association may not be as high profile as some sports, it has a huge following.”
