Snooker now on College sports curriculum

SNOOKER is now on the table for Elizabeth College students as part of a widespread diversification of the school’s senior games programme.

Out of bounds: Guernsey Billiards and Snooker Association secretary Paul Le Sauvage officiates at the Gremlin Club, just one of the venues which does not allow under-18 players. The advent of snooker at Elizabeth College is being seen as a new opportunity to develop youthful cueing talent. (Picture by Andrew Le Poidevin, 26561666)

The college introduced the cueing sport alongside an in-school table in September and now, with karting being another unique option, it has fully embraced a games model that allows students to pick and choose from a variety of sports.

This is in place of the typical model that involves a fixed seasonal rotation of sports such as athletics/cricket, hockey and football.

Elizabeth College head of PE Tom Eisenhuth has confirmed that there are now over a dozen sporting choices for games students, who are also able to vary their level of commitment.

‘The reason behind it is that we are having two clear pathways: competitive and recreational,’ said Eisenhuth.

‘Not everyone wants to be competitive and not everyone wants to be recreational.

‘Senior games is trying to cater for everybody, from the enjoyment option to those that take their sport seriously.’

Eisenhuth admitted that he is currently moving ‘one step at a time’ with snooker practice but that there is the intention to develop a ‘more strict tournament system’ and, in the long-term, join the Guernsey Billards and Snooker Association leagues.

He is also looking forward to having more space available and potentially hosting competitive snooker at the college’s extension into the Canada Court site.

Licensed premises currently in use for league snooker are currently out-of-bounds for students, confirmed the GBSA’s secretary Paul Le Sauvage, who is nevertheless hoping to one day find a way to incorporate younger players.

‘We are very keen to support in any way we can,’ said Le Sauvage.

‘One of the problems is that most of the clubs over here do not allow you in until you’re 18. We only have social clubs that are 18 and over, so there’s a potential issue there.

‘We could open up a mainly youth club and see if they can make any exceptions – that may be something we may well look into in the future.’