elliott west
One of the bastions of snooker is the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. Opened in 1974 this building recently celebrated 40 years and has hosted some of the greatest matches and players in snooker history. Situated on Kirkstall Road, this building has hosted the greats of the sport including Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins, Jimmy White, Steve Davis, Paul Hunter and most recently Ronnie O’Sullivan. Owned by the Williamson family and currently managed by Chris Williamson, this centre has flourished in recent years whilst other clubs in the surrounding area have closed down. The ‘Northern’ has managed to survive primarily because it offers a range of cue sports and coaching at reasonable prices.
Due to its unique facilities many amateur and professional players flock here to practice and I would even dub it as a “snooker factory” improving the skills of current players and moulding future youth protégés. The centre has hosted men’s and ladies’ tournaments, including the Women’s World Championship and Billiards tournaments. The Northern Snooker Centre also has The Paul Hunter Matchroom; opened in memory of the great player who sadly passed away from cancer at an early age.
I feel that this idea should be rolled out in other cities to counteract the rapid closure of snooker clubs. By creating new snooker centres one would develop the sport, bringing the two strands of youth and established players into a central hub. The UK would be wise to take a leaf out of China’s book and educate students in the sport at an early age. In China snooker is taught at school and wildcard players often appear at Chinese tournaments at the age of 16. Nurture and development are so important in any sport and only when this happens will more new UK based players appear in amateur and professional events.
