"World Snooker Opinions” and the SnookerValerie Manifesto 😊
Hi, again! It’s Masters time! Since we’re all gathered around again for one of the major events on the snooker calendar, I thought I’d blather out a bunch of crap I wrote recently.
This week saw the debut of World Snooker Opinions, an official World Snooker site where anyone can register (please don’t be super-accurate with all your personal info - do you really trust WS with that stuff when they can’t do a decent draw?) for the privilege of being given surveys about the state of snooker. Evidently, there are points you can earn for prizes and exclusives and whatever, and WS is ultimately trying to build up a database to exploit however they see fit, but it is pretty impressive they’re actually asking fans and maybe those more involved in the sport for their opinions in an official capacity. For anyone vaguely interested in the sport, I recommend you give it a whirl - I suspect this will be like players attending the AGM, in that now if you spout off to Bazza and Jason, they’ll likely ask you if you’ve joined WSO to do something constructive with your opinions, and if you haven’t, they’ll dismiss it as idle moaning.
So in this first survey, you get asked a lot of general questions about your experiences with snooker, like what three words come to mind to describe what snooker means to you 🤔, how you got involved, and particularly how you watch pro snooker and get news about it. But near the end, there’s this.
Well well well. 😂 So with a little time on my hands at that moment, I decided this was an opportunity for me to lay out BASICALLY EVERYTHING I think World Snooker could do to help the sport. Not like I believe any of this stuff will get done anytime soon if ever, but if you follow me on Twitter, you know that aside from talking about players’ clothes and hair, I have a few basic themes of discussion - what has gotten my attention over the mere several years I’ve been a snooker fan and what issues get my passion going. So I thought I’d share what kind of ended up being a sort of manifesto of what matters to me about snooker. You don’t by any stretch have to agree with any of it (though I really don’t want to have debates about it either 😊) and it’s in no way more important than anyone else’s opinions about snooker (unless you’re an asshole), but this is just sort of me, snooker-wise, and take it as you will.
Ready? Buckle up... So the question was, “Is there anything World Snooker could do to better support snooker?”
- Promote *internationally* every possible way to watch *every* professional tournament - all broadcasters, all (legal) online sources, all means of watching in-person - as early and consistently as possible.
- This includes promoting all WS/WPBSA tournaments more actively on a local basis, collaborating with local associations and media, giving fans information on getting to venues.
- Make deals with more broadcasters or narrowcasters, even if modest. Whether locally or around the world, when you do not give us options, we create our own.
- Stop hindering personal, non-commercial livestreams (Periscope, Facebook Live) of matches that are *not viewable through any other means* by people who are not attending (as long as the streaming does not interfere with play).
- Show respect for players not only with improving prize money and playing opportunities, as you have done, but by actively fostering better communication with them through whatever means they are most comfortable using, including social media. (Again, when people are not satisfied with the options you give them, they create their own.) They have given their lives for this sport, and they are your product. While you cannot cater to their every whim, be more understanding of issues they bring to you and each other seriously, especially regarding the quality of play and their livelihood - I think some of you can tell the difference. The Chairman's disrespect of players reflects as badly on the sport as anything negative the players may say.
- As players are your product, ramp up the progress you have shown getting people to know more about more of the players, particularly those who are less well-known, younger, lower in rankings, or from different countries. You have interesting people with interesting stories - let us learn more (while still respecting what the player would be comfortable with). Also keep commentators informed so they can do the same.
- Consider reducing the number of players on tour (not including wildcards and top-ups) from 128 to 64 at the least. A sport relying too much economically on its players paying for the privilege to be included is a snake eating its tail.
- By the same token, employ people who can work hard to acquire a greater variety of sponsorships. Learn tactics and strategies of people, like those in China and Europe, who have been successful in that regard. Relying too much on gaming companies is dangerous in various ways.
- Strongly consider a minor and/or amateur league/tour in the UK, to foster and encourage the next generations of players in a challenging 21st century environment. "Snookerbacker" and Shaun Murphy have presented you with the most comprehensive plan in this area in the past couple years. Take the initiative, though not entirely the credit.
- Remove the new Ranking status from the Shoot-Out, leaving it the fun (when you don't try so hard to make it seem fun) showcase for players that it is.
Okay, that's all I have. Thank you for the opportunity.
