Ken Doherty joined World Seniors Snooker (WSS) Chairman Jason Francis yesterday at Greystones Primary School in Sheffield to launch two initiatives which will form part of the ‘Youth of Sheffield Day’ for the World Seniors Snooker Championship.
On Saturday 10 May, 200 local children will attend the semi-finals courtesy of WSS and Sheffield City Council as part of their ‘Sheffield Loves Snooker’ campaign.
Children will get a chance to bring a grandparent to the Crucible Theatre as well as taking part in a snooker themed art competition which will be judged by 1997 world champion Doherty. The artwork will be displayed in the venue during the whole event which runs from the 7-11 May and follows on from the World Snooker Championship.
Doherty said: ”It was fantastic to meet the pupils today to tell them what Sheffield and the Crucible Theatre means to me and to also answer their questions about what it was like to win the World Championship in 1997. The plan for them to treat their grandparents to a day at the World Seniors Championship is brilliant and its great to see WSS engaging with so many local schools around the art competition.”
Jason Francis, WSS Chairman, said “The Youth of Sheffield Day is one of a number of projects we are running this year based around showcasing what is great about the steel city and the home of snooker. Semi-final Saturday will see Tudor Square full of local children and hopefully feeling the atmosphere of snooker at the Crucible could be the spark to encourage them to try the game themselves.”
Sinead Gaffney, Headteacher at Greystones Primary School said: “Everyone at Greystones loved meeting Ken today. It was a great opportunity for our children to learn more about the links between Sheffield and snooker, thanks to the Crucible’s role of hosting the World Championship.”
“Everyone wants to give snooker a go now and Ken’s message of working hard and aiming high is a brilliant model for every child, wherever their talents lie! Whether the children’s families have longstanding roots in the city, or if they are relative newcomers like myself, here’s another reason to feel proud of our wonderful city of Sheffield” she added.
This is really a great way, not just to promote the event, but to make it an opportunity for persons of different generations to spend time together, united by their love of sport and snooker in particular. Ken is the perfect ambassador for the endeavour. He loves his sport deeply and is a great communicator.
What does it mean? Here is the explanation by Jason himself:
While some amateurs may not be happy with this as they might feel that their chances to “qualify” for a big seniors event have been reduced, I feel that this is a major positive evolution for the Seniors tour. Let’s not kid ourselves … the Seniors tour, like any endeavour, can only survive if it is profitable. Marketing is of essence. This agreement allows Jason to invite very big names to the Seniors events, players who are still on the main tour, still in the top 16 even, the Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie. Players who put bums on seats. This greatly enhances the marketability of those events. They will attract more viewers, making the Seniors tour more “attractive” to sponsors and broadcasters. Eventually all seniors players will benefit from it.
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is delighted to announce a ground breaking new partnership with Sheffield Hallam University which will see students currently studying Sport Business Management get real time experience working on the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship.
The initiative was launched yesterday by WSS Chairman Jason Francis and Director Mike Dunn with opportunities offered for students to experience every aspect of producing, promoting, planning and executing a major sporting TV event.
WSS are offering placements alongside their industry professionals for students to experience how staging a major sporting event in the city at the iconic Crucible Theatre with a live television production team comes together.
Chairman of World Seniors Snooker Jason Francis said “World Seniors Snooker has entered into a long term partnership with Sheffield Council to make the World Seniors Snooker Championship an event to showcase everything that is great about the Steel City. A Sheffield event for Sheffield people which engages with their ‘Sheffield Loves Snooker’ campaign. The energy and enthusiasm we got from the students yesterday proved to me that they can play a real part in making this year’s Championship the best ever. The work with Sheffield Hallam is the latest initiative which will sit alongside our Business and Youth of Sheffield Days and the continuation of Seniors of Sheffield Day. I am really looking forward to working with, but also learning from, them.”
Dr Ruth M Crabtree, Head of the School of Sport & Physical Activity said “We are delighted to be collaborating with the World Seniors Snooker. When you think of Sheffield and sport, you instantly think of snooker and this partnership is a great opportunity for our students to gain real world experience of working on a major iconic sport event and learn from experienced professionals. At Sheffield Hallam, our mission is to be the world leading applied university, and we pride ourselves on working with major sport organisations within Sheffield, the region and globally. The collaboration will allow students to work within sport marketing, media, public relations and event management, gaining key skills needed within sport management, helping enhance their CV, increase their network, and gain valuable expertise. We believe we are sector leading in offering value added opportunities for our students and it is always great to them jump ay the chance to volunteer for such initiatives. I am extremely confident our students will learn a lot and also some innovative and creative ideas to Jason Fracnis and his team at World Seniors Snooker.”
Nathan Withey, a third year Sport Business Management Student, said “My time at Sheffield Hallam University has been filled with opportunities to improve my professionalism and to make sure I have experience when starting my career after graduation. What I’m most excited about for the World Senior Snooker Championship is the opportunity to gain valuable insight into how an event of this magnitude is created. What it takes to be involved, and the skills required to produce a sporting event which I can hopefully learn to harness though this opportunity. I am very much looking forward to working with the team and I am grateful for the opportunity.”
The World Seniors Snooker Championship starts on Wednesday 7 May and runs until Sunday 12 with snooker legends Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and Tony Drago confirmed alongside Seniors Champions from Pan-America, Pan-Asia, Europe and Africa and more. The event will be shown live and exclusively in the UK and Ireland on Channel 5.
Format Change Announced for 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship
World Seniors Snooker (WSS) is pleased to announce a change to the format of the 2025 World Seniors Snooker Championship which will take place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on 7-11 May.
All rounds up to and including the quarter-finals will now be the best-of-seven frames, while the semi-finals will now best best-of-11 frames and the final will be contested over the best-of-15 frames.
Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo made history for South America by winning the flagship title last May and he will open proceedings on the opening Wednesday afternoon. Jimmy ‘The Whirlwind’ White, a record four-time champion, and two-time runner-up Ken Doherty are both set to begin their campaigns on the afternoon of Thursday 8 May.
I can’t really comment on the first announcement other than stating the obvious: Seniors snooker is determined to stay in Sheffield and to get involved in various projects that will benefit the city, its inhabitants and the Seniors circuit. What’s not to like?
Regarding the second announcement … longer matches, yes, that’s good news to me. It’s also a sign that the seniors involved nowadays in the competition are better than those who played in the “early” instalments of the Seniors World Championship1. One of the reason the matches were so “short” is because the frames tended to be long. Some of the legends involved really struggled to make telling breaks and weren’t really physically fit. Frames tended to last rather long …
Don’t get me wrong: they had every right to be there, they gave it their all and the crowd gave them a very warm support. They promoted the event with all their might and heart. It wouldn’t exist without them and what they did to promote it.
But the event has evolved. The seniors who now compete in it are younger and much fitter. Therefore, it is now reasonable – and desirable – to lengthen the matches a bit. I’m sure that the fans won’t complain!
In his current form, under Jason Francis’ management. ↩︎
The former World Seniors Snooker Championship winner came through a field of 39 cueists to secure a second consecutive title and boost his hopes of earning a return to the Crucible Theatre in May.
The 49-year-old from Jersey began his weekend in the last 32 stage and he overcame Mark Vincent (4-1) and Steve Crowley (4-0) to reach the concluding day of action.
A whitewash win over former Super Seniors event winner Anthony Harris saw Canavan begin the Sunday in style and he made it back-to-back finals with a 4-1 victory over 51-year-old Nigel Howe.
In the title match he met Williams from Wales, who had reached his third final of the campaign with victories over former professionals Andrew Norman and Gerard Greene on the last day.
The opening three frames of the final saw a 79 break from Canavan countered by a 69 from Williams as the Welshman moved 2-1 ahead in the best-of-seven contest.
Canavan stepped up a gear from then on, however, as he took three straight frames to secure a 4-2 victory and his second title in a row.
PIPE WINS MAIDEN TITLE
Richard Pipe defeated John Hunter 2-0 at The Crucible Club in Reading to win the first Super Seniors title of his career.
The event is open to all cueists over the age of 55 and was held on Sunday alongside the main Race to the Crucible series event.
The 59-year-old Englishman did not drop a single frame across the day as he whitewashed Mark Thomas, David Brock and Andrew Barrett to reach the final.
Hunter, a winner of two events already this season, was his opponent in the title match but he proved no match for Pipe on this occasion as he ran out a 2-0 victor to win the title.
The final Race to the Crucible Series event will take place on 4-6 April at The Crucible Club in Reading, England.
The WPBSA World Seniors Tour 