Information.Snooker
Snooker Information  

  

The game of billiards dates back to the 15th century but Snooker is a more recent invention
Snooker championships date back to 1916
In 1927, Joe Davis helped establish the first professional world championship, and won its prize of £6.10s(£6.50, equivalent to about £200)
In 1985, 18.5 million people (one third of the population of the UK) watching BBC2 saw Dennis Taylor win after a mammoth struggle against Steve Davis that finished with the potting of the last possible ball (with the exception of a re-spotted black), well after midnight on a Sunday night.
Snooker remains extremely popular in the UK, and popularity is growing in the Asian continents.
1. The Cue

  • Used to strike the object ball, cue ball or 'White'.
  • The tip of the cue is brushed with chalk to make better contact with the cue ball.
  • Cue sizes may vary depending on the player.
  • The cue shaft is commonly make from ash with inlays of other woods.
2. Table

  • Standard matchplay size is 12' × 6', about 1.83m by 3.66m.
3. Chalk

  • Comes in various types, Green or Blue.
  • The chalk is necessary to allow the players cuetip to not slip when striking the cue ball.
4. Cloth

  • Snooker table cloth is usually made from 100% pure new wool.
  • Cloth can come in differnet thickness and naps.
  • The nap, is the direction the cloth runs, the balls movement over the table will be affected by the nap.
  • Cloth thickness affect the speed of the balls, usually thicker means slower.
5. Balls
  • In a standard game of snooker there are 15 reds, 6 colours consisting of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black.
  • Also don't forget the white ( known as the cue ball) making a total of 22.
  • Originally snooker balls have been made from heavy ivory.
  • Around the 1940s, they were replaced by lighter Crystalate balls ( made from the crushed shin bones of cows ).
  • Subsequently to this they were replaced by Super Crystalate balls made from entirely Synthetic material.
  • Currently balls are known as Aramith, which are also completely synthetic.
6. List of standard Snooker equipment.

    Extension:
    Allows a players cue to become longer.
    Rest:
    An X-headed shaft used to allow players to reach a shot
    Spider:
    Similar to rest but has an ached shaped head.
    Triangle or Rack:
    Used to gather the red balls in the initial layout before the game begins.
    Ball Marker:
    USed by the referee to mark the position of the ball on the table whislt it is being cleaned.