presentation of the All England Bar Billiards Association at the SETS conference in Amsterdam.

1. Good Evening, my name is Chris Saville, I am an Associate Officer of the national committee of the All England Bar
Billiards Association, which I am here to represent.
1. Short description of the traditional sport(s) or game(s) your association represents.
a. <SLIDE 01> Cue games with balls on tables have been played for several centuries, <SLIDE 02>
bagatelle can be traced back to the eighteenth century and earlier. Skittles were added to
tables, some of which were fixed and games such as Bumper Pool <SLIDE 03> and Billard Russe
<SLIDE 04>. Billard Russe needed much less space than normal billiards as the game is played
from one end of the table only. Billard Russe is where the English game of Bar billiards
originates from. <SLIDE 05> On its journey to England an extra hole was added from the Belgian
version and the size changed slightly, but nobody seems to know why. Tables the same
dimensions of Billard Russe also exist in England but also have the extra hole.
b. BAR Billiards is a timed game that gets its name from the bar that drops and traps the balls at
the end of the playing time. The table has a number of holes in the playing surface rather than
around the edges as in pool and snooker. There are obstacles on the table in the form of
skittles that must not be knocked over. Points are scored by potting balls down the holes.
<SLIDE 06> Knocking over a white skittle and you lose your most recent score, knock over the
dreaded black skittle and you lose everything!
c. In 1934 A table maker started mass producing tables and pubs saw their benefit, leagues
sprang up in several counties in the South East. At its height in the 1960’s there were over 2500
tables rented out by one of the larger companies alone. Sadly since then Bar Billiards and the
pub industry have lost popularity and there are fewer than 10% of those public tables left.
<SLIDE 07> There are still plenty to be found as this map of South East England shows. White
skittles are league tables, black non league. Competitions are still held on a local, county and
national level <SLIDE 08> as this slide of preparations for our National pairs Championship
shows when we take over one of the largest hotels in Bournemouth. One of the great appeals
of our game is that people of all ages can take part on a social or competitive basis.
2. Goal of your association
i. Our Association governs most of the counties in South Eastern England <SLIDE 09>.
ii. <SLIDE 10> The aims of the Association are to promote and encourage the playing of Bar
Billiards throughout the United Kingdom and particularly by the Organisation of Inter County
competition.
iii. <SLIDE 11> Maintaining a public profile via the British Bar Billiards Forum. We believe
communication is vital and our internet presence has led to contact with playing areas and
interested people we did not know existed.
3. The activities of your association
i. Pyramid Structure of the national association governing Counties who in turn govern leagues.
ii. Competitions include a County Championship; a Ladies County Championship; an Individual
Championship; a Ladies Individual Championship; a Pub Team Championship; an Over 50's
and Over 60's and Under 25’s championships, Alternative Rules and an end of season Grand
Prix Masters.
iii. The main table rental company who sponsored our association folded a few years ago and we
have had to broaden our activities into buying and maintaining a set of competition Tables
for our regional competitions and a Van to transport them. That has involved a lot of fund
raising and committing all of our financial resources, especially sourcing a newer large van
earlier this year.
iv. Giving help and advice on tables and their maintenance to anyone who asks as traditional
tables are all over fifty years old.
v. But our main aim through our website and forum is communication and doing what we can
to keep our fine old game going.
That is a short description of Bar Billiards and The All England Bar Billiards Association that governs our traditional sport.