Tim Dunkley...... World Snooker Coach and Reporter
This
week Tim Reports on the Southampton Social Clubs League... from
it's humble beginnings directly after the second world war, through to the
present day. 62 years of steady progress, reaching 160 snooker teams, 64 crib
teams, 64 darts teams 15 euchre teams during the 1980's, a massive job for the
Games Secretary of the time, the late Ted Richards who passed away in 1996 at
the age of 84. Ted held that position for 33 years.
Here is Tims report when he spoke to the current Games Secretary, Andy Brooke
Here's Andy 
holding
the aces
THE loss of more
than 40 of the region’s social clubs since the mid 1980s is a major concern to
officials of the Southampton & District Social Clubs League.
In
fact, games secretary Andrew Brooke has warned clubs that if they do not react
quickly some of their competitions could soon be run online.
The
43-year-old, who recently celebrated 21 years service on the committee, has now
been elected to head up the Wessex branch CIU games section.
He
was informed of the decision after completing a 15-hour coach journey back from
five days touring Germany playing clarinet with his league secretary brother
Malcolm in the Romsey Old Cadets Carnival Marching Band.
Brooke
said: “I am honoured and proud to have the opportunity to take over the reins.
“It
will be a hard act to follow the long term recreational secretary Mr Pat
Tarrant. He has been one of the last bastions, having given so much to club life
over the last 30-plus years”
Brooke
told the Daily Echo that in the
1982/83 season there were a staggering 160 snooker teams, 64 cribbage teams, 64
darts teams and a euchre league in the Southampton area.
“We
had the biggest snooker league in the country,” said the former Vosper
Thornycroft apprentice.
In
just two years darts lost two divisions as teams were lured away by
brewery-sponsored leagues.
“Drink and driving really hammered a few in that section,” explained Brooke.
“The
money killed the darts side off all together and it was a sad indictment of the
way that things have gone.
“We
lost euchre about five or six years ago.
“This
year, the [CIU] Wessex branch didn’t even run a pool competition. I find that
totally amazing.”
Brooke,
who lives in Shirley with wife Marian, is a keen member of the poker section
that he introduced two years ago.
“Cribbage
is one of my big loves but I love the poker now,” he said.
“The
gambling element is there from the point of view you can put your chips in but
you’re not gambling your personal finances and we don’t encourage that by
any means, I can assure you.
“You’re
getting more and more online tournaments and you could eventually end up having
leagues of online tournaments. That’s the way I can see it going.”
Ex-Service
A were the first recorded snooker champions in 1948/49 and P Holmes (Workman No
1) took the high-break trophy with a 49.
The
first half-century, 59, was scored by S MacDonald (Shirley Trans) nine years
later.
Chris
Holland (Warren Social), Town Champion a record 13 times, scored the first
century, 108, in 1980. But only one more, 106 from Tony Newton (Atherley
Bowling), was recorded before the millennium.
Since 2000 there have been 19 league and cups tons with the highest being 128 by Rory Lord (Eastleigh Railway).
This
season there are 87 teams split into six divisions.
Brooke
said: “The snooker section, yes, there are youngsters coming through albeit
that they’re moving into the Premier Division quite quickly because of their
talent.
“The
only problem I see with the youth these days is that they’re more attacking.
Their safety side is something that I would say is left to be desired,” he
laughed.
“I
can probably see within the next five years we may even get the first 147 but I
wouldn’t like to say where it’s going to come from.
“I
don’t know whether the game’s getting any easier. Certainly Chris Holland
never says that it’s getting any easier.
“Whereas
normally by Christmas it’s been a two or three-horse race, this season it
seems to be wide open.
“Totton
Rec, City Transport, Sarisbury, Churchills’ A and maybe Park Gate. They’re
all up there and having a cracking season.
“The
sad thing about it is not the demise so much of people playing snooker, because
there’s still a number out there, but it’s the demise of the clubs.
“Pirelli’s,
AC Delco, Hulse Road, Nat Power, the Echo
Social used to be a fantastic club.
“The
other big issue this year of course is the smoking ban.
“They’ve
got to move with the times. They’ve had to wake up and find a way to attract
clientelle back.”
earlier news from Tim
TIM DUNKLEY has passed the World Snooker Association’s coaching exams at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The two-day course - run by Del Hill, former coach to world champions Ronnie O’Sullivan and Graeme Dott - fulfilled a two-year dream for the 48-year-old from Bursledon.
Dunkley, father of Southampton’s top junior Alex, said: “It was a fascinating couple of days. Del Hill is a legend and I hung off his every word. Some of his ideas are revolutionary but the modern game has moved on a lot.
“Since 2005 I have been trying to get on a coaching course, but the EASB (English Association of Snooker and Billiards) have had a few personnel changes and their coaching scheme never kicked off.”
“I was getting more and more frustrated so I applied to World Snooker (the commercial arm of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.)”
WPBSA director and world No 53 Mike Dunn, who set up the course, accepted Dunkley after a reference from Chandler’s Ford SC boss Jim Everett.
“It cost a lot of money but Jim (Everett) covered half, which says a lot about his faith in me,” added Dunkley.
“I have been involved in the junior game since Alex started in 2000 and I think it’s fair to say that the standard in this region is the highest it has ever been.”
Married with two children, Dunkley is a material controller at company Eaton (aerospace) in Titchfield.
He works with youngsters, aged eight upwards, at Chandler’s Ford’s Saturday morning sessions and runs the afternoon Under-21 Roll-Up.
Dunkley said: “Some of the young lads coming through at the moment are among the best in the country. These are exciting times to be involved in snooker.”
For details about junior competitions and coaching for all standards; contact Jim Everett on 023 8025 4834.