147 Club Turns Five!

The English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB) is thrilled to be celebrating the five-year anniversary of its national club support scheme – the 147 Club!

The initiative was launched by the national governing body for snooker and billiards in England at the UK Championship in 2017 and has since grown to become a substantial network of high-quality snooker clubs across England.

Earlier this year the scheme celebrated its 100^th club joining up.  Members represent a wide variety of clubs who have joined to take advantage of a significant range of superb benefits on offer, including:

• A supply partner initiative to enable clubs to identify excellent goods and services, save on costs and access exclusive deals
• The chance to host events as part of the EPSB calendar including national championships, tours and its Open Series or via partner competitions, such as WPBSA Q Tour, World Women’s Snooker or World Disability Billiards and Snooker
• Free access to sophisticated tournament software for running club events
• A club profile on the WPBSA Club Finder – now a worldwide database of places to play snooker
• Support to grow club memberships through governing body backing, linking to local area sports development networks and community organisations
• Policies and practices to demonstrate a well-run, safe and modern club, open to the whole community
• The opportunity to access funding and guidance to develop junior snooker, supported by Sport England
• Advice, support and protocols during the national lockdowns and subsequent re-openings, and the chance to join a club owners’ and managers’ forum to share good practice.

Among the many venues enjoying the benefits of the scheme is the Stratford Sports Club, a huge community hub in the Midlands, supporting seven different sports, with snooker very much at the forefront of its offer.

Junior snooker is an area of the game the club has focused on, linking in to EPSB programmes. Following a successful EPSB summer holiday club during 2021, through which the club gained 14 new junior players, Stratford is now running two weekly sessions for juniors.

The club’s management have really bought in to the expansion of its snooker activities, revitalising the cue sports offer and welcoming new players of different ages, abilities and backgrounds.

Stratford has also made use of the 147 Club’s supply partner scheme to support its hospitality provision through a contract with Leisure Power Purchasing.

Another club to come on board is Potters, based in South Derbyshire.

A trio of long-time friends and business partners, including professional player David Gilbert, has overseen a significant refurbishment of the club.

New lighting, a complete re-fit of its 10 snooker tables and the addition of a Xing Pai & Riley Aristocrat table mean that the facilities have been brought up to a superb standard.

Moreover, the whole venue has been re-painted, re-branded and is full of snooker memorabilia, giving it both a modern and authentic feel for an environment perfect for enjoying the sport.

Join the 147 Club

The EPSB continues to welcome new venues to the 147 Club with information and registration details available at our website.