Over the course of the last five years snooker has seen rapid growth, not only of the main tour, but also in grassroots participation and its appeal globally.
Followers of all cue sports will likely be familiar with the sight of Jason at presentations around the world, but what exactly does his role involved and what is the remit of the WPBSA as a whole?
The short answer is that the WPBSA operates as the governing body for both snooker and billiards worldwide. Its stated aims include to promote, encourage and popularise both games generally, objectives that have in part been achieved on a practical level through the introduction of a number of important initiatives in recent years.
While that might sound simple, on further inspection it soon becomes clear just how many aspects there are to its work, including but not limited to the following.
The WPBSA now has an established coaching programme, led by head of coaching Chris Lovell and supported by player director Steve Davis, as well as Andrew Highfield and Chris Motley.
The programme offers the opportunity to attain three levels of snooker coaching accreditation, with courses held on various dates each year.
In 2013, the WPBSA also introduced the Cue Zone into Schools, with the aim of taking the game into schools to encourage involvement in snooker from an early age.
Utilising six-foot snooker tables, with senior staff members being trained as WPBSA World Snooker Coaches, the concept is specifically designed to encourage involvement in snooker before and after school and during lunch breaks, as well as during English, Maths and sports lessons using Functional Snooker.
Of course, the B in the WPBSA stands for billiards and the body has also played a key role in the development of what is now a healthy English Billiards tour, through its subsidiary company World Billiards Limited, chaired by former referee Alan Chamberlain.
Only last weekend we saw the staging of the 2015 LITEtask UK Open, won by Roxton Chapman from a field of over 60 entrants, while further afield events have been held in Canada and New Zealand.
The role of the WPBSA is not only limited to encouraging participation and the development of the sport, but it also functions as the body responsible for the sporting rules and regulations of the game.
As well as his duties with World Billiards Limited, playing a key part in this role is WPBSA director Alan Chamberlain, who also chairs the Official Rules of Snooker/Technical Committee.
In addition to managing the rules of the game, the WPBSA continues to play a key role in maintaining the integrity of the sport.
Working with other bodies such the Gambling Commission within the UK and through its partnership with the International Centre for Sports Security (“ICSS”), the WPBSA adopts a zero tolerance approach to corruption that can only benefit of the sport as a whole.
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