An interesting twist today in the story of the newly formed Snooker Players’ Association as correspondence between the body and the WPBSA has found its way onto The Snooker Forum…
To view the thread in its entirely, registered members over at TSF can click here. Note that links to both a letter from the SPA and the WPBSA’s response can be found in the second post of the thread.
To summarise, Pat Mooney on behalf of the SPA appears to have contacted the WPBSA with a view to organising a meeting to discuss issues such as the snooker calendar and the process of awarding an event ranking event status. Elaine Eyers on behalf of the EPBSA however has replied stating that there is no need for any such meeting due to the fact that the 96 professional players already have an Association in the form of the WPBSA.
Whether the formation of the SPA is a positive development for snooker or not appears to be quite a talking point among snooker fans and insiders alike at the moment. For some it is just what snooker needs, a means of allowing the players to get involved and work with the WPBSA for the benefit of the sport as a whole. Others however are not so sold on the idea and believe that the current structure offers ample opportunity for the players to voice their opinion.
Either way however, with the likes of Steve Davis, John Higgins, Stephen Hendry, Shaun Murphy and reportedly Ronnie O’Sullivan giving their backing to the organisation, the SPA clearly carries a degree of influence and it will be interesting to see what their next move will be…