The end of July saw the first ever National Snooker Week (NSW) and, judging by the influx of new members at Rileys Sports Bars, it’s being hailed a great success…
Over 2,500 people took advantage of the free snooker on offer at Rileys during NSW, with many new members being introduced to the sport, particularly youngsters.
Maurice Kelly, CEO of Rileys, says: “The aim of National Snooker Week was to do exactly what it did; bring new people into the sport! We were delighted with the impact it had, we had a lot more people playing than we expected and it’s great to see new faces coming into the clubs.”
National Snooker Week ran 25 – 29 July and, in addition to the free snooker & free memberships, there were various events and activities going on at each of the Rileys clubs across the UK, including mini tournaments, competitions and chances to win tickets for events.
Maurice adds: “Barry Hearn and World Snooker have revolutionised snooker; with the surge of new tournaments there’s a lot of prize money up for grabs for the professional snooker player now, and the good news is that anyone can play.”
Professional snooker coaches were provided by World Snooker to be on hand at many of the Rileys venues, and they also offered the chance to win tickets to major World Snooker tournaments.
Snooker legends Steve Davis and Jimmy White gave up their time to visit their respective local Rileys during the week, much to the delight of the customers who were in there playing at the time. They chatted to the fans, gave a masterclass in snooker and people had the chance to play a frame against them.
World Snooker’s Barry Hearn said: “This was a first for National Snooker Week and the results were great – over 2,500 people playing snooker during the week was amazing, especially as it was a good weather week! Big thanks to Rileys for supporting the cause with free snooker and free membership – and having air conditioning in their venues! And thanks also to Steve Davis and Jimmy White for giving up their time and turning up for the kids and fans. We’ve created something now that we can build on, and we can look forward to bigger and better things for National Snooker Week next year!”