Here is a useful piece of advice for surviving in Britain: never refer to snooker as the slightly dorky cousin of pool.
For fans of the game of snooker, pool seems brash and ill-formed, lacking the complexity and poise that characterize snooker competitions. During the latter half of the 19th century, the British Army created snooker by creating deviations upon the rules of billiards. With a larger table, smaller pockets and smaller balls, snooker requires a degree of skill that would seem out of place in the back corner of bars.
This was a lesson I certainly learned after a round of being thoroughly (and fairly humiliatingly) whipped by a member of my host family while staying in London during an exchange program.
Perhaps I had simply been displaying the ignorance of youth; within Sydney, there are a number of snooker halls that profess an appropriate level of respect for the traditions involved in a game of snooker.
For most clubs, including
Gladesville Bowling and Sports Club,
Cronulla RSL, and
Castle Hill RSL Club, snooker is just one of the activities that are offered.
Nonetheless, some clubs, such as
the Illawarra Billiards and Snooker Association and
the Northern Beaches Snooker and Billiards Association, are specifically designed to cater for all your snooker (and billiards) needs. By joining these clubs, it is possible to take part in a range of competitions.
Whether you choose the RSL route or join an association, one thing is for sure: you'll soon learn to tell the difference between pool and snooker.
