12 yr old Joe Shannon from Longford won the first Snooker & Billiards Ireland (SBI) Under 18 ranking event of the season on Saturday 7th of October in the SBI Academy of Excellence in Carlow.
The two top seeds for this event were number 1 Joe Shannon and No.2 seed David Farrelly. We had players from Longford, Galway, Newbridge, Limerick, Dublin, Cork and Meath playing in this first SBI ranking event of the season.
TD on the day was our National Coach PJ Nolan and he was very impressed with the talent on show and he encouraged all players to keep on training hard and if they can play in the SBI Challenge, Intermediate and Amateur events this season for experience.
- Early Rounds
In the early rounds Ronan McGuirk came back from 2nil down against Max Kennedy to win. Joe Shannon had a good win over Lorcán Ó Curraoin, Aaron Donnelly played good to beat Davy Hickey and Jack O Brien beat Robert Riordan.
- Semi Finals
In the Semi Finals we had two excellent matches with Joe Shannon beating Aaron Donnelly 3-1 in a very close match and Jack O Brien and Ronan McGuirk played another brilliant match with Ronan coming out a 3-2 winner.
- The final
The final featured the Current U-18 National Champion Ronan and the Former U-12 National Champion Joe. Both players played attacking snooker and with confidence in the final which was refereed by International Referee Conor Doyle.
In the final Joe won the opening frame with a string of good potting and in frame 2 he continued in the same way to go 2-0 up and one frame away from the title. In frame 3 Joe got a lead of 31-3 and kept ahead of Ronan to win in style 3-0. Well done Joe !!!
- Thank You
SBI would like to thank all the players and parents for attending the event. We hope everyone enjoyed the great day of Junior Snooker. Players should be aware that entries are now open for Event 2 through the on line system and you have to enter before the closing date.
- Event 2: U-18 Tour – SBI HQ Carlow – 5TH NOVEMBER
You can now enter and pay for all the events for the season at the same time by choosing which events you want to enter.
Five ranking events are planned and this is followed with a National Championship. The Current U-18 National Champion is Ronan McGuirk from R&R who won the title in 2023.
Under-18 DATES & VENUES – click here to ENTER
- Event 1: U-18 Tour – SBI HQ Carlow – 7TH OCTOBER – WINNER JOE SHANNON
- Event 2: U-18 Tour – SBI HQ Carlow – 5TH NOVEMBER
- Event 3: U-18 Tour – SBI HQ Carlow – 2ND DECEMBER
CUTT OFF DATE FOR 2024 EBSA U-18 CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Event 4: U-18 Tour – SBI HQ Carlow – 6TH JANUARY 2024
- Event 5: U-18 Tour – SBI HQ Carlow – 23RD MARCH 2024
- National Under 18 Championships: – SBI HQ Carlow – 5TH MAY 2024
CUTT OFF DATE FOR 2024 IBSF U-18 CHAMPIONSHIPS & HOME INTERNATIONALS
U-18’s: a player who’s 18th birthday is on or before 31st August 2024 will not be able to enter the SBI under 18s events in the 2023 /24 season.
Important Notice for Junior players
Snooker & Billiards Ireland SBI were recently notified by EBSA of their intention to move the age qualification date for all junior events effective from next (2023-2024) season. This decision was subsequently adopted by IBSF meaning that we will have to accept this change and move to different qualification windows for all international junior events.
For the forthcoming season, instead of the player age at 31/12/23 being the age qualification cut-off date, both EBSA & IBSF have now moved this to (31/08/24), 2024 being the year that their relevant events are being held.
Please contact SBI on info@sbireland.ie , if you have questions or need help understanding the impact for you based on your date of birth.
REGARDING RANKINGS – IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT PLAYERS ONLY USE ONE EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE SYSTEM AS THE RANKINGS ARE AUTOMATICALY DONE THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND WILL NOT WORK IF YOU USE TWO EMAILS
CONTACT info@sbireland.ie if you are having problems to enter or register
Enter Via – On-Line Payment System
Players will have to first pay SBI registration / membership or Renewal their membership and register for the new season. When you register, you will be asked to create a username and password. You will only be allowed to enter an event if log in and use this username and password.
You can reset your own password and there is also a support form on the system for members to complete and I.T. will follow up to resolve any major issues.
Closing Dates
The closing date for all SBI events will 1pm on the Thursday before the event. The Draw will be done automatically on the system with match times and displayed on the web site.
Tournament Entry Fees
The cost of entry will be the following:
- Under 18 Events – €10.00
All players will need to register for the new season. SBI Registration runs from September to September each season.
SBI Registration
- Under 18’s – €16.00
- One Day/Event – €10.00
Only SBI members can access the online system and enter to play in SBI tournaments but one-day registration is available at €10.00 if you are not already a SBI members, remember this expires 24hrs after the event.
Format
- All matches are the best of 5 frames
Dress Code
- SBI POLO SHIRTS ARE ALLOWED
- Dark Shoes (no runners)
- Dark one coloured trousers (no jeans)
- One coloured shirt buttoned at the wrist
- Waistcoats must be worn for all matches in National Championships.
- National Waistcoats are not permissible
- Bowties are also required for the SBI Championships for all matches.
