Billiards attracting more women to competitive play

More women are playing cue sportsand they are starting at an earlier age.Thatshift is noticeable at the CanadianBilliard and Snooker Association8-ball and 9-ball amateur and junior championships.

The tournamentgets underway on Wednesday in Saint John.

"If you go back two or three years, there weren't that many women playing," said Rob Connolly, owner of Fairville Shooters, host of the championships.

"Right now, we have leagues and anything we have going, we have 33 per cent women so that shows that women are starting to play a lot more pool," Connolly said.

Valerie Bell, 59, has been participating in the tournament for the past 10years.

Bell said for the longest time, the age rangefor women players was between 40 and60, but now there are some younger players, ranging from19 to 25-years-old.

This is the third year the championships have been held in Saint John. Previously they were held in Ontario and Quebec.

"In Ontario there is a lot of heavier competition. So it was little more tense, little more pressure, not knowing the level of girls you were playing," Bell said.

"Here, a lot of the girls we know, we have been playing against each other for a few years. Really good friendships have developed over the years, so it's just a whole different mindset," she said.

Connolly says the popularity of the game has its ups and downs, although currently it's very popular.

"I'll have 100 or 150 spectators coming during the day and, along with the players, it's very busy here," he said.

The tournament will run untilSunday and offers $25,000 inprize money.