8/31/05

TO: 

ALL BILLIARD MEDIA & LEAGUE MEMBERS

FROM:

AMERICAN CUESPORTS ALLIANCE

CONTACT:

JOHN LEWIS

EMAIL:

[email protected]

TELEPHONE:

920-662-1705

In 1998 the World Confederation of Billiard Sports (WCBS) gained permanent membership status to the International Olympic Committee, thereby certifying its role as the international governing body for all cue sports. The WCBS structure is directly supported by the world governing bodies of each of the three prominent disciplines played internationally – pool, carom billiards and snooker. The WCBS recognizes the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) as the world governing body for pool, the Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB) as the world governing body for carom billiards, and the International Billiard & Snooker Federation (IBSF) as the world governing body for amateur snooker. Under the IOC-recognized WCBS umbrella, all bodies within the international and national structures of cue sports must be incorporated as non-profit entities in order to gain recognition as the sole governing body for a discipline or disciplines within their region.

In North America, the board of directors of the American CueSports Alliance (ACS) have recently approved the release of "statements of recognition" for the various national governing bodies within the United States and Canada. The ACS joins the IBSF in recognizing the United States Snooker Association (USSA) as the governing body for snooker within the United States. The ACS joins the UMB in recognizing the United States Billiard Association (USBA) as the governing body for carom billiards within the United States. The ACS joins the IBSF and the Canadian Olympic Association (COA) in recognizing the Canadian Billiard and Snooker Association (CBSA) as the governing body for all cue sports within Canada. And the ACS joins CBSA in recognizing the Canadian Cue Sport Association (CCS) as the official sanctioning body for amateur pool league play and related championships within Canada.

Each of these organizations serve directorships on the board of directors of the American CueSports Alliance for the purpose of better coordinating their efforts in the promotion of cue sports within North America and of affiliating with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) within a 2-3 year timetable.

Further news on ACS activity is available at www.americancuesports.org