Britain: An official handbook > 1993

BRITAIN 1993: AN OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
Sailing
Sailing has always been popular in Britain,
and the Royal Yachting Association, the
governing body for the sport, has about
70,000 members and 1,500 clubs and classes.
Sailing in dinghies, motor yachts,
windsurfers, powerboats and cruisers takes
place at clubs throughout Britain. At the 1992
Olympics Robert Cruikshank, Lawrence
Smith and Simon Stewart won a bronze
medal in the soling class.
Skiing
Skiing takes place in Scotland from
December to May and also at several English
locations when there is sufficient snow. The
five established winter sports areas in
Scotland are Cairngorm, Glencoe, Glenshee,
the Lecht and Aonach Mor, all of which have
a full range of ski-lifts, prepared ski runs and
professional instructors.
There are over 150 artificial or dry ski-
slopes located throughout Great Britain,
which are in regular use. They are used
extensively by clubs and schools as well as by
skiers preparing for a holiday; over a third of
British skiers learned to ski on these dry ski
slopes. Britain has nearly 300 ski clubs, with
a membership of over 50,000. It is estimated
that L5 million people take part in the sport.
The governing body of the sport is the
British Ski Federation, and there are separate
national councils for England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
Snooker and Billiards
The character of the present game of
billiards was established in Britain at the end
of the seventeenth century. Snooker, a more
varied game invented by the British in India
in 1875, has greatly increased in popularity
and become a major spectator sport as a
result of heavy television coverage of the
professional tournaments. It is estimated that
between 7 and 8 million people now play the
game. British players have an outstanding
record in snooker and have dominated the
major professional championships. The main
tournament is the annual Embassy World
Professional Championship, held in
Sheffield. In 1992 Stephen Hendry was
world champion, for the second time. Other
British winners since 1980 have been Steve
Davis (on six occasions), John Parrott, Joe
Johnson, Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins.
Mike Russell won the World Professional
Billiards Championship in 1991.
The controlling body for the non¬
professional game is the Billiards and
Snooker Control Council, which holds the
copyright of the rules. The World
Professional Billiards and Snooker
Association is responsible for professional
players, and organises professional events.
A growing number of women play
snooker and billiards. Their representative
body is the World Ladies Billiards and
Snooker Association, with around 250
members. A women’s world snooker
championship is played every year in
London, being won in 1991 for the fifth
time by Allison Fisher. The World Masters
event, staged in Birmingham, embraces
men’s and women’s singles and doubles as
well as mixed doubles. The Embassy World
Professional Championship was opened to
women in 1992.
Squash Rackets
Squash rackets originated at Harrow School
in the 1850s. Separate governing bodies are
responsible for the sport in England, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland. The governing body
in England is the Squash Rackets
Association, formed in 1989.
Squash enjoyed a period of very rapid
growth during the 1970s and remains a
popular sport. There are 9,100 squash
courts in England, and the estimated
number of players in Britain is 2 4 million.
The main tournament is the British Open
Championship.
Sub-Aqua
Underwater activities include wreck and reef
exploration, underwater photography,
marine life study and nautical archaeology.
The British Sub-Aqua Club is the
governing body for all underwater
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