RATINGEN - Dutchman Bennie Deegens was elected chairman of the CEB this afternoon, in Ratingen, Germany. The new chairman was chosen by a majority of the votes (46 against 5), and until the general assemblee in Italy next year, he will act as successor to Wolfgang Rittmannn, who passed away earlier this year. Bennie Deegens is a household name in the world of billiards, he was vice-chairman of the CEB as of last year, and he is the chairman of the 3-cushion section of the Dutch federation, the KNBB. He is also the team captain of the successful Etiikon team, five time winners of the Europa Cup for classic disciplines. The Dutchman has organized many billiard tournaments in his career.
His election win did not come as a surprise for Deegens: he was the only candidate for the job. ,,I am happy with it though, and I am eager to get on with the plans we have, as European Confederation'', he says. ,,The main point of focus is the European Championship in Brandenburg next year. We will start with the preparations for this mega-event as soon as possible.''
Twelve of the 26 member federations were present at the CEB meeting in Ratingen, where the Polish federation was welcomed as a new member.
The appointment committee for the CEB chairman had Farouk Barki, UMB president, and Marcin Geninski from Poland as members. Deegens: ,,I thanked those present for their vote of confidence, and said it will be a hard task to fill the shoes of an iconic figure like Wolfgang Rittmann. But we have faith in the future, and we are going to need all the help from the national federations we can get.''
According to Deegens, the European multidiscipline Championships will get the most attention in the upcoming year. ,,We also feel, as does the UMB, that we need to bring billiards back into the living room, via internet and tv. We must invest in that, not just in plans, also in hard cash. I am positive that it will bring sponsors back to the sport.''
In addition to that, the artistic discipline will soon be the subject of a major re-evaluation. Deegens: ,,This discipline is in bad need of an update. The current rules, with ten positions, three attempts (a possible 30 attempts per player), is quite outdated. Artistic billiards should be more of a show, like choreographed skating, which has mandatory elements but also a free demonstration devised by the players. We need to come up with something like that, as far as I am concerned, it could be trickshots judged by a jury. It should be attractive, spectacular even.''
The CEB has formed a committee to study that. It is chaired by Santos Chocron as project manager, Bennie Deegens, Jean Pierre Guiraud, Robert Immerfall and the Turkish federation president Ersan Ercan, a former artistic player himself.
During the meeting in Ratingen, Gabrio Volante from Italy and Diane Wild from Switzerland were elected as vice-chairpersons of the CEB.