Carom
The year 2010 comes almost to an end, we are entering a new year with a lot of new challenges. Daniel Sánchez is the new world champion in three-cushion, Dick Jaspers won the World Cup and everyone who is involved with billiard is looking forward to a new season.
Kozoom asked Jean Claude Dupont, the president of the UMB, to look back on the year in which he was re-elected at the congress in Madrid, where people from the federations and confederations talked about the future of billiard. And of course: mr. Dupont also takes a step in the next year.
Six questions to answer for the president.
1 What were your highlights of the year?
Jean Claude Dupont: ,,The World championship in Sluiskil undoubtedly was the highlight of the year. Regarding the organization, the level of the sport and the media coverage, we have witnessed an example of how our sport should be brought in the future. I don't want it to be misunderstood: we have experienced many wonderful organizations in the past, but in Sluiskil it all came together into a magnificent entirety. I am convinced that every organization of an international competition is held under specific local conditions. I am aware that the external circumstances are not always ideal to achieve such a result, but this World championship certainly has proved that such an organization can guarantee a great future of our sport.''
,,I must admit, of course, that my re-election as president in the UMB is a personal highlight. For me it is a confirmation that the members consider that the policy of our team was pretty good. Nevertheless, I consider this election as a real challenge: it is not enough to simply continue our policy. The UMB finally is in a more or less independent position in a non-conflict period, in which more and more fires must been extinguished. The time has come now for a genuine policy with a medium-term vision.''
2 How do you look back in general at the year of 2010?
JC Dupont: ,,I look back with mixed feelings. It has been a year of contrasts. On the positive side I see a continuing and astonishing progress, not only for the top players but also for many players who are just below the top class. Very positive also is the trend started earlier, that our sport is growing truly to a global sport, at the top and in width. The year of 2010 was also the year in which billiards in the broadest sense and tree cushions in particular was taken in a better and more professional position on the International Sports forum. We can say that we are in such areas of anti-doping policy that many other international sports federation envy us. We have our structures and organizations must adapt in function of this problem. But it can also be said that the players themselves have played an important role and I wish to emphasize that they have shown a great form of professionalism.’’
,,Less positive are sometimes the regional states. Some federations have organizational and/or financial problems. The general economic situation undoubtedly has something to do with that. Billiard is simply a sport that depends not only sponsoring, but also public support. And in a period where everyone has to deliver up, it is clear that states, counties and cities look carefully before they commit themselves to sporting events and support. I hope that we all can start climbing slowly from the valley and will face better times.’’
3 As in the congress in Madrid we could hear from all participants, is that billiard must promote himself more and more on TV and Internet. What did you attempt with the UMB so far to start that development?
JC Dupont: ,,We must recognize that some federations do have not only problems for the future, although in some regions it is getting better and sometimes even excellent with our billiard sport (Korea, South America). But we should all come together to think and act to give our sport a new impetus and access to populations that are currently hardly reached, as youth, women and even the 'third' age. The Congress of Madrid clearly demonstrated this. And if there was one case on which there was a great unanimity, it was the need to profile the three cushion on TV and on the Internet. The mentor of the Congress, ‘Mister hundred’ Raymond Ceulemans, was the first to emphasize that and it is of course extremely important that he mainly is willing to insert his fame and expertise at the service of UMB to do something with the TV problem. Together we must work on it in the following months.’’
,,Regarding the Internet, it should be clear that we can not afford to miss the boat. It is five minutes to twelve now and I think we have embarked on the right track with the cooperation between UMB and Kozoom. You can have a great debate about the weight that each media channel in the future in general and for the billiards sport in particular can have. It is my personal conviction that the Internet will be the medium where we have to focus in the first instance. It is global, cheap and gives us opportunities for interactivity. Our sport lends itself extremely well to this medium.’’
4 What can you say about 2011, what’s going to happen to sporting matters, you have organizations for all tournaments? Are you satisfied about the calendar so far?
JC Dupont: ,,From the UMB position our plans should not only confined to sporting matters. We have an election behind us, now we have composed a team with a mixture of ‘new blood’ and some experienced people. The bar has been layed very high. On the administrative and organizational level this is a very important year. We’re going to open a new web portal, that not only will be more more dynamic in appearance, but also will allow us a real direct communication between UMB, confederations, federations, players and all who are somewhat interested in our sport. The Congress of Madrid has confirmed what we obviously already knew. We urgently need to work on a new policy to make our sport more attractive. This should primarily be done at the local level: clubs, municipalities, districts and federations have a primordial role to play, but the Congress also has specifically requested that the UMB would play an active role of coordination. This will be set up in 2011.’’
,,Finally, last but not least, the sports section: the year of 2011 will be a record year of international events across the world. The World championship in three cushion will take place in Lima (Peru) during the month of July. In October, the World championship for Juniors will be played in Guatemala and in September the World championship in 5-Pins takes place in Argentina.’’
,,In Europe we have the traditional World championship for teams in Viersen (Germany), the World championship Artistic will be organized in Florange (France).’’
,,As things are today, we will present a World Cup cycle in 2011 which is very intense and unprecedented. Soon it starts in Trabzon (Turkey). Finally back in April there is a World Cup in Las Vegas (I think many of us will be there to look). If everything goes as foreseen today, one month later, the players go to Mexico to make the World Cup in Puerta Villa and one month later we expect to play the traditional World Cup in Porto.’’
,,If everything is what we think, we get a World Cup at the end of the summer in in South Korea and late September everybody looks forward to the new World Cup of Vienna (Austria). Finally, the circuit will be closed with the already very traditional World Cup Hurghada. Not everything is for a hundred percents fixed, but I have very good reasons to believe that this calendar will be definitive.’’
5 What is your greatest wish for 2011 in the matter of sports?
JC Dupont: ,,On purely physical level, I can only wish that every player will be able to perform in ever better conditions, coupled with a proper financial reward for the best and a decent fee for all players who are committed to the step to the highest level to achieve. I have no preference for one or another player, I watch out as an objective, but nevertheless very interested spectator to the clash which increasingly occurs at every international competition between the experienced top players and the coming young athletes in the competition between the ‘European establishment’ and the non-European players.
The question is not so much who wins, the enjoyment and the interesting thing is that the outcome is no longer predictable. And I still have a sporty wish, but I don’t think that it will be realized in 2011. But in any case, next year is the year to work on it: a World championship for teams in all the billiard disciplines together: carom, three cushion, pool and snooker.’’
6 There has been a lot of commotion about the case of Marco Zanetti, his sentence for life, the penalty after his behaviour in Suwon. What is your opinion in this affair, how do you see it for the near future?
JC Dupont: ,,The behaviour of Marco Zanetti in the World Cup in Suwon was despicable at that time, to the organizer, his opponent, the spectators and the UMB representative. He has admitted those facts. In accordance with that behaviour there is used a procedure and the UMB came to a penalty. Contrary to his assertion, we certainly have consulted him before the sentence was definitely pronounced. During the conversation between the UMB and Zanetti we have told him he still had the opportunity to appeal against the sentence. He refused it. We had, at that time, hoped that he would admit not only the facts, but also would show some form of regret. He didn’t want, for a principled reason, he said. So it was like that.’’
,,I have noted with some surprise, that he not only reproach the UMB to be a 'far from reality sanctioning machine’, but he also criticizes his teammates and blame them for non-collegial attitude.’’
,,Firstly, the UMB is has handed down a penalty in the case with Marco Zanetti for the second time since thirteen years (the period that I was the president). The first being a WADA-related problem we could not avoid. This fact not only speaks for the thoughtfulness with which UMB uses sanctions, but perhaps even more for the undeniably correct way players behave themselves. In this respect, one can safely say that top players in billiard are the most disciplined athletes in the world.’’
,,Regarding the second fact he is also quite wrong. I and my colleagues are often approached by other top players, who wanted speak about his case, not so much about the facts (because nobody in billiard denies it anymore), but more about the sentence itself. It can be discussed, if it must be a penalty for life, but it should be clear that the decision at that time was indeed considered very carefully. A reversal of this decision certainly is not obvious. The facts are what they are. I leave it to the person himself to decide how to deal with this sentence and especially his attitude toward the public, the organizers, his colleagues and the officials.’’