Carom
VUGHT - Don't we all agree that billiards has a need for a revamp, a new face and a new look? There's too little growth of young players in this sport, most of the top players are getting older and older. That is the prejudice in this sport. ,,Well, we're going to do better, we're going to renew and refresh'', the organizers of the Dutch Masters in Kaatsheuvel said last week.
They launched Sharon van Dijk, a young lady who plays billiards herself, as the new presenter, as a sort of figurehead of the Masters 2014. Young, fresh appearance in the arena, a delight for spectators and players.
She will enter the world of billiards very soon in another way. The 24-year-old 'Brabantse' Sharon van Dijk has got a new job as an account manager for Molinari Europe, the cue-brand of world stars as
Torbjörn Blomdahl and Sung-Won Choi.
Kozoom had a talk with Sharon in the days after the Masters and spoke with her about her past in the sport, about billiards in general, the new role as presenter and the new job for Molinari.
An interview with the lady speaker.
Name: Sharon van Dijk
Town: Vught
Born: 31-03-1990
Education: Communication, International Event, Music and Entertainment
Studies: Student Training at the Fontys Academy for Creative Industries
Profession: Account Molinari Europe.
Kozoom/FB: Can you tell us who Sharon van Dijk is, how long you have been around in billiards? And what were your previous sports?
Sharon van Dijk: ,,I am a young lady who is very passionate, with always a certain goal in my mind, and I will not stop until the goal is reached. My motto (literally and figuratively) is therefore ‘Exitus acta Probat', which means: the end justifies the means.''
,, From my ninth year, I have been active in the billiard sport. Therefore, I did also gymnastics (practicing four times a week and every week competition), but after an accident on the bar, I suffered a severe injury to both ankles, causing physical exercise was temporarily impossible.''
,,During our holiday my father and grandfather were playing billiards and I asked if I could try some shots. I loved it from the very first moment. My father told me that there was a billiard club for youth in Vught were we live. And because I was bored, simply because I could not do any sport, I thought to have some fun give it a try. It soon turned out into a passion and it still is. I haven't stopped since I was nine. At twenty I made the move to three cushion on the small table and on my 21th I started three cushion on the match table. So basically, I'm playing for two years on the match table now.''
,,When I was fully recovered of my ankle injury after two years, I started playing football. The doctors told me it was no problem, because in football you use the ankles quite different than in gymnastics. I played football for ten years. On my 21th, I tore my anklets for the seventh time. Then I decided to stop with physical sports, albeit with pain in my heart!''
Kozoom/FB: The Billiards Point Masters was a huge success with wonderful sports moments, exciting matches and every day a full house. How was it for you to present such a big tournament for the first time?
Sharon: ,,I just realized how bit it really was at the start of the tournament. On beforehand, I could not imagine how the atmosphere would be. Therefore, the first morning was a big surprise for me and it was very exciting to speak and announce the players in front of hundreds of people in the room. And I'm not even talking about the people who were watching on the Kozoom livestream. The evening was already better, I felt less tension. It was easier to gather information about players and you could tell the audience about matches they had played or some anecdotes. But afterwards, I'm really a kind of proud that I could contribute to this great billiards event!''
Kozoom/FB: What were the reactions of players and audience?
Sharon: ,,I knew a lot of players, of course, and I spoke with them before the start. They were all wondering how I would do it and whether I could handle the stress. Those who said that, came to me during the tournament to tell me that I did very well. They all hoped that I would do it again in the future. A compliment that made me happy of course. The audience was enthusiastic. Many of them didn't know me, so they made me stop and asked me: how comes that a young, beautiful lady, wanted to present this tournament. My answer was simple: Well, sir or madam, because I'm quite into billiards myself. So when they knew that, the conversation was very smoothly. I also was asked a few times: 'Are you hired from an event agency?' Well, when I got that question, I smiled a while, because I saw it as a huge compliment.''
Kozoom/FB: You've started working for RKC, the professional football club. What did you do there?
Sharon: ,,Yes, that's right. During my internship, I wrote a research concept that could ensure RKC to get a bigger audience in the home matches. Following my internship, I had been offered a job as fanshop assistant, secretarial services and ticketing. My office was located in the RKC fanshop, a store where all the items were for sale. So, I often helped customers who came to buy a product. The secretariat was in the fanshop and I had to answer the phone to help customers and supporters with all kinds of questions, so actually I was a sort of face of the club. Besides, I also was in charge with ticketing, which meant that I took care of everything: tickets for supporters, both for home and away matches. Really, a very hard job.''
Kozoom/FB: Then came, quite recently, something else on your way. Can you tell us?
Sharon: ,,Billiards and football are my biggest hobbies, as you know. In the football world, I now know exactly how it works now, the step into something else came at the right moment. I'm not saying, that I didn't care when my contract was not renewed because of certain reasons, but that aside...''
,,I was congratulated on facebook by Frits Bakker after RKC's victory against Feyenoord. He asked how I was doing in my job. So I said to Fritz: thanks for the congratulations, but unfortunately I'm not at RKC anymore. We had a little conversation and suddenly, Frits told me that he had an idea for another job. He said to me that Thierry Gabriels was looking to strengthen his Molinari team. Football was done for me, so I was really interested. I sent Thierry an open letter in which I introduced myself, my resume, and told him that I was very interested. There were some calls in between and I went for an interview to Loontjens Biljarts in Middelburg. And eventually, I received the message that I had the new job from January 13, 2014, as Account Molinari Europe.''
Kozoom/FB: What're you going to do for Gabriels and Molinari?
Sharon: ,,They want me to visit many current and potential customers, to promote the brand Molinari, make appointments with dealers, visiting fairs, so promote the brand everywhere in Europe. I live in Vught, in Brabant, so I will work mainly at home, or I will be on my way to customers in Europe, or abroad for an event, a tournament, a World Cup, or a fair to promote or sell Molinari.''
Kozoom/FB: That means, a lot of traveling, meet many people, that's a job that fits you very well.
Sharon: ,,I don't want a job from nine to five, so I'm a very enterprising person, I like to be on the road, so that means, I like to travel and meet people. To travel is, beside billiards and football, one of my hobbies, so that's an advantage with this new job. Meet new people, that doesn't scare me at all, so this is the perfect job for me.''
Kozoom/FB: Will you still play billiards, or is there too little time left to practice and play tournaments?
Sharon: ,,Billiards will always be my hobby, so I'll try to keep on playing. But of course I can't make my profession by playing billiards, so I want to continue playing on my own level. Maybe when I travel to World Cup tournaments for Molinari, it's possible to participate. We'll see.''
Kozoom/FB: And the presentation, like you did at the Masters, will you do that again?
Sharon: ,,Because of all the positive comments, I'm definitely willing to do that again in the future. I felt great doing it and work together with the organizers there. But when I can find time, for sure I will be available.''
Kozoom/FB: Will Sharon van Dijk's name be introduced now rapidly as the new face of Molinari?
Sharon: ,,That question can be perceived in different ways. I'm not literally the face of Molinari, I will not be displayed with a picture on the cue. But I'll be the face of Molinari, indeed, even as Thierry said, you are Molinar.''
Kozoom/FB: Finally, can you tell us why people have to play billiards with a Molinari cue?.
Sharon: ,,Molinari is very exclusive and the most consistent playing cue ever developped. The specific structures of both the butt and the shaft are made to improve the performance. The Molinari shaft with the UniLock jont, is designed to let the cue 'deflect' instead of the ball: with this cue the ball goes where you aim, no compensation needed anymore when using 'English'. The construction of the butt ensures maximum rigidity, optimal balance and it is currently the most solid playing 'inlaid' cue. So, it's a great choice.''