The GB 9 Ball Tour Committee has lodged a bid for a Sport England Small Grant to support developments in 2010. We very much hope that Sport England will be able to give a small amount of financial support to the tour, and we have done our very best to make the case for such an investment to support the work that GB9 is doing to sustain and grow participation in 9 Ball Pool in the UK.

SCHEDULE AND PLANS FOR 2010

We plan to hold our usual 6 tournament weekends, running from Friday to Sunday and maintaining a geographical spread of venues. In order to finish planning and preparation for 2010, and also to allow tour players to pay their first two tour fee instalments prior to event one, we have decided to move the previously advertised January date for Tour Event 1 to the end of 2010. It has also been brought to our attention that a number of players will be playing in BCA events around the date of Tour event 2, and so we are currently looking at the possibility of moving the date of this event by a week or so. With this in mind, provisional tour dates for 2010 are given below;

Tour Stop 1 March 12th – 14th 2010 (Barceló Buxton Palace Hotel)
Tour Stop 2 May 7th – 9th 2010 (venue TBC) – see note above
Tour Stop 3 June 11th – 13th 2010 (venue TBC)
Tour Stop 4 August 20th – 22th 2010 (venue TBC)
Tour Stop 5 September 24th – 26th 2010 (venue TBC)
Tour Stop 6 Date and venue TBC

We are currently considering options for promotion and relegation between Pro and Challenge divisions in the light of player feedback, and will advise members shortly. We are pleased to say that with the availability of 16 tables for tour events we expect to return to races to 9 in most, if not all matches prior to the final.

2010 TOUR FEES

Our financial projections dictate that we must implement a maximum increase of £100 in annual tour fees. Although we would of course prefer not to do this, we feel that the increase will be compensated for by the guaranteed perfect tournament playing conditions that we will all benefit from next year, and the dedicated environment which we will be playing in. We would also note that players and families will have access to much improved accommodation and facilities provided by Barceló Hotels. At present this would mean that the maximum tour fees would be £639 for Challenge and £839 for Pro. This equates to less than £17 extra per tour stop, per player. Full details of 2010 tour fees, instalment amounts and dates will be posted soon on our website and e-mailed to all members.

The committee is working hard on obtaining additional revenue for the tour to reduce the financial burden to GB9 members.

The tour is a not-for-profit organisation, meaning that we are bound by our constitution to distribute surplus monies to members, which we would seek to do by reducing annual tour fees and/or by contributions to the prize fund.

2010 HOTEL ACCOMMODATION

For 2010 all GB 9 members will be required to stay at the tournament hotel. This is required to ensure the financial viability of this move. Shared occupancy is priced at £39 per person, per night bed and breakfast, and single occupancy at £62.50. Hotels are all 4 Star, with extensive leisure and dining facilities. A special GB9 discounted menu will be available and drink prices will be subsidised. We are delighted that Barceló are able to offer these discounts to GB9 members, friends and families.

We hope that the venues provided to us will also be more attractive to the families of GB9 members who wish to attend events. The Committee are also investigating the possibility of organising planned activities for partners and / or families of players in the local area, during the Saturday of the tournament weekend.

WHAT DO WE NEED GB9 MEMBERS TO DO NOW?

We need GB9 members to commit to the tour for 2010 and renew their membership. The financial viability of these developments depends on your support. We have extended the deadline for renewals to Sunday 20th December 2009. Players are required to fill in a renewal form and pay a deposit of £50. This can be done at http://www.gb9balltour.com/onlineapp_renewal.htm

For this season only, in recognition of your support, we will also guarantee a 2010 tour spot to all members who rejoin by the deadline (subject to the tour’s usual terms of membership), regardless of whether you are in a relegation position or not.

We very much hope that all existing GB9 players will renew their membership, but if any tour player who has already renewed and paid their deposit would now prefer not to rejoin GB9, we will offer a full refund if you contact is by 25th November 2009.

Regardless of whether you rejoin GB9 we are always keen to hear your feedback so if you have any comments, complaints or suggestions about GB9 please send them by e-mail to yourfeedback@gb9balltour.com . Your comments will be routed to all the GB9 Committee for consideration.

NOT A GB 9 BALL TOUR MEMBER ALREADY?

If you want to qualify for the GB 9 Ball Tour for 2010 you need to enter one of our 3 qualifying events (November 22nd Solihull, November 29th Barnsley, December 6th Shepherds Bush).