Abbreviation USSA Headquarters Berkeley, California | Formation 1991 Region served United States | |
Type Non-profit organization Purpose National governing body of the sport of snooker | ||
The United States Snooker Association (USSA) is the internationally recognized governing body of the sport of snooker in the United States, with its current headquarters registered in Berkeley, California.
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Founded in 1991 by the British-born Michael Collins, the association functions as a non-profit organization to govern, regulate and sanction both professional and non-professional snooker in the territory of the United States. The association's objectives are also to promote and develop the sport of snooker in the United States, and to create a structure capable of supporting international championships in the United States, and to encourage and foster skilled American players to represent the United States at home and abroad.
The USSA is a member of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF), the world governing body of non-professional English billiards and snooker, and is affiliated with the American CueSports Alliance (ACS) in the United States.
Despite its name and national scope, the USSA is not in any way related to or recognizes the game of American snooker, which is a strictly amateur, recreational ruleset promulgated by the Billiard Congress of America.
As of 2015, the USSA participates in the joint World Snooker and IBSF Pan-American Snooker Championship (first held in 2013).
Office-holders
The USSA elected a new Board of Directors for two-year terms during a meeting on February 11, 2013, with the following positions filled:
United States National Snooker Championship
The USSA stages the annual United States National Snooker Championship, with the winner and runner-up gaining automatic selection to represent the United States in that year's IBSF World Snooker Championship. To be eligible to compete in the Championship, a player must be a citizen of the United States, in accordance of the rules of the IBSF.
USSA Tour
The USSA Tour, which was introduced in 2009, is a series of scheduled snooker events throughout the season which are sanctioned by the USSA and played at various snooker clubs and billiard rooms across the United States.
Any snooker player from around the world may compete in a USSA Tour event, except for those who are current professional playing members of the World Snooker Tour.