Latest news with #Blackball
IOL News
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
South Africa's Erin Lazarus wins silver at Commonwealth Billiard Games
Erin Lazarus, 21, was narrowly edged out in the final of Blackball competition at the Commonwealth Billiard Games which concluded in Mauritius this week. Image: Shelley Kjonstad/Independent Newspapers SOUTH Africa's reigning ladies Blackball champion Erin Lazarus narrowly missed out on pocketing the Commonwealth title in Mauritius this week. Lazarus 21, lost in the final of the Blackball discipline at Commonwealth Billiard Games played in Balaclava, a competition that was played under the auspices of the World Pool Association. She delivered another gutsy performance after falling behind in the final against Malaysia's Klaudia Djajalie, and just when it seemed like she was clawing her way back to draw level on the number of frames won, time had run out. Djajalie, a seasoned campaigner, held on for a 4-3 win and Lazarus had to be content with the silver medal. 'Things didn't go my way in the final. With a bit more luck, it might have, but I'm very proud to have won a silver medal for my country. 'It was a great honour to get to the final, considering that I was almost dead and buried in my semi-final match,' said Lazarus Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The event drew participation from 36 Commonwealth countries, and the other disciplines included were 10-Ball Pool, Heyball and Snooker. To qualify for a shot at the respective disciplines in this competition, participants needed to be crowned national champs in their homelands. Lazarus earned her entry by winning the SA Championship played in Durban during March. The Balaclava tournament was only the second major event that Lazarus had entered in 2025 and progressed with ease to the semi-final stage. Her opponent was Uganda's Kisakye Marion, who raced to a 4-1 lead, with 30 minutes of the contest to play. Having built a formidable lead, Marion changed tactics as she looked to run down the clock by playing more defensive shots and stifle Lazarus' comeback attempt. But Lazarus was not to be denied, she levelled at 4-4 and eventually won 5-4 before the time expired. 'That win gave me a huge confidence boost, going into the final. I was in a virtually hopeless situation.' In the final, Lazarus said she was 'cueing the ball better, my thinking processes were better and I was potting better'. 'In every frame, I was in the hunt, but something went wrong each time in the closing stages,' she said. She fell behind 3-1 and then 4-2 and managed to get the frame score to 4-3 before the contest ended. 'It was disappointing to lose in the final, and it is unlike me to lose in such circumstances. My performance has given me belief that I have the ability to win this competition sometime in the future. 'I'm grateful to my parents (Ian and Cassandra) who were with me in Mauritius and the support I got from my teammates. I also appreciate the administrators from Blackball SA who worked behind the scenes to ensure our participation,' she said. DAILY NEWS
Telegraph
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Pool body sued by transgender player forced to crowdfund money for defence
A pool federation being sued by a transgender player it banned from women's events is crowdfunding to pay for its defence, stating the cost involved would 'possibly prove beyond our means'. Harriet Haynes has taken the English Blackpool Pool Federation (EBPF) to court after it changed its eligibility criteria in August 2023 to stop those born male playing on its female tour and county tournaments. The case is being heard this week at Canterbury county court, with Haynes claiming the EBPF's move amounted to discrimination that had caused her a 'loss of opportunity' and 'injured feelings'. The EBPF launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for its defence on the Go Get Funding website, something that had raised more than £6,600 by Wednesday morning. On a page entitled, 'Help us defend our female Blackball competitions from litigation', the EBPF described itself as a 'non profit' sports federation 'wholly run by volunteers'. Stating 'the cost of defending our stance for fair play will be substantial and possibly prove beyond our means', it added of its rule change: 'We made this decision in the interests of fairness, because we believe that people who have gone through male puberty have a competitive advantage over biological women. 'As a consequence of this decision, we are being sued by the transgender player Harriet Haynes. Harriet says that the eligibility rules for the female tour are discriminatory on the grounds of gender reassignment. We say that the rules are necessary to secure fair competition and a justified means of promoting female participation in the game. 'We are disappointed that Harriet has chosen to sue an organisation made up entirely of volunteers who give up their time to promote the game of pool in England, but we stand by our decision, and we intend to defend the claim.' The page was created by the EBPF's chairman, Paul Thomson, and secretary, Anna Goodwin, who were in court on Tuesday defending its position. Thomson told Canterbury county court that the governing body made its decision following an 'unreal' number of complaints from players. The court was told around 15-20 anonymous written complaints had been passed to Goodwin but Thomson said many more had been raised personally with members of the EBPF's executive committee. He also said Haynes was not allowed to play in EBPF events purely because of 'the fact Harriet is a biological male'. He explained: 'I think the subject was kind of taboo to a certain degree. In this day and age, you can't come out and say what you want to say, because you get called a bigot or transphobic.' When asked by Haynes' counsel, Robin White, why he had not consulted with transgender players before changing the EBPF's rules, Thomson replied: 'What about the hundreds and hundreds of other women that it affected, am I just supposed to ignore that? 'We had loads of complaints. The amount of complaints was unreal.' He added: 'As a pool player, I know that males are far superior than what women are at playing pool.' Goodwin told the court the EBPF's men's category was made into an 'open section' to make it inclusive of all those born male. She said the decision had been made 'because we didn't think it was fair on our female players', adding: 'We didn't exclude transgender people. We made a section in the open section for them to play.' What is thought to be the first lawsuit of its kind brought by a transgender athlete in the UK could prove a landmark case in pool and beyond over rules designed to stop those born male taking part in female-only competitions. A hearing began on Monday, the day after Haynes and Lucy Smith faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women's Pro Series Event 2 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan on Sunday. Their match witnessed protests from demonstrators who shouted, 'He's a man and we stand stand with Lynne Pinches', and held up banners saying, 'Save women's sport', and, 'He's a man', as Haynes walked past. Pinches is the player who forfeited a 2023 final in protest at the participation of Haynes and is part of a separate legal action against the Ultimate Pool Group and World Eightball Pool Federation over their refusal to ban transgender women from their own events.
