from the Hunter Classics Tour... The Women |
| Hunter Classics Tour Hunter Classics Cues |
|
|
||
|
|
Austin, TX 
Pic taken May 2003 by Shayla Neris. All photos copyright of AZBilliards.com It all began when I left Austin to attend the University of Washington in Seattle. In my junior year at UW we moved into an apartment complex that had a pool table in the clubhouse. We didn't have much money to do anything else, and although pool had bored me in the past (banging balls around without much hope of controlling them seemed a big waste of time...), it wasn't long before I was spending all my free time down there -- fascinated that it was possible to control the balls and addicted to the sound they made as they dropped into the pockets. I entered my first real tournament in my senior year at UW -- it was a regional qualifier for the collegiate 8-ball nationals. I was so nervous that my entire body trembled as I waited for the event to begin. Mercifully, no other women showed up at UW and I was given the spot at the regionals in Boise. My relief was short lived however, because 30 women came to compete in the regionals (a HUGE field to me at the time) -- and all of them had won a qualifier to be there. The trembling I had been doing at UW was nothing compared to the quaking I was doing in Boise! It was my lucky day though, because I managed to win the regional -- even though I had to shake all the way through the loser's bracket to do it. To my delight, a few weeks later I was in the players meeting for the 8-Ball Nationals in Arizona...you guessed it, shaking! I recall sitting there thinking, "One of these women is going to win the nationals..." It never occurred to me that it could be me. In spite of that, and with the help of a few good rolls, I never lost a match -- which just goes to show you that you never know what is possible if you just show up and do the best you can. It was really wonderful -- and I was hooked on tournament play forever. (By the way, the shaking does eventually stop if you just keep showing up!) That was in 1994, and although I quickly learned that a LOT more skill and practice would be required to compete at the next level, I still love competitive play today. I can honestly say that some of the most terrific, diverse people I have ever met I found by walking through the doors of a pool hall. Ultimately though, it isn't the excitement of competition that keeps me coming back to the table. It is the joy and challenge of learning a game that not only offers me great fun, but one that holds up a huge mirror for me to see truths about myself and the way I live in the world -- all for the price of a rack of balls and a stick. What a bargain, huh? |
|
| Want to Contact Us? ©1999-present. Website provided by AZBilliards.com. | ||
|---|---|---|
