A billiards tournament will be played not under a roof but under the sun. Inas Mazhar reports Click to view caption There are two intriguing aspects to next week's billiards Eurocup championship: Egypt is playing in it -- in fact it is the host -- and the site where the tournament will be held is outdoors, a novelty for the sport. The Red Sea island of Magawish will play host to more than 70 participants at the championship in Hurghada starting next week. Not for the first time is Al-Ahram Organisation, the sponsor, organising a major sports event, and holding it outdoors for all to see. At the Pyramids and at Hurghada there have been tournaments in squash, handball, tennis and boxing. Now is the turn of billiards. Al-Ahram chose the island of Magawish as the venue for the six-day event. "It's a gorgeous and fabulous place," said Ibrahim Hegazi, head of the organising committee and editor-in-chief of Al- Ahram's sports magazine. "We want to show the world our great islands and sites. Sports provides the best opportunity for that." According to Hegazi, the venue needed a lot of work. "We had to change the island from a squash setting to one of billiards," a transformation which included a new glass court and a 600-seat stand. "We also faced a problem in how to transport spectators from the shore to the island, an approximately 18-kilometre journey," Hegazi said. Two giant ferries will resolve the problem, taking passengers to the island twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon on a round-trip basis. That means that those who take it in the morning will have to wait until the evening to return. The ferries, however, posed a problem in themselves: they could not reach the shore because of shallow waters, coming up 130 metres short. The Arab Contractors company came to the rescue by building a pedestrian bridge to cover the remaining distance. Farouk Barki, vice-president of the Egyptian Billiards Federation, said that when Egypt bid to host the Eurocup, his presentation included pictures and videotapes of the previous championships held under Al-Ahram's auspices. "The members were amazed by the squash tournament in Hurghada," Barki said. "They were stunned when they were told that billiards will be played in a similar location and that, for the first time, in a glass court no less." The presentation was obviously a success. In May 2002, at the European Federation's Council meeting in Portugal, members unanimously agreed to award Egypt the 2002 Eurocup championship. Egypt is organising the Eurocup because as strange as it sounds, it is a member of the European Confederation. The Egyptian Billiards Federation was founded in the early 1950's while the International Federation was established in 1956. Egypt could not join because it had to be a member in a continental confederation. And since there was no African confederation Egypt was given the choice of entering one of three confederations: Europe, Asia or the Americas. "We decided to join the European Confederation," Barki, board member of the International Billiard Federation and first vice-president of the European Billiards Federation, said. "We were right to choose Europe because it's closer to us and would be easier for our players to go and play there. Europe is the home of billiards as well." Barki said the best billiards is played in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland and Turkey. "The European Federation is strong and we are one of the founders." In world championships, though, Egypt represents Africa. "We chose billiards because we are better in it [than snooker] and have a long history in it," said Barki. "It's the only discipline in the sport in which we were world champions." Egypt's Edmond Soussa won the title 10 consecutive times from 1928 to 1937. Thirty-one Egyptians in addition to 43 international players representing 11 nations, will take part in the three-day qualifications and preliminary rounds starting from 15 to 17 September. Matches will first be played in a best of three sets before moving to a best of five format. Sixteen players will qualify and join the top 16 seeded in the main draw. The games will be played in the morning at a five-star hotel and in the evening on the island. Competition is expected to be fierce since nine of the world's top 10 will be taking part, including the world's top seed, Sweden's Tourbjorn Blomdahl. Egypt is depending on Ihab El- Meseiri, fifth in the world in 1987 and this year's nationals champion. Sameh Sedhoum, 15, is Egypt's under-21 champion and is another threat to the established stars. "The main objective of the championship," added Barki, "being held in the open, on an island, is to help people get to know Egypt -- 20 international TV stations will cover the event -- and to increase the popularity of the game throughout the world."
