Bellerive Yacht Club snooker team protests proposal to remove tables from the club

A vote to remove the two tables from a yacht club has hit a sore point with some members who will not go down without a fight. FULL STORY >>

KEEN cueists at a yacht club on Hobart’s Eastern Shore have been snookered by a decision to get rid of the tables on which they play their much-loved sport.

WALTER Knoop and Milton Pettit have been playing snooker at the Bellerive Yacht Club for decades and say the activity is a valuable social benefit for members.

And while the club’s management has voted to remove the two tables from the facility, the men in their 80s are among a group of members not willing to give up without a fight.

In October, it was revealed the club’s board had voted to take away the two tables, saying they took up too much floor space and were not cost-effective.

It is understood the tables have now been offered for sale, but members are protesting against the decision and are hoping to take it further.

Mr Pettit, a club member of 45 years, said the presence of the snooker tables at the club was the only reason he was a member.

“It’s a nice social place. I’m a teetotaller, I go to play snooker,’’ he said.

Milton Pettit and Walter Knoop

“I’m a social member, I don’t sail a yacht, I don’t go out on the boat, but I’m not the only one.

“It’s like a home away from home … you have a game of snooker as relaxation.”

Mr Knoop said he was mainly a sailing member but he enjoyed playing snooker as an added perk of the club.

“It should be kept there for the members. A lot of people play snooker plus they have got the interclub (A-grade competition),’’ he said.

“They reckon they need the space for something else, but I can’t see how you can use that space. There’s no windows there.

“It’s important to the ­people that are using the ­tables. Some people there, like Milton, are there nearly every night of the week.

“We’re just hopeful they can change their mind and keep them there longer.”

The tables are still in place but fellow long-time member Mike Pace said the club had put them up for sale.

“I put an offer in and wanted to donate them back to the club, but I wasn’t successful,’’ Mr Pace said.

“If someone else buys them, they are gone forever.”

Mr Pace said there were many members who were protesting the decision.

He said they were hoping the club’s management would have a change of heart and allow the tables to remain.

After the decision was made, club commodore Jeff Cordell said the tables took up considerable floor space and it needed to be used more efficiently.

“We’re a growing club and we need the space to provide more services to the growing membership,” Mr Cordell said.

“We fully appreciate that some are going to be very ­disappointed.”

Mr Cordell said the club had about 1000 members and of those who submitted feedback, there was “more than double” in favour of the plan to remove the tables than those against it.

He had said “a clear majority” of the board had voted to remove the tables.

In a note to members about the proposal before the board decision was made, the club said the return for usage for the tables in the past 12 months was $960, while the cost was $1800.

The note was accom­panied by a list of nine perceived advantages of removing the tables, and three disadvantages.

INITIAL:

The Bellerive Yacht Club board met on Tuesday night and made the call, after having sought feedback on a proposal to remove the two tables which argued they took up too much floor space and were not cost-effective.

But snooker players at the club are displeased and say they will protest the move.

Mike Pace, an 18-year member of the club, said the decision had not gone down well with some members.

“Everyone’s outraged ... really disgusted,’’ he said.

“It’s not a good look for the club ... they haven’t realised we even had a team in the competition.”

Mr Pace was referring to a comment in communication from the club about the proposal, which said the club “no longer has a competitive team”, despite having an A-grade team in the Southern Tasmanian Billiards and Snooker Association that recently won the grand final.

Bellerive Yacht Club proposal to kick snooker players off the club's tables, where people have played for 50 plus years. Photograph shows Steve Carroll, Mark Hudson, Steve Carmichael Christian De Camps. Picture Eddie Safarik

Club Commodore Jeff Cordell said the tables took up considerable floor space and it needed to be used more efficiently.

“We’re a growing club and we need the space to provide more services to the growing membership,’’ he said.

“We fully appreciate some are going to be very disappointed.”

Mr Cordell said the club had about 1000 members and of those who submitted feedback, there was “more than double” in favour of the plan to remove the tables than those against it.

He said “a clear majority” of the board voted to remove the tables, which would be offered to members for sale.

Prior to the final decision being made, club member of 23 years Steve Carroll said the tables were a key part of the social aspect and it would be “devastating” if they were permanently taken away.

“I’ve been there since 1988 and I’ve been playing snooker since 1980,’’ Mr Carroll said.

“It would be devastating really, not only for us, but just the casual player that comes in and plays, and more so the older guys that are there now.”

Bellerive Yacht Club proposal to kick snooker players off the club's tables, where people have played for 50 plus years. Photograph shows Mark Hudson Picture Eddie Safarik

Mr Carroll, who was part of the club’s recent A-grade grand final-winning team, said he would quit the club if it pulled the pin on the social activity.

“I’d leave the club, definitely. I wouldn’t go back there,’’ he said.

In a note to members pre-decision, the return for usage for the pool tables in the past 12 months was $960, while the cost was $1800.

The note was accompanied by a list of nine perceived advantages of getting rid of the tables, and three disadvantages.

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