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| Formation | 1 June 1959 |
|---|---|
President | Farouk EL Barki |
First Vice-President, PR-director and Finance | Fernando Requena |
Secretary General | Nico van Hanegem |
Parent organization | World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) |
| Website | www |
The Union Mondiale de Billard (French for World Union of Billiards) is the world governing body for carom (carambole) billiard games.
The organization was founded in Madrid, Spain on 1 June 1959, and is dedicated to promoting the modern carom billiards games. However, the actual founding of the World Federation took place in 1923 under the name "Union Internationale des Fédérations des Amateurs de Billard" (UIFAB). The UMB monitors and controls international carom competitions and tournaments, and organizes annual team and individual championships in three-cushion billiards and five-pin billiards.
The goals of the UMB include favoring the development of billiard games as sports at the international level, and representing the interests of billiards in general. The UMB provides a permanent and stable liaison with its affiliated regional confederations, and constitutes the largest governing body in carom billiards.
The UMB is a co-founding member, and the sole representative of carom billiards, in the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS), the international umbrella organization encompassing the major cue sports (billiards-type games), including carom billiards, pool games of several varieties, and snooker.
Four large confederations are recognized by UMB, namely: [1] [2]
The national federations subsumed within these broad, regional confederations, along with independent federations in the US, is recognized UMB affiliates. (Note: Some US-based organizations are CPB affiliates, such as the United States Snooker Association.)
Carom billiards, also called French billiards and sometimes carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, pocketless billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score points or "counts" by caroming one's own cue ball off both the opponent's cue ball and the object ball on a single shot. The invention as well as the exact date of origin of carom billiards is somewhat obscure but is thought to be traceable to 18th-century France.
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth, and surrounded by vulcanized rubber cushions, with the whole thing elevated above the floor. More specific terms are used for specific sports, such as snooker table and pool table, and different-sized billiard balls are used on these table types. An obsolete term is billiard board, used in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) is an organisation that governs non-professional snooker and English billiards around the world. As of January 2020, the organisation is headquartered in Doha, Qatar.
Semih Saygıner, nicknamed Mr. Magic or The Turkish Prince, is a Turkish world champion professional carom billiards player specialized in three-cushion event.
Dingeman Jacobus Johannes "Dick" Jaspers is a Dutch professional carom billiards player who specializes in the three-cushion event.
Three-cushion billiards, also called three-cushion carom, is a form of carom billiards. The object of the game is to carom the cue ball off both object balls while contacting the railcushions at least three times before contacting the second object ball. A point is scored for each successful carom. In most shots the cue ball hits the object balls one time each, although hitting them any number of times is allowed as long as both are hit. The cue ball may contact the cushions before or after hitting the first object ball. It does not have to contact three different cushions as long as it has been in contact with any cushion at least three times in total.
Five-pin billiards or simply five-pins or 5-pins, is today usually a carom billiards form of cue sport, though sometimes still played on a pocket table. In addition to the customary three balls of most carom games, it makes use of a set of five upright pins (skittles) arranged in a "+" pattern at the center of the table. The game is popular especially in Italy and Argentina, but also in some other parts of Latin America and Europe, with international, televised professional tournaments. It is sometimes referred to as Italian five-pins or Italian billiards, or as simply italiana. A variant of the game, goriziana or nine-pins, adds additional skittles to the formation. A related pocket game, with larger pins, is played in Scandinavia and is referred to in English as Danish pin billiards, with a Swedish variant that has some rules more similar to the Italian game.
The World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) is the international umbrella organization encompassing the major cue sports, including carom billiards, pool games of several varieties, and snooker.
The UMB World Three-cushion Championship is a professional carom billiards tournament in the discipline of three-cushion billiards, organized mostly annually by the Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB). Until 1953 it was organized by the UIFAB. During a dispute between the UMB and Billiards World Cup Association (BWA), the UMB decided not to organize the championship between 1988 and 1993. Instead the overall winner of the World Cup was announced as also the world champion.
The CEB European Three-cushion Championship is three-cushion billiards tournament organized by the Confédération Européenne de Billard. Held since 1932, it is one of longest-running tournaments in the sport. The 2007 event offered a total purse of €18,500 (US$26,134) with €4,000 ($5,651) for the winner.
The Bowling, Billiard and Boules Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (BBBFIR) is the governing body in Iran of ten-pin bowling and most cue sports, up to the international level, and has some involvement in the organisation of competition in boules and related games. Founded in 2000, BBBFIR was originally known as the Iran Bowling and Billiards Federation (IBBF), later also as Iran Bowling and Cue Sports Federation (IranBCS), and Bowling, Billiard and Boules Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (BBFIR). BBBFIR is headquartered in Tehran.
André Gagnaux, who was a Swiss, was the first President of the World Confederation of Billiard Sports (WCBS) and the former President of the Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB).
Cue sports, including three-cushion billiards, nine-ball and snooker, were introduced as World Games sports for men and for women also at the World Games 2001 in Akita.
The Three-Cushion World Cup is an international tournament series in three-cushion billiards, which is held every year since 1986 between three and ten times a year.
The African Carom Confederation (ACC) is the African continental federation for carom billiards. It is a member of the world federation Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB) and was founded on 25 March 2013 in Cairo.
The Confédération Européene de Billard (CEB) is the European governing body of carom billiards and is affiliated to the world federation UMB.
The Asian Carom Billiard Confederation (ACBC) is the Asian governing body of carom billiards and is affiliated to the world federation Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB).
The Confederación Panamericana de Billar (CPB) also known as the Pan-American Billiard Confederation, is the governing body of carom billiards in the Americas and is affiliated to the world federation Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB). It has its headquarters in Guatemala.
Turkish Billiards Federation is the governing body of the cue sports in Turkey. Founded on December 2, 2006, it is based in Ankara. The Turkish organization is member of the Confédération Européenne de Billard (CEB) and the Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB). Since May 2014, the TBF is chaired by Ersan Ercan.
In 2018, championships were held across three continents to determine the best players in major cue sports, including snooker, pool, and English billiards. While these are mostly single player sports, some matches and tournaments are held as either doubles or as team events. The snooker season runs between May and April; the pool and billiards seasons run through the calendar year.
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