
World Eightball Pool Federation

The World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) is an international pool (pocket billiards) governing body overseeing international (principally British, Commonwealth, and continental European) tournaments and rankings in eightball pool (a game similar to eight-ball but played with red and yellow unnumbered balls instead of the stripes and solids numbered balls). WEPF competes for authority and membership with the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), which produces its own tournaments and slightly different rules under the game name blackball.
Overview.
The WEPF is the governing body of the sport of eightball pool, which is mostly competed across continental Europe and the Commonwealth. It was established in 1992 by founding member countries Australia, England and New Zealand. The governing body runs its own world championships, separate from those held by the WPA.
Each country under the WEPF has their own referee and umpire body and each country has their own qualification structure in place for grading referees. For instance, South Africa has three basic certificates: League Referee, Provincial Referee and National Referee. Australia is also most complimented on their good governance and structure of their referee/umpire body.
The rules of the game are available on the WEPF website with calling procedures and guidance.
World Eightball Pool Championship.
The WEPF World Eightball Pool Championship (sometimes branded the Foster's World Eightball Pool Championship for sponsorship purposes) is held annually, and features open, women's, and juniors' divisions. The tournaments are regularly held at the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool, England. The competition includes players from Europe and from further afield, including Australia and South Africa.
The 2010 men's champion was England's Mick Hill who beat fellow countryman and three-time champion Gareth Potts 11–8 in the Final. In the 2010 ladies' event, Sue Thompson of Scotland defeated Northern Ireland's Emma Cunningham 8–4. Thompson was an eight-time ladies' world champion as of 2008, when first-time finalist Lynette Horsburgh, a BBC writer, beat Thompson in the semi-final, and took first place in that division in an 8–6 final against fellow first-timer Barbara Taylor.