Female Snooker Players

Following on from the topic on Reanne Evans, I thought I'd ask this question in a separate topic rather than going off on a tangent.

Why are there no female players on the main snooker tour? In most sports there are physical reasons why male and female payers compete separatly, speed and strength being two of the most obvious differences. Whereas in snooker the game does not rely on any physical attributes as such, it is a game of skill, accuracy and temprament.

As far as I'm aware there are no physiological differences between the sexes that gives a man an advantage in these area's.

So what are the reasons?

Is it simply that a lot more men play the game, meaning that there is a wider pool of talent for top class players to come from?

Is there a difference between the two sexes that hampers a females ability to play the game at the very top level?

Is it a psycological thing, that when a woman is playing on the mens tour she isn't expected to win. This type of negative feeling can creep into a player and affect their game.

Or are there any reasons that I have not covered?

I am not trying to be disrespectful to female players, I know there are a large number of women playing to a very high standard around the country. I am talking about the professional circuit and the lack of women who break into it.

Please can we keep this civil and not start a battle of the sexes! If the article starts to go that way comments will be edited or removed.

Enforcer,

Interesting topic - agree with most of your points regarding physical attributes etc, however I cannot in the near future see a female making an impact on World Snooker, I just dont think that the female of our species is able to fully understand the inticacies of the game, such as focus, concentration and dedication.
Can you imagine if they had an afternoon match v John Higgins and it clashed with Loose Women, I cant see wee John saying " Take your time love, I'll hang on for an hour till your programmes finished". or say an evening match that clashed with Emmerdale or Eastendies!

Or even worse half way through a game, she says to the Ref, "hang on tens mins Jan, gotta pop out and pick up the kids from school".

Not going to happen! :lol:

I think there is definitely a psychological aspect at work here. As has been mentioned, there are no obviously physical limitations why women can't play snooker (although Steve Davis did once say they were the wrong shape! Presumably a reference to female upper anatomy when hovering over the table) but the problem is one of culture. No female could hope to consistently sustain competitiveness against men right now, but if there were more women competing on the men's tour, then in ten years from now, those women will be improved players and have paved the way for more females to play on the men's tour, and a change in culture and mindset occurs.

When I was younger, I played a girl who turned professional later (I am sure her name was Allison Dick).

I am also fairly convinced that she changed her name and is Allison Fisher now (the greatest female player ever!).

I have tried to find out more about AF but her history is nowhere to be found. Could I actually be right?

And for the record, at the time, I beat her! So if my theory is right, I have beaten a world champion!