André Gagnaux
Who was the head of World Confederation of Billiards Sports from 1992 to 1996?
World Confederation of Billiards Sports The World Confederation of Billiards Sports ( WCBS ) is the international umbrella organization encompassing the major cue sports ( billiards-type games ) , including carom billiards , pool games of several varieties , and snooker . The confederation was formed in Yverdon-les-Bains , Switzerland , on January 25 , 1992 . Its headquarters were previously located in Sint-Martens-Latem , Belgium . Jean-Claude Dupont , of Belgium , served as WCBS president from 2010 to 2015 , followed by Englands Jason Elliott Ferguson for 2015–2017 . Australias Ian Anderson became the confederations ninth president in 2017 . The World Confederation of Billiards Sports ( WCBS ) has 135 member national federations , as well as continental bodies for Africa , the Americas , Asia , Europe , and Oceania . WCBS , in turn , is affiliated with many international sports organizations , such as the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) , General Association of International Sports Federations ( GAISF ) , International World Games Association ( IWGA ) and Commonwealth Games Federation ( CGF ) . Its statutes , practices and activities all conform to the Olympic Charter . Role . The primary aim of WCBS is to establish billiard-type sports as medal events in as many multiple-sports competitions as possible , on both regional and world levels . The ultimate goal of WCBS is to have billiard sports included in the Olympic Games . The WCBS serves as platform for its associated groups : The Union Mondiale de Billard ( UMB ) ; the World Pool-Billiard Association ( WPA ) ; the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association ( WPBSA ) and its amateur counterpart , the International Billiards and Snooker Federation ( IBSF ) . These groups work closely together , but the independence of each organization is maintained and respected . As a result , unlike other international sports organizations , the WCBS does not set the rules of the sports nor organize any international competition itself . Instead , these functions are carried out by the associated organizations . History . Before the establishment of WCBS in 1992 , there was no single organization representing all cue sports , which was necessary to meet the requirements of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) . Moreover , cue sports did not meet the official definition of a sport . These were the main obstacles to gaining approval for the inclusion of cue sports in the Olympic Games , despite many attempts to achieve Olympic recognition that have been made since the 1950s . In 1985 , André Gagnaux , of Switzerland , became the new president of the UMB , the world governing body for carom billiards . In an attempt to achieve Olympic recognition , he contacted the WPBSA , the governing body of professional snooker , to discuss the possibility of forming a governing body for all cue sports . There was no world governing body for pool at that time . Nonetheless , his first attempt failed as he could not convince the WPBSA why it would be important for them to achieve IOC recognition , and what possible cooperation with the UMB could do to further their goals . Founding and organization . Following the founding of the WPA as the international governing body for pool and their successful organization of the first WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 1990 , Gagnaux contacted the WPBSA again . This time he was more successful . In order to fulfill the conditions set by the IOC , the representatives of the governing bodies of the three main cue sports convened on August 30 , 1990 , at a meeting in Bristol , UK , with the WPBSA as the host . This was the first time representatives of the three divisions gathered around one table . As a result , it was decided to form the World Confederation of Billiard Sports ( WCBS ) , an umbrella organization encompassing all billiards sports , and a three-man committee ( consisting of Gagnaux for carom , Jorgen Sandman for pool and Mark Wildman for snooker ) was appointed to write the first constitution for the new organization . Eighteen months were spent devising a way to enable the various disciplines to work closely together , while maintaining their independence . The inaugural General Assembly of the WCBS was held in Yverdon-les-Bains , Switzerland on January 25 , 1992 . A board consisting of nine delegates was elected with three representatives from each founding member : the UMB , the WPA and the new World Snooker Federation ( WSF ) , formed by cooperation between the WPBSA and the IBSF . The office of president rotated , so that all three divisions take a turn at heading the organization . Dissension . In September 2002 , the WPBSA informed the IBSF that it was no longer interested in cooperating with the latter , and the WPBSA withdrew from the WCBS . For unknown reason , the IBSF failed to share this information with the WCBS board , and it was only due to rumors that the WCBS finally was informed of the situation . Having failed to impress the IBSF about the importance of resolving this dispute , a board meeting was held in Bottrop , Germany , in March 2003 . The IBSF representatives , although formally invited , did not show up for this meeting . This did not prevent the WCBS from deciding to declare the snooker component of the WCBS temporarily vacant . The IBSF , displeased with this decision , turned to the IOC Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne , Switzerland on May 30 , 2003 . The CAS delivered its final decision on January 20 , 2004 , and the WCBS won the case on all counts . Since then the WPBSA has returned to the WCBS , now in its own right as a direct member . IBSF remains a member as well , and the WSF has dissolved . Since the election of the sixth president , Pascal Guillaume of France , in late 2004 , all parties have agreed to try and work constructively together for the future benefit of the sport . Pascal has pledged a policy of unification . Accomplishments . GAISF membership . In 1992 , the first goal for the newly formed WCBS was to gain recognition by the IOC and obtain membership in the General Association of International Sports Federations ( GAISF ) . In October 1993 , the WCBS was invited to be an observer at the GAISF Congress and General Assembly in Lahti , Finland . However , the WCBS application failed to make it into the agenda of the AGM ( Annual General Meeting ) , so the two WCBS representatives at this meeting , ( André Gagnaux and Jorgen Sandman ) , could only listen and learn . In October 1994 , when the GAISF AGM took place in Monte Carlo , Monaco , the WCBS application was on the agenda . A discussion about whether billiards could be considered a sport led to a compromise wherein the GAISF would define what constituted a sport , meaning the issue would have to be tabled for a year . Meanwhile , the IOC had responded to their application for recognition by stating that the WCBS was too new , so any possible IOC recognition could not be granted immediately . The IOC also recommended that the WCBS should apply for membership with the GAISF , stating that whilst this is not a prerequisite , the IOC would look favorably on a WCBS membership with the GAISF . In October 1995 the GAISF Congress and General Assembly was held in Seoul , Korea . André Gagnaux became ill and was hospitalized , so the WCBS delegation was led by Jorgen Sandman , who was accompanied by Nigel Oldfield ( Great Britain ) and Massimino Del Prete ( Italy ) . The WCBS had learned from the failures of 1993 and 1994 , and was better prepared to present its case . The main feature of their presentation was a glossy brochure entitled Right on Cue , a professional overview of billiards sports , which was distributed among the delegates . The WCBS also hosted a cocktail reception for the approximately 500 attending officials . At AGM , the WCBS finally became a provisional member of the GAISF . Any new organization entering the GAISF must first be a provisional member for two years before they are accepted as a full member with voting rights . IOC recognition and participation in the World Games . In July 1996 , the IOC decided to grant the WCBS a provisional recognition for two years . In September of the same year the WCBS became a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations ( ARISF ) . An application for membership with the International World Games Association ( IWGA ) was also filed shortly thereafter , and at the 1997 IWGA AGM it was decided that the WCBS would be granted membership as of January 1 , 1998 . On February 5 , 1998 , the IOC granted the WCBS full recognition , clarifying the status of billiards sports as true sports . Later , the GAISF accepted the WCBS as a full member at the 1999 AGM and the IWGA decided to include billiards sports into the program of the 2001 Akita World Games . The WCBS also applied for the inclusion in the 2004 Summer Olympics . Among 15 other sports that had applied for inclusion , the Greek Olympic Committee decided to consider five , billiards sports among them . It selected two sports out of the five , with billiards sports ending up as their third choice . Cue sports in other events . Apart from the 2001 World Games , cue sports have been included in many different important multi-sports events , such as the World Youth Games in Moscow and the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games . There were 10 medals of cue sports in the 1998 Asian Games . Participation at the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan , Korea was in jeopardy , mostly due to financial concerns that the host city had . But , in the end , billiards sports were in competition for 10 medals . Later , they were included in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha , Qatar . The WCBS has also tried to get billiards sports included in the Commonwealth Games . While the WCBS has been accepted as a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation ( CGF ) , the attempt at inclusion has not yet succeeded . Attempts from WCBS have also been made for inclusion into other events like the Pan-American Games , the All-Africa Games and the Mediterranean Games .