From the Encyclopedia of Billiard Sports by Haase and Weingartner, Volume 2, page 820. Translation from German by Bob Jewett and Google. This is about the 1975 World 3-C Championship
First and Last World Championship in Bolivia
The tournament was supposed to start Monday, September 22 at 15:00. We naturally wanted to be on time, but Ceulemans reassured us. He had some experience with the organization of tournaments in South America. When we arrived at a quarter before 3 at the hall, the cushions were not yet done.
The tables were aligned with a meter-long 'snake' full of water. Amazed, we watched. And of course, the result was an inclined bed. Ultimately Ceulemans himself grabbed a bubble level and got the tables horizontal. Thus, the games could begin. Approximately 600 spectators sat in the hall and after the first shot stopped Ceulemans paused. There were two long legs sticking out from under the table. What was that? It was a worker still underneath tightening the screws!
There was no railing between the tables and the audience. The result: Many people walked between and around the tables and waiters almost knocked the cues out of the players’ hands. In spite of the disjointed organization it was a tremendous experience. People were of good will, but everything went wrong. Even Mr Tosi (President of the South American Association), incidentally, a very polite man, found it necessary to interrupt the game between Ceulemans and van Bracht to comment on a long run with an impassioned speech. Unbelievable!
(From a report by Mr Nijenhuis - Secretary of the Dutch Billiard Federation)
First and Last World Championship in Bolivia
The tournament was supposed to start Monday, September 22 at 15:00. We naturally wanted to be on time, but Ceulemans reassured us. He had some experience with the organization of tournaments in South America. When we arrived at a quarter before 3 at the hall, the cushions were not yet done.
The tables were aligned with a meter-long 'snake' full of water. Amazed, we watched. And of course, the result was an inclined bed. Ultimately Ceulemans himself grabbed a bubble level and got the tables horizontal. Thus, the games could begin. Approximately 600 spectators sat in the hall and after the first shot stopped Ceulemans paused. There were two long legs sticking out from under the table. What was that? It was a worker still underneath tightening the screws!
There was no railing between the tables and the audience. The result: Many people walked between and around the tables and waiters almost knocked the cues out of the players’ hands. In spite of the disjointed organization it was a tremendous experience. People were of good will, but everything went wrong. Even Mr Tosi (President of the South American Association), incidentally, a very polite man, found it necessary to interrupt the game between Ceulemans and van Bracht to comment on a long run with an impassioned speech. Unbelievable!
(From a report by Mr Nijenhuis - Secretary of the Dutch Billiard Federation)
