The United States Snooker Association (USSA) is the internationally recognized governing body of the sport of snooker in the United States, with its current headquarters registered in Berkeley, California.[1]
Founded in 1991 by the British-born Michael Collins, the association functions as a non-profit organization to govern, regulate and sanction both professional and non-professional snooker in the territory of the United States. The association's objectives are also to promote and develop the sport of snooker in the United States, and to create a structure capable of supporting international championships in the United States, and to encourage and foster skilled American players to represent the United States at home and abroad.[1]
Despite its name and national scope, the USSA is not in any way related to or recognizes the game of American snooker, which is a strictly amateur, recreational ruleset promulgated by the Billiard Congress of America.
The USSA stages the annual United States National Snooker Championship, with the winner and runner-up gaining automatic selection to represent the United States in that year's IBSF World Snooker Championship. To be eligible to compete in the Championship, a player must be a citizen of the United States, in accordance of the rules of the IBSF.[3]
USSA Tour
The USSA Tour, which was introduced in 2009, is a series of scheduled snooker events throughout the season which are sanctioned by the USSA and played at various snooker clubs and billiard rooms across the United States.[1]
Any snooker player from around the world may compete in a USSA Tour event, except for those who are current professional playing members of the World Snooker Tour.
