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The Universities Pool Council (UPC) promotes the
sport of pool at Higher Education institutions
in the United Kingdom and exists for the benefit
of players at this level. We are recognised both by
the English Pool Association (EPA) and by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS)
as the governing body for university pool.
Our aim is to provide each and every student
in Britain with the opportunity to represent their
university at pool across a range of disciplines.
We stage team and individual tournaments around
the country in both nine-ball and eight-ball pool.
The season culminates with the prestigious
Student Home Internationals (incorporating the BUCS-UPC Home Nations) in which representative teams from
the constituent countries compete against each
other to be crowned Student Home Internationals Champions.
However, our involvement in student pool does
not stop here. We are always keen to welcome new
institutions to our competitions, so any individuals
who are interested in setting up a team at their
institution should contact us if they require
guidance or tips.
We also recognise that not all players will be
of the standard to play in our events. Therefore
we strongly support pool at inter-mural level
to cater for players of all abilities, and we
are happy to lend our organisational expertise
to help clubs develop such competitions. If you
would like advice on the running of inter-mural
competitions feel free to contact us.
In the 2005-06 season, pool at university level
took a huge step forward when the British Universities
Sports Association (BUSA), now BUCS, recognised the Universities
Pool Council (UPC) Eight-ball Pool Championship,
and, from the 2006-07 season, this recognition
was broadened further to include the Home
Nations following the UPC’s successful submission
to the BUSA/BUCS National Committee. Such recognition
provides student competitors with not only access
to extra funding possibilities but also gives
greater recognition for their achievements. Pool
at university level continues to progress and
following this decision pool is now firmly part
of the BUCS family of sports.
The UPC executive board consists of:
Executive Chair: |
Dr. Iorwerth Griffiths |
Commercial Director &
Vice-Chair: |
Oliver-John Dark |
UPC Board Member: |
Tony Perna |
Communications Director: |
Dave Graham |
All of the board are university educated and, during their studies, had active participation in local university leagues and tournaments, not only in playing but in some cases the very establishment of the pool clubs, tournaments and leagues themselves.
Indeed, this shared personal enthusiasm for the sport of pool was integral to the creation of the UPC. The lack of a sufficiently diverse pool tournament calendar for students above the local level, despite there being events for many less popular sports, prompted Dr Iorwerth Griffiths to create the UPC. The UPC now has
a strong committee of individuals who all have
a shared personal enthusiasm for the sport of
pool.
 Dr Iorwerth
Griffiths
UPC Executive Chair
Iorwerth gained a BA (Hons) in Politics at
Leicester before completing his MA in Political
Theory and Social Criticism at Queen's University,
Belfast. Whilst starting his PhD at Keele,
Iorwerth dusted off his pool arm to play in
the various local tournaments there, organised
by future UPC Director Oliver Dark, with whom
he shared many a pool marathon. Having moved
back to Ireland, Iorwerth recently completed
his PhD back at Queen's University, Belfast.
Iorwerth currently plays pool on the Northern
Ireland 8-ball Tour and Ireland's 9-ball Tour
when time allows.
Greatest
Pool Achievement: Achieving a "plus
score" against Oliver Dark (once).
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 Oliver-John
Dark
UPC Commercial Director & Vice Chair
Current UPC Staff Nine-ball Champion
Oliver completed a four-year BSc (Hons) degree
in Criminology and Psychology at Keele in
2001, following which he spent a year as Students'
Union President there. Throughout his five
years at Keele, Oliver competed in and organised
several weekly tournaments and leagues at
Keele across various disciplines, and assisted
in not only establishing the pool society
there, but also in providing the finest tables
Keele University has ever seen. Since graduation,
Oliver competes in the Surrey league (when
time allows).
Greatest Pool
Achievement: Being the first (and
only) student to ever complete the Keele "Grand
Slam" of all five university-based tournaments
in a calendar week.
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 Tony Perna
UPC Board Member
Tony achieved a BA (Hons) in English Language
and Linguistics from Essex University and,
whilst there, stood as Pool Club President
during the period 2002-2004, collecting
the Essex University Team of the Year sports
award in 2004. This was partly due to leading
the Essex University Pool Club to the runners-up
prize at the UPC Eight-ball Pool Championships
in 2004. Tony currently plays in local competitions
(when time allows).
Greatest Pool Achievement:
Member of the Essex team who were runners-up at the
UPC Eight-ball Pool Team Championships in
2004. |
Dave Graham
UPC Communications Director
Current UPC Staff Eight-ball Champion
Dave gained a BSc (Hons) in Management at
Queens University, Belfast. He is a keen
player at both snooker and pool, winning
various titles in 2004, including the UPC
Eight-ball Pool Team Championships, the
BUSA Snooker Junior Team Championships,
and the BUSA Snooker Junior Individual Championships.
Currently plays County for Berkshire,
and has a snooker high break of 94.
Greatest Pool Achievement: Winning three major cuesport championships
in the same year (2004) at university level. |
 Jon Shapland
UPC Senior Referee
Having never previously picked a cue up, Jon discovered his passion for cue-sports whilst an undergraduate at the University of Nottingham, from where he graduated in 2002 with a BSC (Hons) in Mathematics. Jon helped re-form the University's then-defunct Snooker Club at the end of his first year, but his second year saw him fall in love with the game of 8-ball pool and Jon's involvement in pool now stretches way beyond UPC. Jon serves as EPA Region 3 Director and is a fully-qualified referee, having previously refereed at the All-England Inter-County Finals at Great Yarmouth and the World Championships at Blackpool.
Greatest
Pool Achievement: Qualifying to go on the IPA Tour with a match to spare.
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