Whilst reading “The Official Rules of The Games of Snooker and Billiards” as published by The WPBSA I came across 113 errors! not spelling mistakes nor were they errors in the rules themselves but errors in political correctness.

In total there are 61 instances of the word “He” and 52 instances of “His” published in the booklet, being a 21st century sport with female players and referee’s in The Game of Snooker across the World surely this should read “He/She” & “His/Her”

It may seem like a small matter which I am sure will be rectified in a later edition of the rules but it may not actually be something that can be put off for long! if a Snooker player in the official rule book is referred to as “HE” then technically Reanne Evens can play with out rules.

Definitions, 6(e) - Following the final stroke of the opponent’s turn, if an incoming player plays a stroke/strikes the cue-ball before the balls have come to rest, he shall be penalised as if he were the striker, and his visit to the table shall end.

So by the rule, if Reanne were playing in this situation, SHE shall not be penalised and she could carry on playing.

The rules have recently been amended as we reported here, but this clearly shows that the rules were not given the once over by a lawyer which I would of thought is common practice when editing a official document of a governing body.

I have highlighted all of the errors and passed the document onto The Chairman of The WPBSA Jason Ferguson and also sent a copy to Barry Hearn.