by Yee Chun Leong  (
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/sport-national/2010/01/13/11-bruneians-pass-cue-sports-officiating-course)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWANWednesday, January 13, 2010BRUNEI now have 11 new local certified referees who passed the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU)-approved Level C training course which came to a close yesterday at the Lecture Theatre of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

Those who passed the seminar organised by the Brunei Darussalam Cue Sports Association (BCSA) and APBU, were the first batch of local certified referees in the Sultanate at the Jan 10-12 event.

The training course was conducted by Steven Lin Sheng Yung, who is the secretary and tournament director of the APBU.

“I’m just here to share my experience and I see that the referees in Brunei have potential in become international referees in the near future,” said Lin, who hails from Taipei, in an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

“Usually I do training for coaches but this is a special request from the sponsors and it’s good to be able to conduct this course for the referees,” said Lin, who will coach the Taiwanese team competing in the Asian Games in Guangzhou in November.

Lin will be the tournament director for the upcoming Asia vs Europe 9-ball Team Championship from Jan 15-17 at the Sutra Hall of the Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong.

Lim Tat Hwe, the national cue sports coach, felt that this was a very good outing considering that all the participants passed the exam.

“All the members did well in both the oral and written tests. Everyone scored above 85 per cent and we even had one who scored 100 per cent for the written test,” said Lim.

“Now that they are certified, we have picked out some of them to referee for some of the matches at the Asia vs Europe 9-ball Team Championships,” added Lim.

Lim felt that this was the best opportunity to hold the course since an official from the APBU would be here for the upcoming competition.

“We have always called for volunteers to help referee for previous tournaments such as the Borneo Games or national competitions in previous years. This was a good chance for us to get an official from the APBU to come and conduct a course,” said Lim.

“Now at least they are certified and can even referee for international competitions in the near future,” added the 36-year-old Lim.

Both the oral and written examinations were done yesterday afternoon.

Other topics in the three-day course include the “World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) Rules and Regulations”, “Refereeing Technique, Hand Signal and Languages’ and “Knowledge of Pool Rules for Referees”.

Present as the guest of honour to hand out the certificates to the now certified referees was Hj Mohammad Panglima Asgar Dato Paduka Hj Abdullah, the Director of the Youth and Sports Department under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Meanwhile, with just days to go to the Asia vs Europe 9-ball Team Championship, Lim believes that national cueist, Teo Chee Soon, is ready for the challenge competing for the Asia Team.

Other players in the Asia squad are Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Dajngo” Bustamante of the Philippines and Chinese Taipei’s Ko Pin Yi, nicknamed “Prince of Pool”, and compatriot Lu Hui Chan, who is better known as “Whirlwind Kid.”

“After yesterday’s (Monday) training, he’s doing very well. He’s just trying to keep cool and calm his nerves before the competition,” said Lim.

Teo, currently ranked No 2 in the Sultanate and No 50 in the APBU, teamed up with His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, in the 9-ball doubles event at the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos last December.

The Asia vs Europe 9-Ball Team Championships is organised by the Brunei Darussalam Cue Sports Association and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

It is sanctioned by both the European Pocket Billiard Association (EPBF) and APBU.

Sponsored by GHK Motors Sdn Bhd, the three-day tournament offers a lucrative sum of US$27,000 for the team champions.

The runners-up will get US$13,000.

Winner of the singles category, meanwhile, will take home US$5,000.