The British Junior Snooker Championship was organised, usually as two age-restricted snooker competitions, by the Billiards and Snooker Control Council (B&SCC), which was known as the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC) until 1971. The under-19 competition was sometimes called the Junior Championship, and the under-16 competition was sometimes called the Boys' Championship.
The BACC had established the British Junior English Billiards Championship in 1922. In 1943 the Boys' Snooker Championship Association was formed, and invited boys under the age of 16 who were amateurs to enter its "All-England Snooker Championship". An article in The Billiard Player, official magazine of the BA&CC, stated that "Although the BA&CC takes no cognizance of players under the age of 16, it looks forward with interest to the progress of this Championship." The final of the first edition was held on 7 March 1944 at Baths Hall, Scunthorpe, and was attended by over 1,000 spectators. Gary Owen defeated Percy Hinton by 4 to 3 to take the inaugural title. In 1945, the Boys' Snooker Championship Association formally affiliated to the BA&CC. World snooker champion Joe Davis refereed the final that year, and Raymond Glendenning recorded commentary for broadcast on BBC Radio. This under-16 snooker championship ran annually until 1949, when the venue moved to Burroughes and Watts, London, under the auspices of the BA&CC.
In 1948, the BA&CC held a championship for boys aged 16 to 18, which was organised by W. J. Rainbow of Burroughes and Watts at Burroughes Hall, and became an annual event. Burroughes and Watts ceased trading in 1966, and there were no junior championships in 1967. Journalist Clive Everton was responsible for the revival of the championship in 1968. He arranged sponsorship from manufacturers Accles & Pollock, who were promoting a tubular steel and the venue was their sports club in Oldbury. From 1974, the B&SCC again assumed responsibility.
For 1992, the B&SCC decided to replace the under-16 and under-19 tournaments with a single under-18 event. However, the B&SCC went into voluntary liquidation during the 1991âÂÂ92 snooker season and that year's tournament was staged with the support of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Stephen Lee won the championship by defeating Paul Hunter 4âÂÂ2, and went on to win the English Amateur Championship a week later.
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