Three players from the Brecon pool league recently competed in the European Championships in Malta and all came back with medals. 

Wayne Jones, Tom Davies and Sally Davies all represented Wales at the Championships.

Wayne played well in the team event reaching the semi finals and losing narrowly to Scotland. He also reached the semi final of the singles before losing to the eventual winner.

Wayne has qualified for the Wales Seniors A again in 2024 and will represent Wales in the World Championships, also hosted by Malta. 

Wayne of Talgarth has represented Wales for over 28 years, now an integral part of the Seniors A Team (over 40). He has played at county level for Powys for 33 years, and locally in Brecon, Llandrindod Wells and Builth for even longer.

 He has over 250 titles to his name from local league team and singles events, through to county and international titles. His proudest moments were winning the European Championships in 2005 with Wales A Men in the Isle of Man, and the Nations Cup Senior Singles Event in 2017, this trophy takes pride of place in his man cave. 

Wayne intends to compete for as long as he can in a sport that has enabled him to have enjoyed so many special moments and make friends all over the world.

Tom Davies started playing pool at the age of 9 when his dad took him out to give his mum a bit of peace and quiet. He has natural talent and has rapidly developed his skills and is considered to be one of the best players Brecon has ever produced. He is recognised throughout the pool community in Wales as someone who has a bright future.  He has won many titles in the Brecon league (singles, doubles and team events) plays at County level and joined the Junior selection tour at the age of 12. He won both the under 18 and under 23 events in the same day at the age of 18. He has been ranked the top under 23 player for the last 2 years, and has achieved a top 10 position in the Men’s selection tournament.   He has represented Wales at Under 15, Under 18 and now under 23, winning team Silver in the Under 23 category in Cyprus at the age of 16, and again a team silver medal in Malta this year. 

Local driving instructor, Sally Davies has represented the Welsh Ladies B team every year since 2014 and has successfully got to the semi finals on a number of occasions. This year was the first time the Welsh Ladies B team have got to the final in 10 years, but unfortunately they were pipped to the post on this occasion. 

She first picked up a cue in her late 30’s as her husband played pool and she realised that in order to spend time with him she needed to learn how to play. She became a County player and in 2014 got her first invitation to play for the Welsh Ladies B team in Coleraine in Northern Ireland.

The Wales Ladies Squad is made up of 3 teams, the A Team are the elite Ladies, performing at the highest level, the B Team are those with the potential to become elite and have experience of performing internationally and the B1 are those also with the potential but at the outset of their international career. The Squad is fed through the Wales Ladies Ranking Tour which is a 5 stop tour around Wales enabling the best to compete with the best and potentially be selected to play for Wales the following year. The squad is led by Holly Heath, a Wales A player herself for more than 20 years. Holly is assisted by Helen Hallwood and Tanya Daw in managing the teams and by Richard Evans as Tournament Director for the tour.

Wales Ladies Manager, Holly Heath said: "The squad ethos is central to our recent success in Malta where the B Team made the final of the B event. The ethos is 3 teams one squad - everyone supports everyone regardless of position, team or problem faced.

"This has generated a feel good environment in what can be a stressful time and bred confidence and commitment. It is exciting to see what the squad can achieve in 2024 as the World Championship looms."