Who's going to the Goldfields Open in Bendigo?

[Forman]

I'm gonna be traveling down from the Gold Coast for at least a couple of days of the tournament, there's just no way i could pass up the chance to finally see a world ranking event after years of following it on the internet.

I know there's quite a few Australian posters on this forum, who's gonna be making the trip to bendigo in July?

[TheRowdyOne]

Have you seen tickets for sale? if so where and how much?

[kluga]

Tickets and info available here (http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~2367816,00.html)

I've got an all day ticket for Tuesday and will probably be purchasing one for the final on Sunday as well

[Forman]

Tickets are available here: http://www.schweppescentre.com.au/tickets.shtml

Looks like full day tickets are $30 up till the semis then they go up to $45 :)

[pearce]

I'm going. I've got tickets for Thursday at 7:30 $25, Friday at 1pm $30 & Friday At 7:30 $35. Thats the last 16 and the quarters.

[wildJONESEYE]

as Australians how well supported in your opinion will this be in Australia.

[TheRowdyOne]

It would have been better if it was in a capital city, ie Melbourne entertainment centre. I'm not that good with geography but I think Bendigo is a fair way out of Melbourne with a small population.

[cantpotforshíte]

Ah.. Bendigo... I used to live about fifty yards from the grave of the man after whom the town was named. Happy days :)

[Forman]

as Australians how well supported in your opinion will this be in Australia.

I've honestly got no idea at all how many people are going to attend this.
Since the chance to see world class players is so rare over here i'd expect just about every person who plays snooker in victoria to be attending at least some of the matches. I also hear that snooker was quite big in australia back in eddie charltons day so I guess some of the older generation who dont nessicarily follow snooker anymore might show up for a look.

I really hope this gets a decent crowd but i also wouldn't be surprised if some of the early rounds and day sessions are pretty poorly attended.

Fingers crossed its well supported.


It would have been better if it was in a capital city, ie Melbourne entertainment centre. I'm not that good with geography but I think Bendigo is a fair way out of Melbourne with a small population.

I've never been to Bendigo but google and wiki tell me that its about 2 hours drive inland from Melbourne and has a population of about 100,000 people.
I'm not sure if the tournament being in bendigo will have much effect on attendance as most of the people going are likely to be pretty hardcore snooker fans and the difference between a 20 min drive or a 2 hour drive is'nt likely to be the deciding factor in wether they attend or not.
I must admit when i heard the new Australian ranking event was going to be in bendigo i was pretty surprised it wasnt being held in a bigger city instead.

[BoBnoGG!n]

yeh.. true. well ive heard locally (melbourne, south east) that lots of players from here r gonna go watch a lot of sessions, specially more towards finals. and bendigo and the neighbouring towns around there hav a pretty strong cue sport following out there, so id imagine locals would all go and see it. everyone that plays would be keen to support australian cuesports, so id imagine the sessions should do ok :p

[TheRowdyOne]

I'm not sure if the tournament being in bendigo will have much effect on attendance as most of the people going are likely to be pretty hardcore snooker fans and the difference between a 20 min drive or a 2 hour drive is'nt likely to be the deciding factor in wether they attend or not.
I must admit when i heard the new Australian ranking event was going to be in bendigo i was pretty surprised it wasnt being held in a bigger city instead.

The difference between a 20min drive or a 2 hour drive won't be a deciding factor in wether they attend or not. But it will be a deciding factor on how many sessions they attend, it may be one, it may be two, but you would have to be hard core to drive that far every day. It will be a big difference for the mums and dads who won't travel that far so their up and coming 14yr old can watch some good snooker. Or the weekend player who would like to go but.... 2hrs?

[Forman]

The difference between a 20min drive or a 2 hour drive won't be a deciding factor in wether they attend or not. But it will be a deciding factor on how many sessions they attend, it may be one, it may be two, but you would have to be hard core to drive that far every day. It will be a big difference for the mums and dads who won't travel that far so their up and coming 14yr old can watch some good snooker. Or the weekend player who would like to go but.... 2hrs?

Yeah, I think you're probably right, i guess with the tournament being in bendigo spectators will be more selective as to witch sessions they go watch rather than just going for all of them. Would be intersted to know the reasons bendigo was chosen rather than Melbourne or another Large city.

I'm going to be there all day thursday and friday for the last 16 and the quarters, looking forward to seeing some amazing snooker :)

[davipp]

I'm going, I'll be there from the 20th til' the 24th, the final. I have tickets for all these sessions and cannot wait. My memory goes back to the late 80's when the Winfield Masters were held in Sydney and that was when Steve Davis , Jimmy White, Alex Higgins were still at their best I would take a weeks holiday and attend every match. My best memory was seeing Willie Thorne make his 62nd maximum at City Tattersalls. Only reason why I won't be there earlier is I have snooker committments on the Mon. Tues.

[TheRowdyOne]

This ebay title and discription say there is 3 tables available but it seems that someone has brought 1 because there is only 2 available. Someone has to much money.....


http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australian-goldfields-open-snooker-table-PRE-SALE-/200515746165?pt=AU_Snooker_Pool_Billiards&hash=item2eafab7975#ht_3074wt_754

[thienyo12]

Damn it, 2 hrs drive to Bendigo is bloody insane. I still dont understand why they would host a world ranking sport in whoop whoop farm regions. We have an exhibition in the heart of Melbourne, why not host it there? Has anybody got a clue whether this is gonna be recorded or broadcasted somewhere?

[davipp]

I have a 9hr drive from the farm regions of NSW, have to pay for fuel + accommodation + meals and I'm looking forward to being part of this for Australian Snooker. Not everything can happen on our door step. Yes Foxtel are showing this live to air I believe. Never before have we had most players (I heard Ronnie O'Sullivan pulled out due to neck & back problems) from the top 16 in one tournament in Australia.
Back in the 80's we had the Winfield Masters where top players would come out to play but the difference this time is it is not the off season. These fellas are playing for a purpose, ranking points.