Rochelle Woods (billiards player)
| Born | 1999 (age 24–25) |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
| Nickname | Rochy Woods |
| Best ranking finish | Runner up 2015 World Women's Billiards Championship |
Rochelle Woods (born 1999), also known as Rochy Woods, is an English player of English billiards. She was runner-up in the 2015 World Women's Billiards Championship.
Early life
[edit]Woods took her GCSEs at Litcham School[1] before going to study for a BTEC award in sports coaching.[2] She has a twin sister called Tiffany[1] and prefers to be known as Rochy rather than Rochelle.[2]
Woods started playing billiards at the age of ten, having been introduced to the sport by her coach Phillip Welham at a taster day.[3][1] She entered the English Under 16 Billiards Championship in 2013 and lost to the eventual champion James Eyre by 10 points.[4]
Career
[edit]Woods entered the English Girls Billiards Championship for the first time in 2010 at only 11 years old, and lost in the final to Hannah Jones of Derby. Jones also defeated Rochy in the final in 2013, before she won her first National Girls Championship defeating Josie Wright (Thetford) 115–98 in the 2014 final.
In 2015, Woods beat Hannah Greeno (Narborough) to win the English Girls' Billiards event,[5] and later in the year qualified from the round-robin stage for the final of the World Women's Billiards Championship, held at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds. Emma Bonney won the title for the tenth time, defeating Woods 334–119 in the final. Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds[6]
Woods won the 2016 English Girls' Billiards title by beating Greeno in the final again. She was also a losing semi-finalist in the National Junior (under 19s) championship, losing 108–113 to Nathan Boughren.[7] At the 2016 World Women's Billiards Championship, Woods lost all four of her matches, to Bonney, Revanna Umadevi, Gaye Jones and Eva Palmius.[8]
The following year, aged 18 in 2017, Woods gained her fourth national title after defeating Brittany Chambers 152–48 in the final, and was also a losing semi-finalist in the National Junior (under 19s) Billiards championship again.[9] At the 2017 Women's World Championship, she failed to qualify despite recording a 178–166 win over eventual champion Emma Bonney.[10][11]
In March 2020 Rochy won the first ever holdings of the Norfolk Women's Billiards Championship defeating Jazmin Cainey (Narborough) in the final and the Norfolk Women's Snooker Championship defeating Emma Powers-Richardson (Norwich) in the final. In October Woods won the Eastern Counties Women's Billiards Championship defeating Cambridgshire's Brittany Chambers and was Runner-up in the Eastern Counties Women's Snooker Championship losing to Lauren Macnamee (Ipswich).
Woods was believed to be the youngest ever qualified WPBSA Worldsnooker coach when she qualified in 2015 at the age of 16, and two years later in 2017 established her own Junior Coaching Academy based at the Maltings Q Club, King's Lynn. Since 2017 she has coached in excess of 50 players at the Junior Academy in both English Billiards and Snooker.
Woods was also made Lead Coach for the Narbeck Boys Billiards League in 2020, joining the Coaching team of Dave Brown and Head of Coaching Phillip Welham. She also works with the Norfolk Billiards and Snooker Association helping to introduce their Development structure to West Norfolk. [12][13]
Notable achievements
[edit]| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1 | 2015 | World Ladies Billiards Championship | Emma Bonney | 119–334 | [6] |
| Winner | 2 | 2015 | English Girls' Billiards Champion | Hannah Greeno | 173-30 | [5] |
| Winner | 3 | 2016 | English Girls' Billiards Champion | Hannah Greeno | 175-56 | [7] |
| Winner | 4 | 2017 | English Girls' Billiards Champion | Brittany Chambers | 152-48 | [9] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Ely, Matthew (21 August 2015). "Teen takes her cue to become". Eastern Daily Press. England – via NewsBank. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Reach into coaching with the WPBSA". wpbsa.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Rochelle's on cue to pocket success". Dereham and Fakenham Times. England. 20 August 2015 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Juniors Final Day 21st April 2013". eaba.co.uk. English Amateur Billiards Association. 21 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ a b Graham, Mark (21 February 2016). "2014/15 – Junior Finals Day". eaba.co.uk. English Amateur Billiards Association. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Emma Bonney's 10th title". Snooker Scene. No. December 2015. Everton's News Agency. p. 42.
- ^ a b "Junior Finals". eaba.co.uk. English Amateur Billiards Association. 29 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Ladies World Championship". wbeventsonline.com. World Billiards. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ a b "West Norfolk players to the fore in Junior Billiards Championships". Lynn News. England. 4 April 2017 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "2017 World Women's Championship". wbeventsonline.com. World Billiards. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "2017 LITEtask World Women's Championship". world-billiards.com. World Professional Billiards. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ Leithes, Stuart (20 August 2015). "Snooker's youngest ever coach – 16-year-old Rochelle". ITV News. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Rochelle Helps Cue Sports Grow". wpbsa.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.