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DIY Wine Cork Dart Board

Creating a Wine Cork Dart Board: When it comes to decorating your game room it can be very rewarding to add a personal touch.

Here at Golden West Billiards, we can help set you up with the dartboard, darts, and even a gorgeous frame that matches with the rest of your game-room. All you have to do is give us a call to figure out all the details. Of course, you can always come in, check out our lobby, get inspired and stock up on all your billiard needs.

Creating your own wine cork dartboard is easy! You will need:

Dart Board
Darts
Frame
Wood Screws
Glue
Lots of corks

Check out our board on Pinterest for board designs

A Simple Yet Elegant Design

The Morrison is a simple yet elegant table covered in a tournament green Simonis Cloth. Now, making its presence felt in a new pool hall in Fullerton, Ca. The hall contains 3 of the 9ft carom tables, 1 – 10ft carom table, and 1 – 9ft pool table.

For more details on this table please give us a call.

Learn more about The Morrison

Billiards as an Olympic Sport?

What is the status of Billiards as an Olympic Sport? This has been a question on everyone’s mind this year, and in years past whenever the Olympic games are occurring.

Billiards as an Olympic Sport

Billiards as an Olympic sport is something that billiard enthusiasts have long wanted to see, and many are searching for it via the internet this year. Well, we hate to disappoint, but it isn’t part of the 2008 Olympic Games, but we’re a lot closer than we were before. In fact, Cue Sports are already included in the Asian Games, SEA Games, Mediterranean Games.

Ever since in the 1950’s many attempts have been made in order for Billiards to possibly achieve the Olympic Recognition, but all of them to no avail. Two major obstacles were standing in the way; Billiards did not comply with the definition of Sports that was valid at this point in time, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demanded a possible recognition one organization in charge of all Billiards Sports. You can imagine how difficult this task would be, given that Billiards, Carom, Pool, and Snooker did share the origin of Billiards, but have developed separately from each other ever since in the middle of the 19th century.

Today’s reality, however, is that for Billiards at the Olympic level, the World Confederation of Billiard Sports (WCBS) now represent all games under the cue sports umbrella that are being pushed for inclusion in the Olympics. In 1998, billiards was recognized by the IOC as an “international sports federation”. Experts say, and agree, that this is the first step to getting billiards in the Olympic games. This organization is now campaigning for inclusion in either the 2012 Olympics, having been unsuccessful with getting cue sports into the 2008 Olympic Games.

In July 1996 the IOC decided to grant the WCBS a provisional recognition for two years. That was the first step. Then, another glimmer of hope came in 1998 when in a press conference, the IOC President stated that “the IOC is anxious to include Billiards Sports in the Olympic Games as quickly as possible, but the WCBS will have to decide which discipline it would like to include.”

The World Confederation of Billiards Sports actually has a page on the IOC website, as a registered International Sports Federation. The WCBS submitted an application for billiards participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in May of 2001 but were rejected in August 2002. The reason the IOC provided to the WCBS in 2002 to justify their denial of billiards into the 2008 Olympic games was that there had been a previous decision not to take on any additional sports for the Beijing Olympics.

At the previous summer games, the IOC advertised a new regulation, however, which says that the IOC will scrutinize all current and aspiring sports for inclusion using the same strict guidelines. This may just be the chance Billiards needs to get into the Olympics. Unfortunately, the IOC has a 28-sport, 300 event, 10,500 athlete limit.

If you found this story helpful, please “digg” it!

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Words of A Champion: Jeanette Lee

In Billiard Digest Jeanette Lee speaks some words of wisdom when asked the following question by Joey Land, Scottsdale, Ariz. “How do you prevent negative thoughts from taking over when you miss a shot or are struggling at the table? Once the wheels start coming off, I can’t seem to get back on track.”

And she responded with “I think we all get off track. That’s just human nature and part of the deal with competition. I remind myself to stay in the present. It is better to be prepared with no opportunity than to get the opportunity and not be prepared to take advantage of it. I can’t be ready to capitalize on my next shot if I’m focused on something that happened in the past. All champions have to learn to get out of their own way. If you believe this, you have to actually practice clearing your mind of the past by staying focused on redeeming your mistakes and playing hungry. This doesn’t come naturally. We have to work to stay in the moment, stay hungry and believe in ourselves. And this has to be true in practice as well as in competition. You can’t just wait for yourself to start playing better or feeling like a victim when you don’t. You have to practice it, believe it and earn it to become the champion you are meant to be.”

About Jeanette Lee

Jeanette is also known in the billiard community as The Black Widow. Lee is a Korean-American who grew up in Brooklyn, New York during the 70’s. She’s now a proud mother of 6.

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GWB Pick of the Month – The Halo

The Golden West Halo is an exotic step forward from the design of the Golden West Rainbow. The sleek tapered rainbow legs give the Halo its futuristic effect. The curvature and design of the rails eliminate the blind aprons found on today’s average pool tables. The rail ensemble can be covered in a variety of Valtekz composite leathers. Your choice of many different colors and textures.
Create your own work of art.

The design of the Golden West Halo was conceived and built exclusively by Golden West engineers. The Halo is NOT mass produced overseas and is built for you one at a time in Portland Oregon. Please call for quotes and delivery times.

Custom build your own table! Give us a call today.

Meet the Majestic by GWB

This exquisite handmade creation has square legs with your choice of wood, stain, and felt. Made to order right in our factory located in Portland, OR. Give us a call for more details.

The Billiard Therapy

Check out this article called Playing Billiards Provides Therapy, Life Lessons For Locals by Ashley Crane as a Alligator Contributing Writer.

It’s interesting how these people found that billiards is a good form of therapy. By playing they’ve improved their lives all while having fun doing it!

Every Friday at 3 p.m., “Doctor” Robert Ramsthaler gets into his red pickup truck and heads to Main Street Bar & Billiards.

He is not there to drink. He’s there for therapy — “billiard therapy.”

“It’s geometry and motion, but it’s also an excuse for people to gather and talk about life,” Ramsthaler said. “In Britain, they have teatime. In Mexico, they have siesta time. In America, what do we have? More coffee or another drink.”

For Ramsthaler, billiard therapy is an escape from the daily routine that allows people to learn something in a social setting while enjoying themselves.

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What’s Happening at GWB

Take a look at what Golden West Billiards has been busy creating. This attractive table was custom built at GWB and it’s called the Westport’s.

The Westport is an innovative modern design. Functional as a pool and dining table combination with concealed and enclosed pockets hidden from view. The highly sophisticated and space aged look will enhance the image of your contemporary room. The Westport is available in different colors and finishes, black being very popular as you can see and has become a favorite as a corporate conference table.

Give us a call to learn more about the Westport and its counterpart shuffleboard.

Gracefully Loosing A Game

No one likes to lose in a game but everyone loses at one point or another. It’s important to learn how to lose with grace and how to win with humility. Losing gracefully is more respectable than a sore loser and winning without gloating is just as respectable.

Do you recall a time when you played with a sore loser? It not only made that person seem childish and made you feel like “this is my friend” making you question why you’re even hanging out with this person. Yes, being a sore loser is not an attractive trait to those around you. When you think about it, it’s not good for yourself either.

When you’re a sore loser it means you are lacking acceptance, to say the least. Growing and understanding yourself is very important and as you build your experience in both aspects the better you’ll get at dealing with the corresponding emotions.

You don’t have to feel bad about losing, learn from it making it a positive thing, after all, it’s just a game. It’s supposed to be fun so let it be just that.

” I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times” -Bruce Lee

How To Use Billiards As A Way to Keep Young People Off Drugs

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The definition of a “drug” is classified in two ways, one is prescribed by a medical provider to help treat a disease or conditions and the other is an unlawful use of a substance. Note there are some drugs which are legal such as alcohol and nicotine but even though they are legal there is always room for abuse.

How easy can someone get drugs?

There are many reasons people use drugs. May it be those which are easily accessible at local grocery stores. Those purchased at convenient stores as over the counter prescription drugs, those that can be found on the streets and those that can be given by an acquaintance. The point is that if your teen wants to use drugs they are widely accessible.

What are some reasons people use drugs?

One of the biggest overlooked reason people get hooked on drugs is due to the wide use of prescriptions drugs today. There is a prescription drug you can take for virtually everything, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, harmony imbalances, etc. All these pills can lead to a dependency which starts to become more of an addiction.

As you grow up it’s hard to fit in you don’t know yourself and what you’re about so you start feeling empty, alone you may even lash out and want to go against the grain in hopes of finding where you fit in. Or maybe the opposite is true the young adult already fits in they want to experiment, feel good, be popular. Both of these can lead to drug abuse.

Just because drugs are easily accessible doesn’t mean your child will end up being a junky. At this point in a young person’s life, it’s very important that they have support and people that care about them to help them make good decisions. Talking to them, listening to them, being a good role model for them, being involved in their lives, knowing their friends and friends families, establishing realistic rules, encouraging them to find healthy activities to fill their time.

Drug-Free Activities?

Keeping your mind and body busy will help fill the time. Finding healthy hobbies will encourage a drive for life and success even if it’s an adventure sport, such as dirt bikes or hiking adventures. Group exercise sessions, such as yoga or spin class. Volunteering positions, such as helping out at a local animal shelter or food bank. Spending time with friends and family doing fun stuff such as playing pool or going on a family trip.

Helping your young adult find balance is essential and we here at Golden West Billiards we’d like to help by creating a beautiful game table that you and your whole family can enjoy for a very long time. Please give us a call if it feels right.