Jenny Poulters busmans holiday

FOR two-time world seniors’ champion Jenny Poulter, travelling round the country on the WLBSA tour is home from home. The 46-year-old from Maidstone, a 26-year veteran of the women’s circuit, owns a snooker club in Kent.

Jenny Poulter

Poulter, who works with world number two June Banks at the 13-table club in Snodland, started playing at the age of 18 and has a top tournament break of 77.

She enjoyed a break from managing the Savoy to clinch the women’s UK Seniors Championship in September, beating former England international Chris Sharpe in the final at the North East Derbyshire Snooker Centre, Clay Cross.

But the 2007/08 six-event campaign began with a 3-0 defeat by former England international Katie Henrick (Bickley) in the invitation-only £1,200 Wytech Masters.

In the UK Championships, the first ranking event of the season, Poulter lost 3-1 to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s cousin Maria Catalano and was beaten 2-1 in the Plate final by the 2006 IBSF ladies runner-up Jaique Ip-Wan In (Hong Kong).

But she picked up the seniors’ title after a 2-1 triumph over 45-year-old Sharpe (Chelmsford).

And in the East Anglian Championship at Cambridge, Poulter lost 3-1 to tournament winner Henrick in the quarter-finals.

“When the season starts you have to push yourself a bit,” she said. “But once you get into the season you do tend to get back into the rhythm and look forward to playing.”

Once coached by 1979 world champion Terry Griffiths, she joined the Maidstone & District Snooker league in 1992 and turns out every Thursday for Division 1 outfit Savoy A.

Poulter said: “My brother started me off. I filled in now and again, and then started playing more often as they gradually accepted me. At that time there was a lot of clubs that didn’t allow women.

"But the tide is slowly changing. There’s only one club where they don’t allow women. [The blokes] do want to beat us but they’re just going to have to put up with it, makes me more determined to beat them.”