Aaron Has His Hopes on Australian Green and Gold
Muswellbrook’s Aaron Batchelor started playing pool competitively by chance, but now he is aiming to represent Australia for a third time later this year.
He is currently ranked second in the IPA Australian Amateur disability class, and has previously ranked fourth in the world.
“The year before last I went to Morocco for the World Championships, I don’t know how I done it but I finished fourth,” Aaron shared.
“I had to play another fellow Aussie for the third place, I was a knockout and it was that intense, I was laden and I just lost my way.”
Since he was nine years old Aaron has been living with a disability restricting movement in his side, this has made learning to control a pool cue even more impressive.
“I definitely have a big love for the game, the people just make it better,” Aaron said when discussing the sport.
In 2024 Aaron the Muswellbrook blackball player has already entered the IPA Australian competitions in hopes of defending, or bettering, his Australian ranking.
This weekend he will be competing in Melbourne, in April he will contest the Australian National Championships in Canberra, following that there will be two more IPA rounds in Melbourne and possibly another chance to don the green and gold at the World Championships in England.
Aaron also plays in and online competition that involves live streaming his games from home, and he plays social snooker to keep himself active around the table as snooker has similar rules and gameplay to blackball.
All this travel adds up for Aaron and his young family, with even the national competitions not subsidised or supported, so he would love to hear from any local businesses willing to support his participation in national and international competitions.
-JEM ANSHAW