The United States Snooker Association (USSA) has accepted an invitation to enter a player to represent the United States in the snooker event of this year's World Games to be hosted in the Colombian city of Cali from July 25 - August 4.

The World Games, which were first held in 1981 in Santa Clara, California, which also happens to be the present home of the USSA, are an international multi-sport event for sports that are not currently contested in the Olympic Games.

The World Games are organized and governed by the International World Games Association (IWGA), under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

There are six categories of sports which are included in the World Games, and these are Artistic & Dance Sports, Ball Sports, Martial Arts, Precision Sports, Strength Sports and Trend Sports - in these Games, there is also an additional category for Invitation Sports.

Snooker is in the Precision Sports category under the umbrella of Billiard Sports, and the snooker event will be contested alongside events for pool and 3-cushion carom, from July 26 - 30.

Billiard Sports were introduced into the World Games back in 2001. Although the top ranked players on the professional World Snooker Tour have generally not participated, each of the Gold medal winners however have come from the many distinguished competing World Snooker Tour professionals who have entered.

In 2001 Belgium's Bjorn Haneveer won the Gold medal in the Japanese city of Akita, and in the 2003 Games in Duisburg, Germany, Great Britain's Gerard Greene took the Gold medal with victory over a 16-year-old Ding Junhui who was just about to start his professional career. The Gold medal winner from the last games held in 2009 which took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is the 1995 World Championship runner-up, Nigel Bond representing Great Britain.

Although these World Games will be played two months following this year's United States National Snooker Championship, the USSA was required to nominate a player immediately.

Sargon Isaac, the reigning United States National Snooker Champion, was unavailable for selection, so by right the nomination passed onto and was accepted by last year's runner-up, Ajeya Prabhakar.

Alan Morris, the Executive Director of the USSA, commented: "This is the first time that the United States has been invited to compete in the snooker event of the World Games, and the USSA is delighted to be involved in and to gain recognition alongside other elite American and world sporting athletes."

For the official website of the 2013 World Games, please click on the link below:
» 2013 World Games (English version)