When women like Julie win at this sport, some men still accuse them of ‘getting lucky’

The first thing you’ll notice if you attend a chess tournament is how few women there are. It’s not uncommon for men to outnumber women by as many as 20 to one, often more, at these events.

Chess remains stubbornly dominated by men, especially among adults. At elite and professional levels, the bias is glaring. Globally, women make up only 2 per cent of Grand Masters, the Everest of achievements in the ferociously competitive chess world.

Despite the success Australia has enjoyed in women’s sports domestically and internationally — cricket, rugby league, Australian rules, soccer, to name a few — when it comes to chess Australia is placed 108th of 119 nations for gender equality, which is measured by participation, rating performance and progression at international tournaments. That’s according to a report published in March by the University of Queensland and FIDE, the worldwide governing body of chess.

But chess is not the only sport that skews heavily towards men for participation, prize money, achievements and stigma. Men outnumber women in cue sports (billiards, snooker, eight-ball, pool) and darts, which have long been associated with cultures and settings where women don’t feel welcome, or been barred from playing.

The paradox is there are no physical, biological or financial barriers to playing these games, be that at a social or even professional level. Gender is a raw nerve at the heart of these sports. Here, three champions reveal how they are hoping to boost female participation.

”I started playing billiards as a teenager, then pool in my 20s. It was social, with loud music, drinking, partying. When I got into my 50s, it was the same environment but I didn’t like it anymore.

In 2022 I returned to playing billiards and snooker, and I’ve won 10 state and national titles in the past four years.

Historically, women weren’t allowed in billiard rooms. It was a place men could go and be themselves, smoke cigars, drink cognac. It was for the upper class. It was a men’s sport.

The biggest problem now is that men don’t see women as their equal in snooker; even if we beat a man in snooker, it will be their belief that we got lucky. Quite often even if I win, my [male] opponent will tell me what I could have done better, what I should have done better.

That happens in billiards as well but not as much. It’s not as attacking as snooker. There tends to be less ego in it.

Funding is an issue for promoting women’s competitions, because if there are seven women for every 500 men in the sport, the focus will be on the men. That’s driven us to incorporate the Women’s Billiards and Snooker Network, which is solely devoted to promoting and developing women’s cue sports. We have no objections to men being on the board, and we have no objections to men being involved, but the network is purely to encourage women to play the sport.

Women get scrutinised. We’ll be told, ‘She looks good bending over the table’ – really sexist remarks like that. Weight, whether we look good in our clothes … they’re things that come up regularly.

When I play in open events, I’m often the only female playing.