Natalie Stelmach
Born1957 or 1958[1]
Sudbury, Ontario
Died(2011-07-08)8 July 2011 (age 53)[1]
Sport country Canada

Natalie Stelmach (1957/1958[2] – 8 July 2011[1]) was a Canadian snooker player. She was runner-up in the 1984 Amateur World Women's Snooker Championship.

Biography

Stelmach started playing in 1973, at a newly established family recreation centre. The owner, Gabe Tarini, introduced Stelmach to snooker and later became her coach.[3]

At the age of 16, Stelmach was one of two Canadian entrants to the 1976 Women's World Open, held in England.[4] She lost in her first match.

According to an article in Maclean's magazine in April 1979, Stelmach had never lost a match to another woman in Canada. She had won the Canadian national title each of the four times that it had been staged.[3]

In April 1981, Stelmach made the first half century by a woman in competition, on the way to winning her sixth Canadian Open title.[5] She has a claim to be the first woman to make a century break, scoring a 109 in 1977.[6]

Also in 1981, Stelmach and her playing partner Cliff Thorburn won the World Mixed Pairs Championship. They beat Vera Selby and John Virgo on total points scored, 262–239 in the final, after beating Grace Cayley and Tony Meo 267–200 in the semi-final.[5][7]

Stelmach reached the final of the 1984 Amateur World Women's Snooker Championship, defeating Lynette Horsburgh 3–0, Maggie Beer 3–1, Gaye Jones 4–0 and then Caroline Walch 4–0. She lost in the final 1–4 to the 15-year-old Stacey Hillyard.

Titles and achievements

  • Canadian Open Women's Champion 1976
  • Canadian Open Women's Champion 1977
  • Canadian Open Women's Champion 1978
  • Canadian Open Women's Champion 1979
  • Canadian Open Women's Champion 1980
  • Canadian Open Women's Champion 1981[8]
  • 1981 World Mixed Pairs Championship (with Cliff Thorburn)
  • 1984 Amateur World Women's Snooker Championship runner-up.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Natalie Stelmach Obituary". yourlifemoments.ca. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  2. ↑ Hunn, David (11 April 1976). "Women Pocket Men's Pride". The Observer. p.25 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 30 August 2019. Canada sent their new champion, a 17-year-old whose long journey soon proved fruitless. 'And now,' Natalie Stelmach told me, 'I'm going back home to practise eight hours a day and next year I'm going to come back and win it.'{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. 1 2 Pagnucco, Frank (9 April 1979). "She banks, she pockets, she snookers her foes". Maclean's. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Everton, Clive (6 April 1976). "Women Take Cue". The Guardian. p.27 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 31 August 2019. Two Canadians and an Australian will, in fact, travel to Middlesbrough to compete. Natalie Stelmach the Canadian champion, is only 16 and made a break of 46 in the Canadian Championship.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. 1 2 Everton, Clive (8 May 1981). "Davis suffers mixed fortunes: Snooker". The Guardian. p.25 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 30 August 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ↑ Graham Duncan. "Billiards". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  7. ↑ Everton, Clive (9 May 1981). "Sports in Brief". The Guardian. p.23 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 30 August 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. ↑ Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker – The Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 154–156. ISBN 0851124488.
  9. ↑ "World Champions". womenssnooker.com. World Women's Snooker Collection. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.


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