Hello, my name is Leona Edwards and I am the Secretary of the Virgin Islands Billards Association. Billards is a sport that has been played here for a very long time. We have players as young as 7 or 8 years old, and players up to 72 years old.
Our mission here in The Virgin Islands is to promote this as a sport. It is played all over, as a sport. Most people feel that it is a bar game, but there is an actual league that are played here in St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Our youngest professional player, Mahkeal Parris, traveled to Moscow, Russia this past October to participate in the World Juniors 9-ball Championship. I am so excited to say that Mahkeal came in, he won the 2018 World Junior 9-Ball Championship Game, not only making history here for St. Croix, but history for Team U.S. This is their first time ever winning this title. It was just a great experience to have attended. It was awesome.
"Hello, my name is Mahkeal Parris, I am in the 11th grade, I am 16 years old, and I attend St. Croix Central High School. When I grow up I want to be a professional pool player. VIBA helped me a lot... The one thing I like the most about playing pool is the competition. This past October, I won the under 17, World Juniors 9-ball Championship 2018 in Moscow, Russia."
- Mahkeal Parris, St. Croix VIBA member and winner of the World Juniors 9-ball Championship 2018, Moscow, Russia
"We would like to thank the VI Lottery for partnering with us on this trip to Moscow Russia. We could not have done it without you. We are so grateful to have had that opportunity and look forward to partnering more with you in the future."
- Leona Edwards, VIBA Secretary
