Marc Davis hopes more can be done both nationally and locally to help talented sportspeople make the grade.
In snooker, Davis – a seven-time North of Scotland champion – has experienced the difficulties of trying to make it as a professional with a lack of sponsors or support from the public sector.
Despite Scotland producing the likes of Stephen Hendry (seven-time world champion), John Higgins (four-time world champion) and Graeme Dott (2006 world champion), funding for the game is limited.
However, it’s not just his own sport that concerns Davis. The 33-year-old believes the north-east has been a hotbed of sporting talent and as a result believes more could be done to support the next generation of stars.
He said: “Sportscotland don’t seem to be interested in snooker and, bearing in mind Stephen Hendry is one of the most successful Scottish sportspeople of all time, I don’t understand that.
“I think in Aberdeen and the north-east more could be done by the councils to allow talented sports people to access support.
“You see the sporting talent Aberdeen and the north-east has produced – Hannah Miley, Lee McAllister, John Henderson and Paul Lawrie won the Open, which to me is the biggest sporting success anybody from Aberdeen has had.
“It’s amazing what Aberdeen and north-east has produced, but what people might have been lost because of a lack of support?
“There are a lot of successful businesses in the north-east as well and, I know this will have been a difficult time for a lot of them, (but) if more of them were willing to support people, it would make a big difference.
“Every successful sports person has had people behind them that have helped them get there.
“Nobody has done it on their own, it’s just not possible. Behind every success there is a little story in the background.
“And the little things people do can turn out to be huge things.”
Davis, who practices at Rileys and plays for the 22 club in the Aberdeen snooker league, says the talent and dedication at the grassroots of the game in the north-east is there in abundance, despite the lack of support.
He added: “Every tournament in Scotland I play in is in the central belt really and there’s three of us that travel from Aberdeen.
“There’s Andrew Gerrie and he comes from Mintlaw and works in fishing. He’ll pick me up and drive to an event in Glasgow, we’ll play in the event, we’re there all day and then it’ll be 1am or 2am before he gets home and then goes to work at 5am.
“That’s the dedication that people put into playing, he loves playing. But he helps me a huge amount and I appreciate so much what people like Andy do.
“There’s other people who do a lot as well, like Harry Brebner, who plays in the local league and came to watch me play in Players Tour Championship events in Poland and Germany a few years ago.
“The standard is a lot better than people think and there are some really great players in Aberdeen.
“Paul Hardy, who I play with, went down to the Scottish Amateur Championship a couple of years ago and knocked out the defending champion.”
