Launceston teenager Lilly Meldrum is taking on the world one ball at a time.
A multiple-time junior Australian champion, the 13-year-old has been selected by the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council to play in three world championship tournaments in February.
Set to travel to Sheffield in the UK, Meldrum will compete in the open women's division as well as the under-21 women's championships and the under-18 mixed titles alongside three boys from Queensland.
The Riverside High School student, whose family moved to Tasmania from Queensland, started casually playing the sport as a nine-year-old before her father, Stuart, recognised she had some talent.
Under Phil Haycock's guidance, she was runner-up in the Australian under-12 snooker titles after just four months of playing and has since achieved plenty.
Meldrum has won the Australian under-12s mixed snooker championship twice, the under-18 girls' snooker championship twice (with the first win coming at just 10 years of age) and the under-12s pool title as well as various state junior titles and the 2021 Tasmanian women's snooker championships.
She was awarded the Ron Atkins OAM Award - named after the Tasmanian sporting legend - in 2019 and was presented with $500, which went towards her first Australian representation in Russia, where Meldrum made the quarter-finals of the under-16 world women's championships aged just 11.
Now coached by Launceston legend Graeme Pickett, the high-achieving teenager practices daily when not competing in weeknight snooker and pool competitions and is making father Stuart and her family proud.
"As a family we are all so proud of her achievements and we know she has a lot of talent," he said.
"Now she has a real opportunity to show her talents to the world's best, so it is a great honour to be involved with Lilly in snooker."
Those wishing to help Meldrum on her UK journey can donate through sportsfoundation.org.au by searching her name in the athletes page, with all donations tax deductible.
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
