'I feel very lucky and honoured' - Boston-born snooker player to represent Great Britain in global sports event

Joe Hardstaff, 41, is due to take part in the World Abilitysports Games in Thailand in December.

The biennial event is designed to give aspiring Paralympians and emerging athletes their first taste of international competition. Previous competitors have included double gold medallist sprinter Jonnie Peacock.

Joe will be competing in snooker. The married father-of-two is currently ranked second in the world in his class. He secured his place in the tournament after winning a World Disability Billiards and Snooker tournament in May and then a Champions of Champion event in June.

Joe has phocomelia, a rare genetic condition that causes a child’s limbs to be underdeveloped or missing. He has no hands, short arms, and an above-knee prosthetic left leg. He rests his cue across his left arm, controlling it with two, small fused digits on the end of his right arm.

It affects elements of his game (such as shot accuracy and mobility), but not his spirit.

“I do struggle, but it is not a struggle that gets me down,” he said.

Joe started getting into snooker aged 14. He said the appeal was instant, explaining that it appealed to his perfectionist nature.

“You have got to be a bit of a perfectionist because it is such a precise game,” he said.

Pursuing his interest would lead to him sharing a table with his snooker hero Ronnie O’Sullivan, something he said he would ‘cherish forever’.

Earlier this year, Joe moved away from Boston and now lives with his wife and youngest child in Chester. For many years, he worked at Boston’s Bridge House Independent School (which he helped to set up), but has more recently been working in the software industry.

To take part in the World Abilitysports Games, he successfully raised £1,500 through a JustGiving fundraiser.

He gave a ‘huge thank you’ to everyone who has offered support for the event (be it donations or kind words). He described the gestures as ‘absolutely overwhelming’ and made special mention of Boston Snooker Club, which provided him with free table time.

“I feel lucky, very lucky and honoured to go and try to do my best to represent myself, the country, the sport – all those things,” he said.