World Abilitysport Head of Development, Craig Carscadden MBE, has been appointed as the new Head of Classification for World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS).

The appointment forms part of World Abilitysport’s wider initiative to support emerging and developing Para sports, sharing its expertise to ensure growth while maintaining compliance in areas such as classification.

Carscadden has served as Head of Development at World Abilitysport since April 2023. A Paralympian who represented Great Britain at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games in the 800m, 1500m and 5000m, he brings both athletic experience and extensive expertise to the role.

He was also a key player in developing classification systems for Frame Running and was part of the team awarded the 2025 IPC Classification Recognition Award (read more: http://bit.ly/42FYBVp).

Since joining World Abilitysport, Carscadden has provided advice and practical support to a number of International Federations. His appointment with WDBS reflects World Abilitysport’s commitment to supporting new and upcoming disciplines to grow and develop underpinned by best practice in P.I. classification.

Craig Carscadden said: “It gives me great pleasure to be taking on this role, and I look forward to working with the WDBS team as part of World Abilitysport’s efforts to provide support to International Federations in the key area of classification.”

“I hope my experience here and in adaptive sports more generally can help WDBS fulfil their long term aims. This appointment highlights the strength of this partnership and World Abilitysport’s commitment to support the growth and development of disability sport”.

Nigel Mawer QPM, WDBS Chairman said: “I am delighted to welcome Craig to the team as WDBS continues to expand with the aspiration to see snooker become a Paralympic sport once again.”

“We have always strived to deliver a fair and transparent classification system for all players and with Craig’s invaluable support and experience, I am confident that further improvements can be made to ensure that we can provide as level a playing field as possible for all of our athletes.”

World Abilitysport and World Disability Billiards and Snooker collaborated for the first time in 2023 when Disability Snooker featured on the World Games programme in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The inclusion widened the player pool and strengthened the competition calendar, and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in April 2024 to formalise future collaborations.

World Abilitysport long-term strategic goal is to lead innovation in Para sport, helping to keep the landscape fresh and exciting by driving the growth of new and emerging sports through advisory support and our Guttmann Games programme.

The first edition of the Guttmann Games will be held from 16-21 August 2026 in Lahti, Finland. The Games, exclusively for non-Paralympic sports, will host a programme of seven sports, including disability snooker.

Harry Cootes, Head of Sport said, “The Para sport landscape outside of Paralympic Games sports is developing at an incredible pace and World Abilitysport has positioned itself in the driving seat of innovation. This partnership underpins World Abilitysport’s commitment to support sports to grow in a sustainable way for long term success through partnerships such as with WDBS and solid athlete pathways through inclusion in our Guttmann Games programme.”

Click here for more information on the 2026 World Abilitysport Guttmann Games.