Blog entry from 2024-06-12
Indication of source & original article: TIROLER WIRTSCHAFT / The magazine of the Tyrolean Economic Chambers, 31 May 2024 / #05, pages 10-11 | https://digitale.tirolerwirtschaft.at
Jimmy Riml has turned his hobby into a profession. The native of Ötztal has been running the Billiard Sports Arena in Innsbruck since 2006. In the Kranebitter Allee, Riml has a total of 14 billiard tables that make the hearts of professionals and amateurs beat faster. In addition to six pool tables, there is also room for four snooker and four carom tables.
In his Billiard Sports Arena Innsbruck, the Tyrolean not only offers an eldorado for cue players, but also organizes international remote billiard tournaments with the help of his MYWEBSPORT system.
The high-quality billiard tables have a playing surface made of Turkish marble under the billiard cloth, which guarantees that the balls run perfectly. Meanwhile, Riml provides members of the clubs based in the Billiard Arena with 24/7 access via a key chip. Six steel dartboards also attract darts enthusiasts to the Billiard Sports Arena. 25 own parking spaces in front of the building and a direct connection to the public transport network also make it easy for players from all over the greater Innsbruck area to get here.
But it's not just local sportsmen and women who get their money's worth with Riml's range. The Tyrolean also attracts the attention of billiards fans throughout Europe and beyond with his MYWEBSPORT system for remote billiards.
Remote billiard system
The Billiard Sports Arena Innsbruck can also offer this technical speciality: two MYWEBSPORT systems (MWS) are installed here. "The MWS system makes it possible to play online with other players worldwide at the billiard table in your own local club. Environmentally friendly and without limits", says Jimmy Riml, enthusiastic about the possibilities offered by the innovative system. Thanks to state-of-the-art measurement technology, consisting of a camera, a precision laser and supported by a monitor, the exact positions of the balls are noted after each shot in the game and projected onto the opponent's table when the order of play switches, so that the balls can be positioned accordingly.
The latest surveying technology is used in Riml's remote billiard system.
Jimmy Riml discovered his passion for billiards and its various forms of play during his studies at the end of the 1980s. However, he quickly reached a level where nobody in Tyrol could hold a candle to him. To remedy the problem, Riml began commuting to Vienna more often in his free time to compete with Austria's best billiard players and further optimize his own style of play. The idea for the remote billiard system was already forming in his head at that time.
Optimal training options
In 2008, the technical development had finally reached the point where Riml's innovative idea could be realised and the first MWS prototype was registered for a patent. After five more years of development work, the fully developed system - a "genuine Tyrolean product" - saw the light of day. "Development, production, marketing and installation are all carried out by Tyrolean hands and Tyrolean experts", reports Riml, "in particular the development of the software by Mario Prantl from MP Solutions in Kolsassberg should be emphasised".
Based on its video and laser technology, the MWS system offers a variety of training options and completely new tournament formats. Thanks to the remote billiard system, it is possible to play a match with a person anywhere on the planet, as long as a MWS system is installed there.
Enables online tournaments: The MYWEBSPORT system is very easy to operate by remote control.
"We are currently playing three different online tournaments against teams from all over Europe", reports Riml. Beside a handful of privately used remote billiard systems, there are currently over 25 public MWS systems in eight countries on two continents. "Most of our locations are billiard clubs that are open to the public. More than 300 players who currently have access to a system in their own club together form the MWS community", says Riml, describing the status quo.
The MWS system also offers optimal training opportunities. In addition to a precise analysis of the running lines and the speed of the balls, thanks to the camera recording, any game situation can be recreated after a match and analyzed together with a trainer.
Sustainable tournaments
Thanks to the MWS system, players in the Billard Arena Innsbruck are able to challenge opponents virtually. The game is played according to the usual rules, just not in the same room. Thanks to MYWEBSPORT, Jimmy Riml is able to hold international tournaments in the Billard Arena Innsbruck without the participating athletes having to travel to Tyrol. If the preliminary rounds are played in the local billiard clubs and the finals are decided via remote billiard system, tournaments with more than 1,000 participants can be held.
"Our means of transport to bring the tournament participants together is neither train nor plane - but the Internet. This not only saves time and money for the athletes, but also tons of CO₂", argues the environmentally conscious billiards enthusiast.
Always keeping the goal firmly in sight: Jimmy Riml wants to convince billiard enthusiasts all over the world of his innovation with online tournaments.
The purchase price for such a remote billiard system is around 10,000 euros and is comparable to a modern e-bike. An investment that pays off for clubs with quality standards and ambitious athletes due to the great advantages of the MWS system. The installation of the MWS system comes with various and previously unthinkable training options that can lead to performance improvements. The expanded pool of opponents across the continent and beyond who can access a MWS system provides a greater challenge and increased enjoyment of the game.
"Many clubs know that we offer remote billiards, but have never tried the MYWEBSPORT system", says Riml. Meanwhile, the MYWEBSPORT platform already records over 100,000 hits per month online. In addition to enthusiastic athletes who can train together or compete against each other in different locations, the online tournaments are also streamed here.
In the future, the resourceful entrepreneur wants to continue to organize regular online tournaments based on the MWS system in order to inspire more and more cue athletes with his innovation.