"Shooting" Pool

I got this questionf from a friend of mine, any suggestions I told her I would ask the pro's :D
Thanks!
"I am using a Canon XSi. I am doing shots at pool tournaments and the light is only at the tables. The rest of the facility is without light. My kit lens only goes to 3.5 - frustrating to say the least. Also taking shots at a children's gymnastic center. I can't get the shutter speed above 60 and it's hard to get a cartwheel or back handspring with that! I found a 1.4 - $459 and 1.8 - $84.95. Trying to decide now if I want to go in debt or if the 1.8 will be enough for my novice touch."

You did not mention if you have already increased your ISO value. Have you tried an ISo of 800?

As for the 50mm. Do you think you can get close enough to the action with that lens?

I will ask her, thanks! I shoot mostly outdoor stuff (racing) so I was not sure exactly what she was using. Thanks for answering :)

The 70-200 F2.8 is the bread and butter lens of the pro's which shoot the Equestrian shows in my area, and even then in this one indoor arena they really are wishing for faster glass. From one pro using a Nikon D300, I've seen some great low light action photos he has taken with the F2.8 18-70 nikon lens at High ISOs in this arena. My old D70 even with the 50mm F1.4 wide open in that space just doesn't cut it, as the new cameras have so much better high ISO performance.

It sounds like she is shooting in full auto mode. I know with the canon xt in full auto mode with flash is going to shoot at 60 also. But She needs to shoot in full manual mode to shoot at a higher shutter speed up to 200.

First off, not photographically related - but I'd recommend not going into debt, especially over something like this...

This sounds like the light level I've had to shoot some bands at in "dive" bars. ISO1600, wide open and time your shots really well. Shoot a lot and be really careful with focus since the DOF is very shallow at f1.8. Brace yourself against a column or railing, find a shelf or something sturdy to set the camera on, etc (assuming no tripod). If there's too much digital "noise" at ISO1600, try converting to b&w.

Also, chances are the light will be really contrasty, making exposure tricky. Underexposing at a high ISO = a lot of noise, so this ain't easy - but when it works the results can be really good. There's a good chance that a properly exposed* shot will have both blown highlights and blocked shadows in a situation like this; if your friend can't make this work then try a different angle (figuratively and literally...).

*properly exposed = the subject (player's face, the ball, whatever you choose as the most important part of the shot), regardless of where exposure for other parts of the shot end up.