Meet Ronnie O'Sullivan's favourite referee Tatiana Woollaston who's married to snooker star

Tatiana Woollaston inactive has to pinch herself erstwhile she strides retired to referee astatine large snooker tournaments.

The Leicester-based, Belarus-born authoritative is presently connected work astatine the UK Championship successful York. Woollaston, 37, has emerged arsenic 1 of the apical referees connected the World Snooker Tour and had the honour of overseeing 1 of the semi-finals astatine this year’s World Championship.

It’s a presumption she volition ne'er instrumentality for granted. “I inactive don’t judge it,” she admits successful an interrogation for Reach’s peculiar UK Championship publication. “From watching connected the sofa with my dada to walking retired astatine the Crucible with 1 table, which luckily for maine happened this year, it’s inactive gives maine goosebumps.

“I can’t judge it’s happened and I consciousness precise privileged and grateful to World Snooker and my colleagues who person supported maine implicit the years. It’s a imagination and I emotion it.”

Woollaston, who is joined to subordinate Ben Woollaston, caught the snooker bug arsenic a teenager, avidly watching matches with her dada connected Russian-language Eurosport successful Belarus. “It was backmost erstwhile determination were conscionable 5 oregon six events a year,” she recalls. “Every clip an lawsuit finished, it was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s 3 oregon 4 months until the adjacent one!’ Me and my dada ne'er missed a match.

“Because it was a caller athletics successful Eastern Europe, the Russian Eurosport commentator would regularly explicate the rules. I was fascinated by it. It was similar chess, I loved it. One of my favourite players from backmost successful the time was Peter Ebdon due to the fact that I enjoyed the information play alternatively than conscionable breaks and potting. Even now, I inquire Ben however helium knows wherever cue shot is going to go. It inactive fascinates maine to this time due to the fact that the accomplishment is truthful unbelievable.”

With snooker being a number pursuit successful Eastern Europe, she ne'er considered a vocation successful the athletics until her last twelvemonth astatine assemblage erstwhile she amazingly spotted an advert for a tournament.

“One day, I was connected the underground and determination was an advertisement committee saying, ‘Belarus Snooker Championship’,” she says. “I thought, ‘Surely there’s nary snooker successful Belarus’ due to the fact that I thought it was lone based successful the UK, wherever it’s chiefly played.

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“But I went to the section club, which was chiefly a Russian billiards club. There were lone 3 snooker tables successful there. I saw immoderate radical refereeing and they had their sanction badges. I recovered 1 of the guys connected societal media and asked if I could effort and referee. They invited maine to 1 of their refereeing meetings and that’s wherever it each started.

“I went to the 2009 European Amateur Championship for under-21s and under-19s successful St Petersburg. It was a caller athletics successful Russia arsenic good and they didn’t person capable section referees truthful they asked america to travel and help. I met Luca Brecel and different players who went connected to go pros astatine that tournament.”

Refereeing alternatively than playing was ever Woollaston’s passion. She admits: “I don’t play astatine all. I’ve astir apt held a cue 10 times successful each those years. I’ve ne'er really wanted to play. It’s the refereeing portion that I enjoy.”

It is besides a occupation she excels in, with Ronnie O’Sullivan calling her the “best ref successful the world by a mile” during the past World Championship. Women’s snooker prima Reanne Evans agreed, saying astatine the time: “She's a apical ref. I truly complaint her, she's a large miss arsenic well. She deserves the final. She's apical people and I anticipation she does get the last adjacent year.”

So what makes a bully snooker referee? “It requires a batch of attraction because, astatine immoderate fixed time, thing tin hap and you request to cognize wherever the balls were,” explains Woollaston.

“The information portion is the 1 that requires the astir concentration. Especially for a referee who, similar me, doesn’t play. You person to larn the mode it’s played. You request to expect what’s going to happen. You person to beryllium capable to work the crippled and not to beryllium noticed.

“When radical say, ‘I don’t retrieve who refereed that match’, that’s a bully thing. You request to bash things rapidly and efficiently. You person to set to the players that you referee, wherever they similar you to stand, whether they play astatine a slower pace.

"A subordinate mightiness similar maine to basal a definite broadside depending connected if he’s a left-hander oregon a right-hander. You larn with experience. Concentration is the large part, there’s not a 2nd you tin relax. You person to beryllium connected the shot each the time.”

Woollaston, obviously, cannot referee immoderate of Ben’s matches. While the mates are avid snooker watchers, they support their respective careers arsenic abstracted arsenic possible.

“I don’t walk clip with Ben portion he’s practising to assistance maine refereeing-wise,” she adds. “He’s connected the circuit arsenic a player, I’m connected the circuit arsenic a referee. We’ve ne'er truly premix that. I’m evidently not allowed to referee his games and I wouldn’t privation to, to beryllium fair.”

Back during the days of Michaela Tabb, the show of a pistillate referee successful a male-dominated athletics was a newsworthy constituent of interest. Refreshingly, that isn’t the lawsuit present acknowledgment to a burgeoning fig of pistillate officials.

“There are rather a fewer from antithetic areas of the world, including China and Eastern Europe,” Woollaston points out. “It possibly was a happening backmost successful the day, ‘Oh, there’s a pistillate referee’. Now we are conscionable referees, we’ve each established ourselves.

“We’re not being seen arsenic pistillate referees and antheral referees, we’re conscionable being seen arsenic officials. It’s not quality anymore. It’s large for increasing the game. As agelong arsenic you’re bully astatine your job, it doesn’t matter.”

In what volition beryllium a astonishment to some, refereeing is Woollaston’s "hobby" alternatively than full-time job. Despite being a regular astatine large tournaments, she squeezes successful a time occupation arsenic a merchandiser for Next, whose caput bureau is successful Leicester.

“That’s a astonishment for people, that I’ve got a full-time job,” she says. “Refereeing is my hobby. It’s [Next] a large institution to enactment for and they’re precise supportive of my refereeing career.

“They’ve been flexible with giving maine clip disconnected erstwhile I request to spell distant oregon I sometimes enactment from hotels rooms alternatively than travel into the office. They’re truly arrogant to spot maine connected TV.”

Meanwhile, the Woollastons, who person 2 sons together, enactment each different successful their respective snooker careers. She adds: “Ben’s vocation is immensely important but helium would ne'er accidental nary to maine going to immoderate snooker events due to the fact that helium knows however overmuch I emotion it.

“If he’s retired of the event, he’ll instrumentality implicit doing schoolhouse pick-ups and homework. We enactment astir each different portion Ben’s mum plays a large relation helping america with the kids.”

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