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Globe photo: Wikimedia Commons
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THE WORLD OF A SNOOKER REFEREE O
Steely concentration, childish banter and 11-hour stints. We delve into the working lives of the game’s officials…
ccasionally in a game of snooker you’ll see a gloved hand swoop in and re-spot or clean a ball. You’ll sometimes hear a voice calling the scores or signalling the end of a frame. But most of the time you’ll be almost unaware that a referee is even present because they go largely unnoticed. But as the English Association of Billiards and Snooker’s Steve Starkie explains, that’s how they like it. The EASB referees’ north-west co-ordinator said: “Knowing the rules in mandatory, 70% of the rest of it is positioning around the table so you don’t get in a player’s eye-line. A good referee should be heard and not seen. “I’ve been refereeing about 15 years now and it is a very absorbing game if you get into it.” It’s not a job for the faint-hearted mind you - it’s a lot of work - with large periods of intense concentration required on a regular basis.
With most sports there are breaks for the players and snooker is no exception. However, whereas most refs get 15 minutes or so to recharge, snooker’s are still beavering away during the mid-session interval. Starkie said: “It’s not easy. The concentration required to do it at a good level is phenomenal. It is just awesome. “If you referee a match which is the best of 19 frames it can last five or six hours or longer than that. Players have chance to sit down when their opponents are at the table, the referee doesn’t.” The EASB’s director of referees Dan Lewis says it is the pre-match routine that helps officials concentrate on the task ahead. Lewis said: “Setting up your table focuses you immediately on your field of operation. Making sure the scoreboard is correct and that the equipment required at the table is there or you know where it’s located.
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