Try telling Tatiana Woollaston that the Crucible has lost its lustre. The iconic Sheffield venue is as special to referees as it is to players and fans.
Woollaston, one of the leading officials in the game, has seen the Crucible at both its best and its worst. She first took charge of World Championship matches at the 2020 tournament, which was played behind closed doors for the most part due to the pandemic. But last year, she had the honour of overseeing a single-table match for the first time, the semi-final between David Gilbert and eventual champion Kyren Wilson.
Once hailed by Ronnie O’Sullivan as “best ref in the world by a mile”, she oversaw the UK Championship finale between Judd Trump and Barry Hawkins this season. They have been pinch-yourself moments for the Leicester-based, Belarus-born official, who fell in love with the sport as a youngster while watching Russian language Eurosport with her father.
“The Crucible was a great, great moment,” reflects Woollaston, whose husband Ben plays Mark Selby in the first round on Wednesday.
“Walking out there, you understand what people say about it. Until you actually experience it, you don’t quite understand what makes the arena so special.
“I walked out, it’s full, it’s the semi-final of the World Championship. It’s so quiet and so intimate and I’m the one who has to speak, to announce the frame and announce the score. It’s very intimidating. For the first frame, I couldn’t breathe. It was like, ‘Wow, this is what it’s all about’.
“The closeness of the people and the atmosphere, where you can’t hear a thing, just me counting, it’s incredible. It took me a few frames to relax and start enjoying it and take it in. It’s amazing and I understand everyone who says the Crucible is the best arena we’ve got, it’s very special.”
Refereeing at the Crucible in Covid times was still special, albeit unusual. She recalls: “My first time was during Covid. It was when it was in August.
“We were only allowed the crowd in later in the event, for the final. Before then, it was behind closed doors. So when I walked out for my first-ever match at the Crucible, it was empty.
“But the referee on the other table, the markers and the cameramen, they all gave me a clap because it was my first time, which was really nice.”
Having overseen a Triple Crown final and a semi-final, it has been a landmark 12 months for Woollaston, 38. However, she isn’t one for keeping stats of memorable moments and games.
“If you ask me how many years I’ve been a ref, how many matches I’ve done, I’m so bad!” she admits. “I just live in the moment and enjoy it as it comes.
“Some of my colleagues have spreadsheets for every game, every century, every player, all kinds of stats. I’m not for that, I live in the moment and enjoy it. As soon as I’m off the table, I forget and move on to the next one.”
She adds: “I always say to people, ‘I wish you have something in life you love as much as I do in snooker’.”
While refereeing is Woollaston’s passion, it is a “hobby” rather than her full-time profession. Despite being a regular at major tournaments, the mum-of-two squeezes in a day job as a merchandiser for Next, whose head office is in Leicester. Following the UK Championship final in December, she was back at her desk the day after.
“That’s a surprise for people, that I’ve got a full-time job,” says Woollaston, who has worked for the company for more than a decade.
“Refereeing is my hobby. It’s [Next] a great company to work for and they’re very supportive of my refereeing career. They’ve been flexible with giving me time off when I need to go away or I sometimes work from hotel rooms rather than come into the office. They’re really proud to see me on TV.”
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