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First of all Michaela congratulations on being appointed referee for the final- a tremendous honour isn't it
Absolutely, it is what I have been working towards especially in the last three or four years you know I realised it was a reality, that was acheivable and to keep working as hard as I could and hoping that one day it would be my turn- so you know when I got the call I was absolutley delighted, terrified and all of it and the mixture of emotions that go with that obviously
It's fair to say the telephone call was not one you expected on the given day that it happened
No it wasn't at all, because it was at the beginning of the season and even not knowing when I would find out- because I do not know historically when refs do find out it was not what I was expecting at all.
Having said all that though you have had some experience of refereeing top class finals, you have refereed the Welsh Open, the Chinese Open and of course you became the first lady to referee the Masters final.
That's right yeah, so that was all brilliant the way it kind of worked; they gave me the Welsh final to start with then I did the Masters last year and I've done the China Open this year; which I wasn't expecting, obviously when I realised I had the World Final - so it's been brilliant because all these matches are different and all the situations in the different places are different so you have different things to look at, deal with; like crowds different, and obviously China you have the photographers and not even just photographers, people taking photographs so it is all good experience because you'll always learn something
When you did the Masters final you had a very vociferous crowd as well- half the battle is controlling the crowd
That's right especially at the Masters because they are so brilliant, it is a tremendous atmosphere to have 2 and a half thousand people and they are very verbal down there. So when you get the oohs and the aahs when the players miss or when a fluke happens it is not just you know, a little handful across the arena. The atmosphere there is absolutely phenomenal. I adored that match
Can you just run me throught the process of becoming a referee
Well the normal way of doing it is to go through your local association where you live, you know, your County association or whatever and then get your first qualification, your grade 3 and then work up to it from there. I was slightly different because I was already a qualified pool referee and I was asked if I would be interested because World Snooker had seen me on Sky doing that so I came in a slightly different route and took my exam and through the qualifying and came through that way
Plenty of studying the rules so on and so forth and putting them into practice
Well to be honest it is not the rules, the rules are not that actually difficult to the learn even though there are a lot of them and sometimes you do have to take your rule book out and read through it again because different situations don't happen regularly, but it is the application of them it is very much, I would even say up and to my last tournament I learned something new on how to deal with something slightly different. It is an ongoing process because you never get those same situations twice
It's the having to think off the top of your head so many times
Absolutley and the other thing with the rules is that they are there obviously in black and white as regards to rulings but a lot of the ways of implementing them is down to common sense and it doesn't explain these things in the rules. So it is a matter of using your experience and your knowledge and the situation in the game as well so different things can happen which keeps you going. It's mentally exhausting, the refs are tired because of all the things you have got to think about
You played pool yourself, and a few years ago you decided to leave the sport itself and move into refereeing
Well it kind of happened hand in hand because when I started with world snooker I wasn't contracted to do many days. And as I worked with them the number days I was required to work went up and because I have got a family; then when I went home having to go league pool every Tuesday night became a bit laborious because I wanted to be at home because I had just come back off a trip. So as the number of days went up so my travels increased the amount of time I wanted to spend or had available to spend on pool went down, I still pick up a cue occasionally, do still enjoy a game but I'm just not able to compete now at the level that I used to.
So more or less just a casual thing
Yes, I get to go to a tournament maybe because my family is there because my husband is still involved in organising pool events-then yeah absolutley delighted to pick up a cue and have a go but not on a regular basis, too demanding
And obviously you wanted to stay involved within the sport, so refereeing going hand in hand
Well it has worked out ideally. When I started out with pool eleven years ago I had no idea obviously it was going to lead to this and lead to snooker, so some people when they are at school say I want to be a doctor, or a vet or whatever, that didn't happen for me. It's all been very very strange for me how it has transpired, not unwelcome whatsoever of course because I'm loving my time, absoutley adoring the game and now to obviously be given the honour of the final is just the icing on the cake.
It doesn't get much better than that does it
No it doesn't I would actually say I might withold judgement on that till after it- knowing that I've got it coming is amazing. Everybody is so pleased, the amount of people who have come up;
Great feedback then
Yeah, absolutley fantastic, players, people involved within, everybody, it is phenomenal and obviously I haven't had anything negative because they'll keep their thoughts to themselves but you know hopefully, well I know I have earned it- it is just a matter of going out there and trying to do the best job that I can
When you qualified as a referee and started officiating what was the reaction those you played alongside when you started taking charge of matches
Well it was quite good because a lot of the players already knew who I was, and knew that I was a qualified ref, and knew that I had done television matches , so from the players point of view I didn't actually come up against any you know hardships there at all which was fantastic because that to be fair could have been a turning point obviously. I might not be here now if they had, but you know they gave me the opportunity to show them I could do the job which was phenomenal because obviously that's the biggest pressure irrespective of what anybody else says -it is the two guys that are on the table
How did you make the transition from pool to snooker
I still do the pool so it is hand in hand, there are a lot of different rules although the games are very different and there is a lot of rules in nine ball pool for instance that would be a foul but not in snooker so there are times when I have a little heart flutter because in either game something happens here and it is like- uh - no no it's OK it's nine ball he's allowed to do that or vice versa, so you know I have my moments like when a few times when the players on nine ball pool has potted the red ball and I have actually begun to go one - and then it's like arghh, and that's just obviously because I go from one game to the other. And it keep me on my toes I tell you.
Are there any matches be it pool or snooker that stick in the memory
Oh my goodness I have got loads- absolute loads- I've got loads for different reasons, good, bad indifferent you know-you'd need to ask me specifically
O.K then- the best match you have refereed in the Mosconi Cup and the best match in snooker.
Mosconi Cup - um,oh I don't know- there are so many good matches with that. I'll tell you a match that sticks out on pool which is quite pertinent to the snooker is the world championships and I can't remember what year it was- it was one of the early years that Steve Davis was playing Efran Reyes. Now Efran Reyes is my idol- he's the guy that if I'm out reffing anybody at nine ball pool I don't know what he is going to do next, and he is the only player who can put me in that position and he was playing and I adore him- not biased in anyway but he's just amazing and Steve Davis was playing him and he is 8-3 down and it is first to nine, and suddenly from - I don't know where Steve started and I'm like, what's he doing, what's he upset about, is something bothering him. Do you know what- he started playing lilke a pool player. Right from that moment. It went 8-4 then 8-5 and then I'm like Oh my God, Oh my God and he won it and that was one of the biggest matches that has stayed with me because the atmosphere that was there as well was amazing.
By any chance Michaela was that match in Cardiff at the world championships
It was, it was
Was that maybe 95-96
No the very first one we did was 99 so it was either 99 or 2000. I'm not sure- definately one of the first ones. Might have been 99, but it was and it was unbelievable and I talked to him after the match and he was obviously delighted and I said to him Steve something changed in you because I've reffed him many times in nine ball pool and he has always played like a snooker player. I said you played like a nine ball player and I've never seen you do that. And he said do you know what I'm looking at the shots and I'm thinking to myself what would Efran do here, what would Efran do here, and he really he did.It wasn't like I'd just noticed it he really played that match for the first time as a pool player.
So he put himself in Efran's shoes
Yes- yes it was unbelievable - it was such a match. I still couldn't believe it. Steve Davis can't beat Efran, he can't beat Efran, what's going on here. It was amazing
I was watching that match Michaela and I couldn't believe the recovery, 8-3 down one rack needed for victory- It doesn't happen does it
No very very rarely and I think the pressure was obviously- I can't even remember how many shots Efran got because it all becomes a blank really. But I don't know it was amazing and it was one of the best nine ball matches I have ever reffed.
You have a son, I believe, Preston,
I have two sons Preston who is going to be three very shortly and Morgan who is going to be 12 in June
So how do you combine refereeing with being a Mum- and how do you find time to relax
To be honest when I'm working I tend to find more time for myself than I do when I'm at home obviously when I'm at tournaments I'm all right. I obviously miss the family but I know I've got to be focused on what I'm doing so when I'm working I'm a referee, when I go home (Michaela snaps fingers together) I have to go back to being a Mum straightaway, there's no easing into - straightaway, dirty washing there, everything gets done that needs attention, and everyone gets fed. So at home I have obviously got my boys about all day long so I don't get a lot of free time, whereas here although you are always working hard you have always got a session off, so you get an opportunity- so tonight I might sit and do a facial or just sit and watch some 24 or something and I don't get that at home, but you have got to take the time when you can get it. I don't live it up very much I don't think. If I am reffing I don't believe in doing that- after I finish reffing will be the time for that, so I have quite a lot of time to relax and sort myself out
I don't think nobody minds working when they are doing something that they love do they
Absolutely yeah that's it you do whatever is required, love doing it , no two days are the same enjoy the time that I've got to myself if you like and then look forward to going home and doing that. I look forward to the end of the season because that's when I get some real good quality time the family
And a chance to get away on holiday before the season begins again in October I believe
I think end of August
The qualifiers
Yes before we go to Shanghai - it might be the silly little things that need doing like a room that needs gutting that I need to springclean I don't get time to do that during the season because you don't that much time to get stuck in whereas these little things that happen like the garden needs done, everything is still there even though I go away to work I've got to go home to it
Did you ever feel that being female that your performance was scrutinised more heavily by the average fans
Oh absolutely by everybody to be honest. There were female referees before I started, everybody needs to know that it is not that I was the first referee. I was the first referee to do ranking events and televised rankings events, so I obviously looked like the new girl on the block and was under scrutiny. I mean I felt literary from the moment I walked through the door I was obviously under scrutiny because I came through in a different path than other referees and it was unusual so people then look because they are aware that somebody new, what is she going to do, is she going to be good, bad or indifferent, whatever, so I learned very very quickly to give 110% every single time I went out in concentration, in everything you know. I really really try not to make silly mistakes and to try and stay focused. The result of which is that I end up mentally exhausted after my matches , but what that has actually done is that it has trained my mind so now I don't have to put the same level of intensity to get the same results. I don't make that many silly mistakes and when I do I know it happens to everybody. I do kick myself but it does happen to everybody, you can't be perfect all the time
Trick is not to beat yourself up over it
Yes, that's it, especially if it happens in the middle of a match it is to let it go whatever it is - let it go and get on because you can't afford to keep dwelling on something you have got to move on and stay with game as it is moving forward
And of course concentrating 110% means you have got to be better than the guys
I felt that at the beginning. I felt that it was so important to prove to other refs and obviously they'd all been workers within World Snooker, all the commentators, the reporters, everybody. I felt I had to prove to everybody that I was as good. I didn't have the experience so it was key to me to just really try the hardest as I absolutely possibly could. And I did and it worked you know which is phenomenal I can't believe that I am getting to do the world final and it still hasn't really kind of sunk in. But I keep telling myself that I have earned it, it hasn't been given to me because I'm a woman. I'm passed that now it is a matter that I have got it because I have earned it. And that's what I have got to go out with - that knowledge
Of all the venues that you have refereed at what is your favourite
The Crucible - absolutely without a doubt. There is no other venue in the world that can generate the atmosphere and the intensity you get her it really is like a gladatorial ring down there with your two players. It is nice when you have got the other table because you have got a little bit of the attention being taken away from what your doing, but that brings the other side of it the disturbances that you get and different things there as well but it is just amazing because it is such a small arena and so close and the crowd are so knowledgable. They know everything and they are very very good with things like mobile phones on the whole, cameras don't come out, you know , they are very experienced with that kind of stuff, but it is so intense. The audience is right next to you. I mean I'm standing at the side. I am literally eye to eye with somebody sitting there watching it. It's amazing.
Are there any players who's games you especially enjoy officiating for
No I can't really say there would be anyone in particular I mean there is a lot of players with different talents which is good and I enjoy different types of games that can come up and I think that is actually what is nice about it is that you don't end up with the same game in any two days because two players can even play differently when they meet each other the same way. So no there is nothing like that. I enjoy what is a good game. I love safety, I love attacking play and it is nice to mix it up. It keeps your concentration when it is mixed up aswell because if you have got all attacking play and then it goes to safety you have not really been in that zone- so it is quite good when it is mixed up. So not particularly
Let's say safety exchange- balls well spread over the table, and a player decides I have got to do something and fouls, you have got to think about maybe having to put those balls back as well
Yes that's right, to be honest that type of situation is nigh on impossible if you get a number of balls that move it is nigh on impossible especially if you are not ready for it. If you are building up to a safety exchange you start marking out where the colours are, you start where to plot them like a third in from the baulk line, different things, we have got our ways of doing it, when it is unexpected then it is like Oh my God, Oh dear. That is a situation where you want there to be a video replay because you are going to need it
And then you face having to get all those reds back in similar positions- obviously not bang on
No that is right-you don't have to put all the balls back- it is the key ones- although you do try to- if you want to go to the video replay you obviously can. So you do try to put them all back but you will never get them exact because our equipment isn't set up for perfection - it is just a guide but as long as the two players are happy that's OK
I have one last question Michaela- do you have any tips/advice for any would be referees thinking about taking up their game
If they want to go to their local association and start there and get as much experience as you can as I said before knowing the rules is actually a small part of it it is the application and experience around that so it is about getting as much as you can- and there are so many lovely young players who are coming through, that are talented so it is a good time to get involved so bring them on
Absolutley well Michaela very best of luck for the final, and the rest of your career- and thanks very much for talking to me
Thank you very much
Footnote- Michaela has asked me to pass on her thanks to those who posted messages of support for her on the Snooker Forum boards.
Suzy Jardine
Absolutely, it is what I have been working towards especially in the last three or four years you know I realised it was a reality, that was acheivable and to keep working as hard as I could and hoping that one day it would be my turn- so you know when I got the call I was absolutley delighted, terrified and all of it and the mixture of emotions that go with that obviously
It's fair to say the telephone call was not one you expected on the given day that it happened
No it wasn't at all, because it was at the beginning of the season and even not knowing when I would find out- because I do not know historically when refs do find out it was not what I was expecting at all.
Having said all that though you have had some experience of refereeing top class finals, you have refereed the Welsh Open, the Chinese Open and of course you became the first lady to referee the Masters final.
That's right yeah, so that was all brilliant the way it kind of worked; they gave me the Welsh final to start with then I did the Masters last year and I've done the China Open this year; which I wasn't expecting, obviously when I realised I had the World Final - so it's been brilliant because all these matches are different and all the situations in the different places are different so you have different things to look at, deal with; like crowds different, and obviously China you have the photographers and not even just photographers, people taking photographs so it is all good experience because you'll always learn something
When you did the Masters final you had a very vociferous crowd as well- half the battle is controlling the crowd
That's right especially at the Masters because they are so brilliant, it is a tremendous atmosphere to have 2 and a half thousand people and they are very verbal down there. So when you get the oohs and the aahs when the players miss or when a fluke happens it is not just you know, a little handful across the arena. The atmosphere there is absolutely phenomenal. I adored that match
Can you just run me throught the process of becoming a referee
Well the normal way of doing it is to go through your local association where you live, you know, your County association or whatever and then get your first qualification, your grade 3 and then work up to it from there. I was slightly different because I was already a qualified pool referee and I was asked if I would be interested because World Snooker had seen me on Sky doing that so I came in a slightly different route and took my exam and through the qualifying and came through that way
Plenty of studying the rules so on and so forth and putting them into practice
Well to be honest it is not the rules, the rules are not that actually difficult to the learn even though there are a lot of them and sometimes you do have to take your rule book out and read through it again because different situations don't happen regularly, but it is the application of them it is very much, I would even say up and to my last tournament I learned something new on how to deal with something slightly different. It is an ongoing process because you never get those same situations twice
It's the having to think off the top of your head so many times
Absolutley and the other thing with the rules is that they are there obviously in black and white as regards to rulings but a lot of the ways of implementing them is down to common sense and it doesn't explain these things in the rules. So it is a matter of using your experience and your knowledge and the situation in the game as well so different things can happen which keeps you going. It's mentally exhausting, the refs are tired because of all the things you have got to think about
You played pool yourself, and a few years ago you decided to leave the sport itself and move into refereeing
Well it kind of happened hand in hand because when I started with world snooker I wasn't contracted to do many days. And as I worked with them the number days I was required to work went up and because I have got a family; then when I went home having to go league pool every Tuesday night became a bit laborious because I wanted to be at home because I had just come back off a trip. So as the number of days went up so my travels increased the amount of time I wanted to spend or had available to spend on pool went down, I still pick up a cue occasionally, do still enjoy a game but I'm just not able to compete now at the level that I used to.
So more or less just a casual thing
Yes, I get to go to a tournament maybe because my family is there because my husband is still involved in organising pool events-then yeah absolutley delighted to pick up a cue and have a go but not on a regular basis, too demanding
And obviously you wanted to stay involved within the sport, so refereeing going hand in hand
Well it has worked out ideally. When I started out with pool eleven years ago I had no idea obviously it was going to lead to this and lead to snooker, so some people when they are at school say I want to be a doctor, or a vet or whatever, that didn't happen for me. It's all been very very strange for me how it has transpired, not unwelcome whatsoever of course because I'm loving my time, absoutley adoring the game and now to obviously be given the honour of the final is just the icing on the cake.
It doesn't get much better than that does it
No it doesn't I would actually say I might withold judgement on that till after it- knowing that I've got it coming is amazing. Everybody is so pleased, the amount of people who have come up;
Great feedback then
Yeah, absolutley fantastic, players, people involved within, everybody, it is phenomenal and obviously I haven't had anything negative because they'll keep their thoughts to themselves but you know hopefully, well I know I have earned it- it is just a matter of going out there and trying to do the best job that I can
When you qualified as a referee and started officiating what was the reaction those you played alongside when you started taking charge of matches
Well it was quite good because a lot of the players already knew who I was, and knew that I was a qualified ref, and knew that I had done television matches , so from the players point of view I didn't actually come up against any you know hardships there at all which was fantastic because that to be fair could have been a turning point obviously. I might not be here now if they had, but you know they gave me the opportunity to show them I could do the job which was phenomenal because obviously that's the biggest pressure irrespective of what anybody else says -it is the two guys that are on the table
How did you make the transition from pool to snooker
I still do the pool so it is hand in hand, there are a lot of different rules although the games are very different and there is a lot of rules in nine ball pool for instance that would be a foul but not in snooker so there are times when I have a little heart flutter because in either game something happens here and it is like- uh - no no it's OK it's nine ball he's allowed to do that or vice versa, so you know I have my moments like when a few times when the players on nine ball pool has potted the red ball and I have actually begun to go one - and then it's like arghh, and that's just obviously because I go from one game to the other. And it keep me on my toes I tell you.
Are there any matches be it pool or snooker that stick in the memory
Oh my goodness I have got loads- absolute loads- I've got loads for different reasons, good, bad indifferent you know-you'd need to ask me specifically
O.K then- the best match you have refereed in the Mosconi Cup and the best match in snooker.
Mosconi Cup - um,oh I don't know- there are so many good matches with that. I'll tell you a match that sticks out on pool which is quite pertinent to the snooker is the world championships and I can't remember what year it was- it was one of the early years that Steve Davis was playing Efran Reyes. Now Efran Reyes is my idol- he's the guy that if I'm out reffing anybody at nine ball pool I don't know what he is going to do next, and he is the only player who can put me in that position and he was playing and I adore him- not biased in anyway but he's just amazing and Steve Davis was playing him and he is 8-3 down and it is first to nine, and suddenly from - I don't know where Steve started and I'm like, what's he doing, what's he upset about, is something bothering him. Do you know what- he started playing lilke a pool player. Right from that moment. It went 8-4 then 8-5 and then I'm like Oh my God, Oh my God and he won it and that was one of the biggest matches that has stayed with me because the atmosphere that was there as well was amazing.
By any chance Michaela was that match in Cardiff at the world championships
It was, it was
Was that maybe 95-96
No the very first one we did was 99 so it was either 99 or 2000. I'm not sure- definately one of the first ones. Might have been 99, but it was and it was unbelievable and I talked to him after the match and he was obviously delighted and I said to him Steve something changed in you because I've reffed him many times in nine ball pool and he has always played like a snooker player. I said you played like a nine ball player and I've never seen you do that. And he said do you know what I'm looking at the shots and I'm thinking to myself what would Efran do here, what would Efran do here, and he really he did.It wasn't like I'd just noticed it he really played that match for the first time as a pool player.
So he put himself in Efran's shoes
Yes- yes it was unbelievable - it was such a match. I still couldn't believe it. Steve Davis can't beat Efran, he can't beat Efran, what's going on here. It was amazing
I was watching that match Michaela and I couldn't believe the recovery, 8-3 down one rack needed for victory- It doesn't happen does it
No very very rarely and I think the pressure was obviously- I can't even remember how many shots Efran got because it all becomes a blank really. But I don't know it was amazing and it was one of the best nine ball matches I have ever reffed.
You have a son, I believe, Preston,
I have two sons Preston who is going to be three very shortly and Morgan who is going to be 12 in June
So how do you combine refereeing with being a Mum- and how do you find time to relax
To be honest when I'm working I tend to find more time for myself than I do when I'm at home obviously when I'm at tournaments I'm all right. I obviously miss the family but I know I've got to be focused on what I'm doing so when I'm working I'm a referee, when I go home (Michaela snaps fingers together) I have to go back to being a Mum straightaway, there's no easing into - straightaway, dirty washing there, everything gets done that needs attention, and everyone gets fed. So at home I have obviously got my boys about all day long so I don't get a lot of free time, whereas here although you are always working hard you have always got a session off, so you get an opportunity- so tonight I might sit and do a facial or just sit and watch some 24 or something and I don't get that at home, but you have got to take the time when you can get it. I don't live it up very much I don't think. If I am reffing I don't believe in doing that- after I finish reffing will be the time for that, so I have quite a lot of time to relax and sort myself out
I don't think nobody minds working when they are doing something that they love do they
Absolutely yeah that's it you do whatever is required, love doing it , no two days are the same enjoy the time that I've got to myself if you like and then look forward to going home and doing that. I look forward to the end of the season because that's when I get some real good quality time the family
And a chance to get away on holiday before the season begins again in October I believe
I think end of August
The qualifiers
Yes before we go to Shanghai - it might be the silly little things that need doing like a room that needs gutting that I need to springclean I don't get time to do that during the season because you don't that much time to get stuck in whereas these little things that happen like the garden needs done, everything is still there even though I go away to work I've got to go home to it
Did you ever feel that being female that your performance was scrutinised more heavily by the average fans
Oh absolutely by everybody to be honest. There were female referees before I started, everybody needs to know that it is not that I was the first referee. I was the first referee to do ranking events and televised rankings events, so I obviously looked like the new girl on the block and was under scrutiny. I mean I felt literary from the moment I walked through the door I was obviously under scrutiny because I came through in a different path than other referees and it was unusual so people then look because they are aware that somebody new, what is she going to do, is she going to be good, bad or indifferent, whatever, so I learned very very quickly to give 110% every single time I went out in concentration, in everything you know. I really really try not to make silly mistakes and to try and stay focused. The result of which is that I end up mentally exhausted after my matches , but what that has actually done is that it has trained my mind so now I don't have to put the same level of intensity to get the same results. I don't make that many silly mistakes and when I do I know it happens to everybody. I do kick myself but it does happen to everybody, you can't be perfect all the time
Trick is not to beat yourself up over it
Yes, that's it, especially if it happens in the middle of a match it is to let it go whatever it is - let it go and get on because you can't afford to keep dwelling on something you have got to move on and stay with game as it is moving forward
And of course concentrating 110% means you have got to be better than the guys
I felt that at the beginning. I felt that it was so important to prove to other refs and obviously they'd all been workers within World Snooker, all the commentators, the reporters, everybody. I felt I had to prove to everybody that I was as good. I didn't have the experience so it was key to me to just really try the hardest as I absolutely possibly could. And I did and it worked you know which is phenomenal I can't believe that I am getting to do the world final and it still hasn't really kind of sunk in. But I keep telling myself that I have earned it, it hasn't been given to me because I'm a woman. I'm passed that now it is a matter that I have got it because I have earned it. And that's what I have got to go out with - that knowledge
Of all the venues that you have refereed at what is your favourite
The Crucible - absolutely without a doubt. There is no other venue in the world that can generate the atmosphere and the intensity you get her it really is like a gladatorial ring down there with your two players. It is nice when you have got the other table because you have got a little bit of the attention being taken away from what your doing, but that brings the other side of it the disturbances that you get and different things there as well but it is just amazing because it is such a small arena and so close and the crowd are so knowledgable. They know everything and they are very very good with things like mobile phones on the whole, cameras don't come out, you know , they are very experienced with that kind of stuff, but it is so intense. The audience is right next to you. I mean I'm standing at the side. I am literally eye to eye with somebody sitting there watching it. It's amazing.
Are there any players who's games you especially enjoy officiating for
No I can't really say there would be anyone in particular I mean there is a lot of players with different talents which is good and I enjoy different types of games that can come up and I think that is actually what is nice about it is that you don't end up with the same game in any two days because two players can even play differently when they meet each other the same way. So no there is nothing like that. I enjoy what is a good game. I love safety, I love attacking play and it is nice to mix it up. It keeps your concentration when it is mixed up aswell because if you have got all attacking play and then it goes to safety you have not really been in that zone- so it is quite good when it is mixed up. So not particularly
Let's say safety exchange- balls well spread over the table, and a player decides I have got to do something and fouls, you have got to think about maybe having to put those balls back as well
Yes that's right, to be honest that type of situation is nigh on impossible if you get a number of balls that move it is nigh on impossible especially if you are not ready for it. If you are building up to a safety exchange you start marking out where the colours are, you start where to plot them like a third in from the baulk line, different things, we have got our ways of doing it, when it is unexpected then it is like Oh my God, Oh dear. That is a situation where you want there to be a video replay because you are going to need it
And then you face having to get all those reds back in similar positions- obviously not bang on
No that is right-you don't have to put all the balls back- it is the key ones- although you do try to- if you want to go to the video replay you obviously can. So you do try to put them all back but you will never get them exact because our equipment isn't set up for perfection - it is just a guide but as long as the two players are happy that's OK
I have one last question Michaela- do you have any tips/advice for any would be referees thinking about taking up their game
If they want to go to their local association and start there and get as much experience as you can as I said before knowing the rules is actually a small part of it it is the application and experience around that so it is about getting as much as you can- and there are so many lovely young players who are coming through, that are talented so it is a good time to get involved so bring them on
Absolutley well Michaela very best of luck for the final, and the rest of your career- and thanks very much for talking to me
Thank you very much
Footnote- Michaela has asked me to pass on her thanks to those who posted messages of support for her on the Snooker Forum boards.
Suzy Jardine