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Jan Verhaas
We last poke to Jan in February 2006 and a lot has happened since then! he has refereed the 2006 World Final between Peter Ebdon and Graeme Dott, which was the latest finishing final to date and was also the first final to be sponsored by 888.com after Embassy had to withdraw their sponsorship due to The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002.
Jan Verhaas Q. So two years on from our last interview and you are refereeing your third career WSC final, how are you feeling to be chosen over some of the relatively new talent on the circuit who have yet to referee a final?
A. I’m over the moon. It’s the biggest match of the season and the one that everyone wants to referee.
Q. There are some rumours that we may be seeing over the next few years some more female refs on the main tour, can you enlighten us any more on this?
A. Obviously Michaela has become one of the top referees on the circuit. There are two others coming through, Patricia Murphy and Anne-Marie Reilly. If they make good progress there could be involved in professional tournaments in the future.
Q. It has been widely talked about on the internet snooker forums that you are having back surgery after the WSC is over, is this going to affect you appearing in the 2008/2009 season at all?
A. No!
Q. I was quite shocked this year to learn that you had been given the final at such an early stage of the event, last year it wasn’t officially released that Eirian Williams was the man for the final until the Semi Final stages, although I think most people guessed by the article in the programmes about him. Has the way a referee is chosen for the final changed in anyway over the past year? Or is it different for every tournament?
A. It’s up to World Snooker when they release it, we referees know before the tournament starts. But there is always a feature about the final referee in the tournament programme World Snooker produce so it’s not a secret.
Q. Probably one of the most memorable games over the past few years that you have overseen was the 2007 Saga Insurance Masters where Ronnie O’Sullivan walked out mid frame, I think we could all see what was going through Stephen Hendry’s mind but what were you thinking at the time?
A. I was gob-smacked, completely stunned.
Jan refereeing a match with
Ken Doherty and Mark Williams With more and more people watching snooker over the internet and chatting about the sport too, over the past 5 years a whole host of websites have popped up on the subject but which are the snooker websites that you visit on a regular basis?
worldsnooker.com and globalcuesports.com
Many if not all of the snooker players on the main tour host exhibition matches off season, are you ever asked to be a guest referee for any events?
Yes, plenty!
If you had the chance to work with a past referee, who would it be and why?
Colin Brinded, because that would mean he was still alive.
A lot of snooker fans have the idea that referees have a full time job and only do the main tournaments as a hobby, me and you both know that this is far form reality, can you tell us a little more of your duty’s apart for the main competitions?
I referee at all of the professional tournaments, qualifying and main events, which adds up to about 160 days in the year
As a competition progresses does your job in the way of how you deal with the players change as their visible stress levels increase?
A. I can sense that it gets more and more important as the tournament goes on. Even over the course of the final, over four sessions, you know when it gets to the end it really matters
Do you get nervous before a big match?
No, I get butterflies but not nerves. But I do sense the importance
Putting The World Championship aside which is your favourite event?
The SAGA Insurance Masters
A few questions from the members of TheSnookerForum.com
AlexOpaul - How do You compare the pressures of snooker refereeing with the pressures of say football refereeing?
I admire football refs because they get scrutinised for every decision. Our game is much more gentlemanly. Plus they have to be fit and I don’t!
AlexOpaul – If you could pick one match from this season to have refereed in which would it be?
The Maguire v Murphy final in Beijing.
We last poke to Jan in February 2006 and a lot has happened since then! he has refereed the 2006 World Final between Peter Ebdon and Graeme Dott, which was the latest finishing final to date and was also the first final to be sponsored by 888.com after Embassy had to withdraw their sponsorship due to The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002.
Jan Verhaas
A. I’m over the moon. It’s the biggest match of the season and the one that everyone wants to referee.
Q. There are some rumours that we may be seeing over the next few years some more female refs on the main tour, can you enlighten us any more on this?
A. Obviously Michaela has become one of the top referees on the circuit. There are two others coming through, Patricia Murphy and Anne-Marie Reilly. If they make good progress there could be involved in professional tournaments in the future.
Q. It has been widely talked about on the internet snooker forums that you are having back surgery after the WSC is over, is this going to affect you appearing in the 2008/2009 season at all?
A. No!
Q. I was quite shocked this year to learn that you had been given the final at such an early stage of the event, last year it wasn’t officially released that Eirian Williams was the man for the final until the Semi Final stages, although I think most people guessed by the article in the programmes about him. Has the way a referee is chosen for the final changed in anyway over the past year? Or is it different for every tournament?
A. It’s up to World Snooker when they release it, we referees know before the tournament starts. But there is always a feature about the final referee in the tournament programme World Snooker produce so it’s not a secret.
Q. Probably one of the most memorable games over the past few years that you have overseen was the 2007 Saga Insurance Masters where Ronnie O’Sullivan walked out mid frame, I think we could all see what was going through Stephen Hendry’s mind but what were you thinking at the time?
A. I was gob-smacked, completely stunned.
Jan refereeing a match with
Ken Doherty and Mark Williams
worldsnooker.com and globalcuesports.com
Many if not all of the snooker players on the main tour host exhibition matches off season, are you ever asked to be a guest referee for any events?
Yes, plenty!
If you had the chance to work with a past referee, who would it be and why?
Colin Brinded, because that would mean he was still alive.
A lot of snooker fans have the idea that referees have a full time job and only do the main tournaments as a hobby, me and you both know that this is far form reality, can you tell us a little more of your duty’s apart for the main competitions?
I referee at all of the professional tournaments, qualifying and main events, which adds up to about 160 days in the year
As a competition progresses does your job in the way of how you deal with the players change as their visible stress levels increase?
A. I can sense that it gets more and more important as the tournament goes on. Even over the course of the final, over four sessions, you know when it gets to the end it really matters
Do you get nervous before a big match?
No, I get butterflies but not nerves. But I do sense the importance
Putting The World Championship aside which is your favourite event?
The SAGA Insurance Masters
A few questions from the members of TheSnookerForum.com
AlexOpaul - How do You compare the pressures of snooker refereeing with the pressures of say football refereeing?
I admire football refs because they get scrutinised for every decision. Our game is much more gentlemanly. Plus they have to be fit and I don’t!
AlexOpaul – If you could pick one match from this season to have refereed in which would it be?
The Maguire v Murphy final in Beijing.