Can you tell me a little about yourself and how you started refereeing?

I am a 34 year old very proud Welshman. I started playing snooker when I was 13 and a local Snooker coach I went to for advice told me that learning the rules was part of becoming a better player. He was a qualified referee also and talked me in to taking my referee's exam. I passed my exam at the age of 16 and progressed from there. I refereed at amateur level all around Wales until I was 20 and then became a part-time professional referee. 

I am an amateur player of a decent standard and have recently played for Newport in the Wales Town Team Championship  

My background involved working behind the Bar at Newport Rugby Club when I first left school and then progressing to Assistant Manager at the Kingsway Snooker Centre in Newport. I moved on from there after almost two years to Managing The Emporium Snooker Club in Bargoed where twice World Champion Mark Williams plays and then to a new Club in Chepstow. From there I started refereeing professionally but on a Part-time basis whilst working for Alston Elliot Ltd., a computer graphics company, doing live televised score graphics at all major sporting events. I spent almost ten years working Full-time for Alston Elliot whilst just doing a few weeks refereeing where possible. In 2001 I was invited to become a full-time referee for World Snooker and haven't looked back, yet.......!

What training is involved in becoming a referee?

To become a referee you have to learn the rules of snooker and more importantly how to apply them. You then go to your local examiner and take a Class three exam. If you pass this you can referee most matches at amateur level and should do as much work as possible to gain valuable experience. After you have held a Class three for two years, if your examiner thinks you are good enough you can take a Class two exam and when you pass that you can referee just about any match, even Professional matches at the lower level. When you have held a Class two for five years you can take a Class One exam and when you have that you can referee anything!

What has been the best match you have refereed?

The best match I have refereed was probably my first Ranking Event Final which was the Regal Welsh In Cardiff in January 2002. It was between Paul Hunter and Ken Doherty and was a great match but has special memories as It was my first final. It was followed two years later by the Final of the same event but this time Ronnie O'Sullivan edged out Steve Davis in a fantastic quality match. The most memorable of all, although maybe not the best match quality wise, was when I fulfilled every referee's dream in May 2004 and refereed the Final of the Embassy World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

As seen through the referees eyes, what do you think the best skill a player must have to win is?

A player must have the ability to play the game his own way and not let bad run of the ball or outside distractions affect the way he plays. The player must also play the same game regardless of pressure put on him by the state of the match etc.

There must be quite a bit of pressure out there sometimes, how do you handle it?

There is a lot of pressure at times but if you concentrate you can 'blank it out' pretty much as the players have to as mentioned above. It is also easier to handle the more experienced you become as there are fewer situations arising that you have not already dealt with before.

I see that sometimes peoples mobile telephones ring in the middle of matches.  This is really a problem.  What do you think about this?

Telephones are a real problem but don't need to be. If only people would listen when told to turn them off when they enter the arena we wouldn't have any problems. Personally I would rather see phones handed in to security when people enter the building and collect them when they leave. This happened at the Ryder Cup I attended at the Belfry a couple of years ago. Mind you even a couple of members of the Press who were allowed to keep theirs still neglected to turn them off, they were then thrown off the course!

What are your career ambitions from now on?

My main ambition is to still be at the top of my profession when I decide to call it a day.

What other hobbies or activities do you do?

I play Snooker, Billiards and Pool occasionally. I play golf whenever I can, handicap 18 but working on getting it down. I also enjoy cooking when I am at home and socialising, normally in Pubs!!!

play pool games on play89

Lessons Articles Interviews Blog Auctions Links About