Jump to content

Michaela Tabb

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Waacstats (talk | contribs) at 21:54, 10 November 2012 (Persondata). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Michaela Tabb
Tabb refereeing a 2008 World Series match in Moscow
Born (1967-12-11) 11 December 1967 (age 56)
Bath, Somerset, England
Sport country Scotland
Professional2001

Michaela Tabb (born 11 December 1967, in Bath, England)[1] is a Scottish professional snooker and pool referee who has established significant milestones for female officials in cue sports.

In 2002, Tabb became the first woman to referee at a professional ranking snooker tournament. In 2007, she became the first female referee to take charge of a world-ranking snooker final, and in May 2009 was the first woman to referee the World Snooker Championship final — the sport's highest refereeing honour. She oversaw the World Championship final for a second time in 2012.

Tabb formerly played on the women's eight-ball pool circuit, winning a number of titles as a solo competitor and as a member, and later captain, of the Scottish ladies' pool team.

Career

Pool player

Introduced to the game by a boyfriend, Tabb started playing competitive pool in 1991, at the age of 23. The following year, she was selected to play on the Scottish Ladies' Pool Team.[2] She went on to captain the team to two consecutive "Grand Slams" in 1997 and 1998, accomplished by winning the Nations Cup, European Championships, and World Championships in the same season. She remained on the team until 2003.[3] Her sister Juliette Tabb also played on the Scottish ladies' team between 1996 and 2008.[4]

As an individual competitor, Tabb won the UK women's singles title in 1997. The following year, she won the European Women's Pool Championship in Gibraltar.[5]

Pool referee

Tabb became involved in amateur tournament refereeing in the mid-1990s when she and her husband, professional pool player Ross McInnes, began running eight-ball and nine-ball pool tournaments. McInnes subsequently encouraged her to pursue refereeing at a professional level.[2]

Tabb made her professional refereeing debut at the St. Andrew's Cup nine-ball pool tournament in September 1997.[5] She refereed on television for the first time the following year, when the 1998 St. Andrew's Cup, sponsored by Barry Hearn's Matchroom Sport, was broadcast on Sky.[6] She went on to become one of pool's top officials; she has refereed at the WPA World Nine-ball Championship, the Mosconi Cup, and the sport's other premiere events.[7]

Snooker referee

Tabb puts the balls back into a case. German Masters Final 2012.

Stating that he wanted to change the dowdy, all-male image of snooker referees, Jim McKenzie, then chief executive of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, recruited Tabb to the sport in 2001.[8] Exempted from the customary five-year refereeing apprenticeship and placed on a fast-track toward officiating at professional ranking tournaments, Tabb qualified as a Class 3 snooker referee in September 2001.[1] She conceded that this fast-tracking generated resentment among her fellow officials and referees.[9]

Tabb made her ranking tournament debut on 23 January 2002 at the Welsh Open in Newport, where she refereed a first-round match between Ken Doherty and James Wattana.[1] This made her the first woman ever to referee at a professional ranking snooker tournament. On 19 April 2003, she made her World Snooker Championship refereeing debut at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, when she took charge of a first-round match between Mark King and Drew Henry.[9]

In 2003, dwindling sponsorship revenue forced the WPBSA to cut its number of tournament referees from ten to eight. Tabb's contract, along with that of Dutch referee Johan Oomen, was terminated on a last in, first out basis in July 2003, threatening her future in the sport. However, the WPBSA soon reversed its decision to dismiss Tabb; she signed a new contract in September 2003.[8]

Tabb uses a triangle to rack the reds. In the background Ronnie O’Sullivan.

On 18 February 2007, Tabb became the first woman ever to officiate at a world-ranking snooker final when she presided over Neil Robertson's 9–8 defeat of Andrew Higginson at the Welsh Open. On 20 January 2008, she refereed the final of the 2008 Masters at Wembley Arena in London, as Mark Selby defeated Stephen Lee by 10 frames to 3.[10] On 5 April 2009, Tabb took charge of the 2009 China Open final in Beijing, where Peter Ebdon beat John Higgins by 10 frames to 8.

On 3 and 4 May 2009, Tabb became the first female official to take charge of a World Snooker Championship final,[5][11] refereeing as John Higgins defeated Shaun Murphy by 18 frames to 9 to capture his third world title. During the interval of the final's third session, the BBC broadcast a profile of Tabb, in which she discussed the pressures of juggling her family life with her busy refereeing and travel schedule.[12]

Tabb also refereed the 2012 World Championship final, in which Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Ali Carter by 18 frames to 11 to win his fourth world title.[13][14]

On the evening of 24 April 2012, during the first round of the 2012 World Championships, Tabb and female Chinese referee Zhu Ying simultaneously officiated on the Crucible's two tables. This marked the first time at the Crucible that two matches were simultaneously refereed by women. As the referees walked out to officiate, they were accompanied by the song "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves."[15]

Personal life

Tabb studied chemistry, biology, and sociology at the University of Glasgow, although she dropped out before receiving her degree.[16] Before becoming a full-time professional referee, she worked as an advertising salesperson and as a job recruitment agent.[3]

Tabb resides in Dunfermline, Scotland, with her husband Ross McInnes and their two children.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Official WPBSA profile Retrieved 28 April 2009
  2. ^ a b Swarbrick, Susan (3 July 2004). "Having cut her teeth playing pool, she dived into the deep end and made history. Meet Michaela Tabb". Glasgow Herald. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b Patterson, Roz (5 April 1999). "Can Women Beat Blokes at Their Own Game?". Daily Record. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Official team statistics available at http://www.scottishladiespool.com, retrieved 1 May 2009. Tabb is often credited as "Michaela McInnes."
  5. ^ a b c d Pitt, Nick (26 April 2009). "Tabb Rules the World". Sunday Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ Patterson, Roz (25 August 1998). "Scots Girl in Debut as Pool Referee". Daily Record. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ "Tabb to Referee Final". The Times (London). 13 April 2009. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  8. ^ a b Potter, Sarah (22 April 2005). "Tabb Bringing Extra Spice to Table". Times (London). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ a b Blackhurst, Owen (5 April 1999). "Woman's Touch at Crucible". Times (London). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ^ Hendon, David (20 January 2008). "Tabb Set to Make History at Wembley". Sunday Herald. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ "Tabb named Crucible final referee". BBC Sport. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  12. ^ BBC2, World Snooker, 4 May 2009, 1400–1700
  13. ^ "Tabb To Referee World Final". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Betfred.com World Championship (2012)". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  15. ^ Hazel Irvine, BBC TV, 1 May 2012
  16. ^ Everton, Clive (23 April 2009). "Michaela Tabb looking forward to her big break". Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michaela Tabb.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michaela_Tabb&oldid=522389439"