Sad news today as it has been announced by World Snooker that leading referee Michaela Tabb has left the main tour and will therefore no longer officiate at professional snooker events.
Her achievements in the sport are of course numerous, as she has became the first female referee to officiate finals at major events such as the World Championship and Masters, as well as establishing a series of other ‘firsts’ in the sport.
No doubt that you will read statistics such as those elsewhere (indeed here at my profile for Michaela), but for me what stands out above any of those achievements is first and foremost what a nice person she is.
I first met her properly at the World Championship qualifiers in 2011 when she realised that I was ‘the man with the Blackberry’ as I recall her saying, as my Twitter updates began to be noticed by some in snooker circles.
Ever since, she has always helped me out at events and only last year gave some of her time for this article describing a typical day for her at the Crucible Theatre during a World Championship, whilst also engaging in much Galaxy Minstrels related banter (something of a Twitter in-joke) with me for the past few years.
Clearly, given her silence on the subject, her reasons for the decision are not yet something that she wishes to discuss in the public domain and I respect her far too much to get involved in the speculation that will no doubt ensue following the announcement.
She remains though a very popular figure both amongst the fans and those within the game (as illustrated starkly by the sheer number of people asking me as to her whereabouts during the recent months) and Michaela (and her hugs), will be sorely missed on the tour.
I am sure that she will continue to be involved in refereeing in some capacity, both within pool and with the Snooker Legends events and I wish her all the very best for the future.