Michaela Tabb
_2013-01-30_02.jpg)
Tabb refereeing a 2013 German Masters match in Berlin
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| Born |
11 December 1967 Bath, Somerset, England |
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| Sport country |
 Scotland
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| Professional | 2001–2015 |
Michaela Tabb (born 11 December 1967, in Bath, England) is a Scottish snooker and pool referee, notable for establishing significant milestones for women officials in professional snooker.
She began refereeing professionally on the pool circuit in 1997, and has officiated at top pool tournaments such as the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the Mosconi Cup. After qualifying in 2001 to referee on the professional snooker tour, she went on to become the sport's highest profile female referee. During her 14 years on the tour, she became the first woman to officiate at a professional ranking snooker tournament (2002), the first woman to referee a ranking tournament final (2007), and the only woman ever to have refereed the World Snooker Championship final (2009 and 2012).
Her professional snooker refereeing career came to an end when she abruptly left the tour in March 2015. She subsequently brought a court case against the sport's governing body, alleging sex discrimination, unfair dismissal, and breach of contract. An out-of-court settlement was reached in September 2015, under which Tabb was paid an undisclosed sum.
She is also a former player on the women's eight-ball pool circuit, where she won a number of titles as a solo competitor and as a member, and later captain, of the Scottish Ladies' Pool Team.
Tabb started playing competitive pool in 1991, at the age of 23. Selected the following year to play on the Scottish Ladies' Pool Team, she went on to captain the team to two consecutive "Grand Slams" in 1997 and 1998 by winning the Nations Cup, European Championships, and World Championships in the same season. She remained on the team until 2003. Her sister Juliette Tabb also played on the Scottish ladies' team between 1996 and 2008.
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.
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