Who are the referees and officials at the UK Snooker Championship 2024?

The 2024 edition of the UK Snooker Championship takes place at the Barbican Centre in York between November 23 to December. With two tables in operation for the opening seven days, there are 31 matches to be played, each requiring a referee on the big stage out in the middle, and a scorekeeper/secondary referee also in the arena to assist with the replacement of balls.

In total, six referees have earned the honour of donning the white gloves for the BBC live-televised tournament.

Tatiana Woollaston

Described by Ronnie O'Sullivan earlier this year as the best referee in the world, Belarussian-born but now UK resident Tatiana Woollaston (pictured above) has officiated on the professional circuit since 2010.

The 38-year-old has overseen multiple ranking event finals, and first refereed at the Crucible Theatre in 2020 for the World Championship.

Woollaston is married to professional player Ben, who is currently ranked 47th in the world. Tatiana does not referee any matches that her husband is involved in.

Earlier this year, Woollaston was one of the referees who officiated at the World Masters of Snooker invitational event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Elsewhere during her career, Woollaston has officiated one maximum 147 break on the professional tour.

Woollaston is refereeing the 2024 UK Snooker Championship final; her first Triple Crown title match outing.

Rob Spencer

Rob Spencer holds the record of having refereed 11 maximum 147 breaks on the professional snooker circuit, more than any other referee (this record was extended to 12 during the 2024 UK Championship as he refereed Zhang Anda’s 147 in round one).

Spencer - who has a police background - began refereeing in 2011, and just two years later he was promoted to the sport's top tier.

Last year, Stockport County Football Club supporter Spencer officiated the 2023 UK Championship final between Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ding Junhui. He has also refereed within the one-table set-up at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Behind the scenes, Spencer is also an assistant tournament director for the World Snooker Tour.

Maike Kesseler

Germany's Maike Kesseler first featured on snooker's top tier when she refereed at the 2010 Paul Hunter Classic on home soil, and the 42-year-old has been familiar face to players and fans since.

Kesseler - who has worn the white gloves for two maximum 147 breaks on the pro tour - has risen up the ranks and officiated several tournament finals in multiple countries such as China, Northern Ireland, Austria and Germany.

In 2017, Kesseler made her debut at the Crucible.

Leo Scullion

Leo Scullion's first television appearance with the white gloves came at the 2001 Scottish Masters, in his home country.

With a background in the police service and as a taxi driver, Scullion's first refereeing action at a Triple Crown event arrived at the 2006 UK Championship.

He first took charge of a World Championship match at the Crucible in 2010, and the following year he oversaw his maiden ranking event final at the 2011 China Open in Beijing, where Judd Trump defeated Mark Selby to claim his first ranking title.

Scullion was the man in the middle for the final of the 2012 UK Championship, and in 2019 he was selected to referee the biggest fixture in snooker when Trump met John Higgins in the World Championship final in Sheffield.

To date, Scullion has officiated five maximum 147 breaks.

Terry Camilleri

Malta's Terry Camilleri (pictured above) has been part of the professional snooker refereeing scene since overseeing his debut match in 2001 between Peter Ebdon and Tony Drago.

Now aged 50, Camilleri has refereed two Triple Crown event finals; the 2013 Masters at the Alexandra Palace in London, and the very memorable 2014 UK Championship title tie between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump, which O'Sullivan won in a deciding frame.

The referee for six professional maximum 147 breaks, Camilleri is vital to several historic snooker moments. At the Crucible in 2014, he was the referee when Neil Robertson became the first player to compile 100 century breaks within the same professional season.

A few years later at the 2019 Players Championship at the Guild Hall in Preston, Camilleri had the best view in the house when Ronnie O'Sullivan won the title with his 1,000th professional century break - the first cueist in snooker history to achieve the remarkable feat.

Malgorzata Kanieska

Malgorzata Kanieska made her breakthrough refereeing on snooker's premier circuit at a European Players Tour Championship event in Prague in 2010. Only the next year, she made her television debut with the white gloves during a tournament in Warsaw, the capital city of her home country Poland.

Currently aged 35, Kanieska has continued her career rise in subsequent years. Last year, she was nominated to referee the 2023 Tour Championship final - the most elite of all three Players Series events - in Hull between Shaun Murphy and Kyren Wilson.

The 2024 UK Championship represents a big opportunity for Kanieska to officiate on the big stage at a Triple Crown event.

So far, Kanieska has refereed four professional maximum 147 breaks.