What unites an open-heart surgeon from Turku, a flight captain from Tuusula, a retired math teacher from Espoo, a government official from Järväpää and a tourism worker from Naant?
Correct answer: snooker refereeing.
– The car left Hankasalmi towards Espoo at half past five in the morning, Tapani Laakso announces in the snooker hall in Kera, Espoo.
There is a championship snooker tournament going on, and Laakso is one of the 13 judges present. Laakso earns his salary as a project manager at the University of Jyväskylä, but he doesn’t get a cent from the weekend SM tour – not even in mileage allowances or accommodation support.
– This is done for the love of the sport. I followed the sport for a long time as a bench athlete and also tried playing. When the skills were not enough to be a competitor, I wanted to participate in the sport and give it my own contribution, says Laakso.
A familiar formula
to manage Finnish snooker activities by Erik Lindblom according to Finland, there are 74 people who have completed the lowest level snooker referee qualification. About 30 of them actively judge competitions under the Finnish Billiards Association. In other Nordic countries, judges are counted on the fingers of one hand.
Like Laakso, almost every Finnish judge has reached sentencing duties by the same route.
According to Finnpanel, which measures TV viewership, the broadcasts of the World Cup played in April-May reached almost 400,000 Finns on average.
– Aki Kauppinen advertised a snooker course in its commentary, and I ended up on a beginner’s course in early 2023, Laakso says.
– Kauppinen was also an inspiration to me, who was on the same course with Laakso Siv Hartikainen comp.
Hartikainen has recently retired from his work as a mathematics teacher.
– When a long phase of working life ended, I wanted something new to replace my life. Snooker umpiring suited that perfectly, says Hartikainen.
Odorless, tasteless and colorless
The roots of snooker refereeing go back to the 1990s.
Died in February Eero Lipponen and refereed dozens of international amateur tournaments Veikko Hannula have been the torchbearers of domestic snooker refereeing for a long time.
– I’ve always called Veikko my godfather, and now I’m trying to follow in the footsteps of the deceased, 73-year-old referee trainer Erik Lindblom says.
He has clear instructions for those considering a career as a judge, what an ideal judge should be like.
– A good judge is odorless, tasteless and colorless.
So far, Finland does not have a single player on the professional snooker tour. Last season the judge Sami Erkkilä however, represented the domestic colors in five professional competitions. Lindblom believes that Erkkilä will soon be joined by other Finnish judges.
– The fairy tale Isolehto and her husband Tryggvi Erlingsson (Icelandic by birth) may very well break through soon, Lindblom says and refers to the couple who have dominated in several amateur WC and EC championships.
Unique luxury
The Finnish players have accepted the referee phenomenon with joy.
In domestic snooker, competition is divided into two levels, the highest of which is known as the Championship Series. If ten years ago there was usually not a single judge for the Championship Series competitions, nowadays there are enough of them for each game table at the same time (usually eight).
Even the second highest level division competitions see multiple judges.
– This is a great luxury for the players. A huge thank you to every judge who has joined the common cause, has been involved in the competitions since the 1990s and has won several prestigious amateur competitions Timo Salovaara thanks
The only professional player in Finnish snooker history, who played most of the time on the world tour between 1993 and 2019 Robin Hull considers the referee boom to be completely exceptional.
– When I started touring professional and amateur competitions in Britain and Europe, a big pile of judges always followed me from one place to another. There was no such local activity on this scale anywhere, says Hull.
– This is a very respectable matter. The referee makes competitive playing much easier and brings dignity to the games.
A wish for the union
Recently, interest in snooker has also been shown in other ways than TV viewership and the presence of judges.
Next weekend, Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo will host the biggest invitational tournament in domestic snooker history, for which more than 10,000 tickets have been sold. When we include the superstars of the sport organized in Tampere at the beginning of June Ronnie O’Sullivan’s and by Gary Wilson exhibition matches and previous international events, the number of tickets sold during the year rises to more than 20,000.
According to Lindblom, interest in refereeing courses is directly proportional to visibility. In the season ending today, Lindblom organized four refereeing courses, the price of which is 15 euros per person.
– There have been enough contacts. Most of the courses are organized in Helsinki, but I also go further afield if there is enough interest. This happened, for example, in Joensuu, where there were six people registered.
Erkkilä, who made it to the world tour, serves as a role model for several justice-distributors.
– Professional competitions are a realistic dream that will take at least a few more years to come true, a native of Naantali who works in the tourism industry Joonas Äkäslompolo says.
Äkäslompolo names his goal for the summer to judge the senior European Championships in Portugal – at his own expense.
Not only the judges but also the players hope that the Finnish Billiard Federation will support the work of the judges in the future.
– All donations are accepted. They would also encourage judges. Although this work is done for the love of the sport, you wouldn’t want to pay for everything out of your own pocket. Let’s see what happens in the future, says Lindblom.