From bus to cues...journey of a snooker referee

Today he is one of an elite group of professional referees who are officiating at the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship in his home town.

The 38-year-old only qualified as a referee eight years ago, but has swapped his ticket machine for a dream ticket and white gloves in an amazing rise through the ranks.

Now, instead of stops at Meadowhall and the Manor, it's jetting off on the World Snooker tour to Bahrain and Shanghai for the father of three from Meersbrook.

Like most match officials, sports-mad Mr Moore did not have any grand designs to be a referee.

He packed in driving buses to join wife Sharon in a family-run child-minding business, but just six months in he took a refereeing exam. It was to prove a life-changing decision.

He said: "I played in the Sheffield League and a friend of mine went for the referee's exam. I went along with him and thought I would try it."

He quickly chalked up a number of games in the local leagues before receiving an invitation to officiate at the European Under-19s at former world champion Peter Ebdon's club in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Mr Moore said: "I passed my referees exam in 2002, and refereed my first professional game in 2005. It's been just under eight years from scratch to doing my first ranking final. I never set out to do this, but once I did the Under-19s I absolutely loved it and have really worked hard.

"I'm not classed as full-time, but I don't have another job because when I am needed for this I can't get a job that would let me have the time off. My wife's a child-minder so I help her when I'm not working.

"In the last two years I have been to Shanghai twice, Bahrain and all around the UK.

"I only live 10 minutes away from the Crucible. I have three daughters, Lorna, Sophie and Caitlin, and the youngest two came for the first time on Sunday, they loved it.

He added: "I was a bus driver in Sheffield for nine or 10 years. I left six months before I took my referee's exam, but I didn't leave to become a referee. I left and was going to help my wife be a childminder, we were going to do it together.

"Then I got into the refereeing, and now I am Sharon's 'assistant'. You can print that, she will like that," he joked.

"But I enjoyed bus driving, my dad Derek is a bus driver, he has been most of his life in Sheffield."

Mr Moore is a keen fan of basketball side Sheffield Sharks and Sheffield Wednesday and in his younger days was a Sunday morning footballer and tennis player. "The only exercise I get now is snooker," he added.

"I reckon I got my first snooker table when I was about three or four-years-old. I have never been great at it, but just love playing.

"I have been coming down here with my dad for years, been up to York to watch the finals. It's great for my dad, he actually came down on Sunday. We used to sit together in the audience every year, now he can come and watch knowing it's me out there. It's a great buzz, he's got to be so proud.

"Sunday was a different feeling for me though, because my kids were there. I don't play up to the crowd, because they are not here for me but I love it."

While Mr Moore has already officiated in a final in his short time as a pro referee – he was in charge of the Welsh Open in January – he admits coming home to the Crucible is a special moment.

"We all love being at the Crucible, it's the pinnacle, but as much as the other referees enjoy it, I think you can times it by 10 to what I feel, just for the fact that I drive past here most days.

"When I first started out eight years ago, I would never have thought all this could be possible. It was never my aim. But now I set myself little goals. First it was turning pro, doing a venue – York was my first one – then doing a semi-final, which I did in Shanghai, then doing a final, which I have just done in Wales.

"I think the timing helped me, some referees had left, and that helped me. I'm not being big-headed, but I think I'm here on merit. I must be capable of doing the job – I did my first final this year.

"My aim now is to do a semi-final here at the World Championship, and then a final here."

Now that would be a grand stage climax at the famous Sheffield theatre.

Moments to remember...

Best match: The final in Wales this year, John Higgins and Ali Carter. My first final, that would have to be the biggest match I had ever done. I was nervous that I wasn't nervous, I expected butterflies but I didn't.

Favourite matches: I have two, Ding Junhui against Stephen Hendry at the Crucible in the second round last year. The quality and atmosphere in there for that game was really high. Then in Shanghai in the quarter-finals, between Ding again and Ronnie O'Sullivan. It was packed.

Funny moments: I was refereeing Mark Davis and Ryan Day. Day was snookered, it took him quite a while to choose a shot and when he did it was a foul and a miss, then he's done it again and we have had to put it back, third time he's done it he ended up hitting a red, potted two reds.