She was a little nervous, because she was asked for the first time as the main referee in a great international tournament and was acting in the spotlight of the billiard arena. Catarina Teixeira, only eighteen years young, from Matosinhos, made her debut for the cameras of the Portugese television this evening. She was the referee in the match between the Dutchman Dick Jaspers and the Swede Torbjörn Blomdahl, with a little microfon for her mouth, to announce the scores for television.
,,I was the scorekeeper in the final here last year, now I'm in the arena as the referee, that makes me a little bit nervous,'' she said shortly before the match. ,,Mostly because it's for television, when I make a mistake, I will be killed.''
She plays billiards for four years, she told, because she loves this sport. Catarina Teixeira is a member of FC Porto, the club of Jorge Alippio, who is the organizer of the World Cup in Matosinhos.
This week there were especially many young referees at the billiards, today the experienced referees came into the tournament. Catarina is already referee during the whole week, even in the preliminary rounds. ,,Since Monday I have done eighteen matches.''
Why she has chosen billiards as a hobby? Catarina says: ,,I love this sport and I played many times pool billiard on holliday. But now I play carom billiards at the big table. The level is not that high, I must improve myself. Therefore I get lessons from Manuel Rui Costa.''
With the right hand in a white glove, she started the match this evening. And not just an ordinary match... Dick Jaspers against Torbjörn Blomdahl. Eighteen years young and already thrown to the lions: Catarina Teixara, well coached by the other referees on these final days of the Worldcup, is going for a great future in billiards.