golden score – extricate.org

Formalising the imbalance, and goodbye rolling Ippons?

I was refereeing at the South Coast Junior Open at the weekend. I remember my very first judo grading was at this very venue (Worthing Leisure Centre). It was also good to see Winston Gordon in attendance coaching!

One interesting point came out of the briefing. At EJU level, referees are being urged to downgrade any ‘rolling’ Ippons down to Wazari. On a personal level, this is one I very much agree with. There have been so many weak Ippons scored and this was evident in the Olympic footage as well. In my eyes, an Ippon throw should always have that “OOOH!” factor, including the old “If that was on concrete, Uke would not be getting up again” aspect.

This is always going to be down to interpretation as that is the nature of the rules on this matter. For a throw:

When a contestant with control throws the other contestant largely on his back with considerable force and speed.

Let’s have strong emphasis on ‘considerable’ from now on! Shame we ever moved away from it.

Now, I was privileged to be part of a strong team at the weekend. We did not have a single contest go to a decision, and only a handful entered Golden Score. How is this achieved?

Firstly, a certain amount of luck in us having competitors who went out there to do judo and SCORE. They do the work, we referee it. It’s important to never lose sight of that.

But what CAN the referee do?

Apply penalties accurately and QUICKLY. For some age groups the contests are only two minutes in duration. If the referee is waiting 90 seconds before deciding a judoka is being passive then they have taken too long. If the penalty is there GIVE IT. Especially since the first shido is now ‘free’… it’s a warning, that’s the point!
Clamp down on false attacks. Again, if it is a false attack (I’ve covered what constitutes a false attack before) then GIVE THE PENALTY. Let the player know it is not acceptable. This is also giving their opponent every chance to do their own judo as well rather than someone just falling to the ground every few moments. I’ve started seeing drop seoi-nage attemtps when Tori sometimes rotates less than 45 degrees.
FORMALISE THE IMBALANCE. This sums up the two previous points. It is clear when there is an imbalance between players. This may manifest itself in one of those players scoring (great!) but the referee must also reflect it in the use of penalties WHERE APPROPRIATE. If you get to the end of the contest, and it went to decision, and you are thinking, “That was rubbish, just a load of drops and nothing much happening” and you only ever gave one penalty…. shouldn’t you have done something to wake it all up?

“Don’t be too harsh, especially with children”. This is missing the point. Penalties are given when deserved. Not giving a penalty just because of age is NOT acceptable, in my opinion. Of course, the referee must make allowance for grade level and experience (common sense). In addition, proper explanation of a penalty may be appropriate too! Giving a penalty does not make the referee an ogre. Using hand signals which make him or her look like they are shooting the child in the process probably does…

I was happy with my performance on the day and have various feedback to work with. In particular, I was happy with my corner judge work, especially when things have gone a bit wrong on the scoreboard and I had kept a mental note of which scores should have gone where! You should never be in the position when asked a question about the current contest and you have to respond “I don’t know” …

Making your own luck in Golden Score

Golden Score was changed at the beginning of the year to three minutes for seniors. However, it can be shorter than this depending on the circumstances at domestic events: Juniors may only get two minutes, or if time is really pressured just one!

Golden Score ends if a player gets a score (either directly or as a result of their opponent being penalised). The way you don’t really want it to end is if time runs out and the referee team have to make a decision (hantei).

Let’s go back a step further. Don’t let a contest go to Golden Score! Yes, this is a repeat of the usual ‘Go for the Ippon’ mantra but more contests than I would have liked went all the way to flags at the weekend. The removal of Koka has perhaps contributed to this but hopefully over time the technical base will develop and make it less likely. That said, a stalemate is a stalemate.

I do appreciate that a player may possibly let a contest go into Golden Score for strategic reasons: Their fitness may be superior to their opponents and they know that they can look a lot more ‘busy’ in order to appear superior, and thus gain the decision. This is rare to see though: Generally both players are equally tired.

So, you’re in Golden Score (After trying REALLY hard to get an Ippon but not quite getting it, of course). You’re going to keep going for that outright win, but want to have all bases covered should it go to decision. What now?

1. Remember the scoreboard is wiped. This includes penalties. More importantly, this includes the minds of the referees: Only the Golden Score time is counted if it goes to flags! You could have made five hundred more attacks in the preceding time period but it counts for nothing.

2. Valid attacks only. Just tapping your opponents legs every so often or ‘flopping’ will not count for anything. What is a ‘valid attack’ ? Definitions vary but two examples: Actual attempt at kuzushi and Tori must be putting themselves at risk to a counter.

3. Going for strangles, trying to pass the guard etc on the ground will generally NOT be counted. Securing Osaekomi will though, but it is MUCH easier to gain kinsas in the tachiwaza phase. NOTE: I’m taking this up with some senior referees – it has not been an issue for me so far (has not changed a decision…) but I want to be sure.

4. Some valid attacks count more than others. Both you and your opponent make strong Osoto Gari attacks. You are the one who gets knocked down, managing to land on your front. Your opponent’s attack counts for more.

5. ATTACK FIRST. Straight from the grip. If your opponent is going for drop throws then that ‘wastes’ time on the ground before you can try something yourself. Do it first!

6. Combinations. Put in flurries of attacks. Don’t just look busy.. actually be busy!

Just remember, if you can get a nice swift Ippon in the first 15 seconds of a judo contest, you don’t have to worry about any of this…

How to complain

It happens. A referee makes a decision that you as a player or coach really are not happy about. To be precise, you will not be happy about the decision that the team of three referees has made. We’re not going to play the numbers game now of ‘three versus one’ as getting the right result is the most important thing. The players are the most important people on the mat, and a good referee team should essentially be invisible.

What should you do?

Well, what NOT to do is to do what the minority of players and coaches do: Abuse, attempt to intimidate, showboat (e.g. every throw is one which almost broke their neck, every decision is wrong…). This won’t help you at all. It has no place in any part of judo or even sport for that matter and has to go. In addition, if you’re not prepared to lose you are not totally in tune with what shiai is designed for as part of the judo pedagogy.

However, I never want a player to lose because of a bad decision.

Typically, most errors are picked up by the referee team. Score the wrong side? That’s a typical one. It will be noticed and corrected. If it isn’t then I’ve never been averse to a coach pointing out the possibility (other referees may feel differently about this). Note this is entirely different to trying to pre-empt things: Calling out scores mid-throw, calling for penalties, complaining about grips… don’t do that!

Let’s assume that something really is not right. Call the Referee In Charge to the mat (typically done via the Competition Controller). You want to do this as soon as possible and certainly before the next contest if possible. Explain your grievance in detail. Bonus points for not being abusive, of course.

A common complaint is “What’s the point, nothing gets changed anyway”. This is false as I have witnessed decisions being changed of a correct challenge by a coach. There is no referee conspiracy that I have yet seen to try and protect a decision. The whole point of having a team of three in the first place is to accept the fact that we are all human (honestly, we are) and that we are just trying to minimise errors and consolidate opinion. After all, scoring is subjective – Was that mostly on the back or not?

The RIC will then speak to the team in question to assess what to do, and certainly to advise for in the future. Now, the RIC can’t try and influence the referees to change their mind (say, who scored what?). But what if the team has made an error regarding the rules? If the rule is correctly pointed out, NOW do they change their minds?

The RIC is also called by the team themselves when a controversial decision is perhaps about to be made and they want back-up ready! A direct hansoku-make is typical. Although all three referees must agree before this is ‘awarded’, it can be controversial if the reason is not totally clear. Head dives are pretty obvious, endangering the spine with headlocks not always so obvious when in newaza.

When I have had abuse it is due to this last one, and in fact for not awarding hansoku-make. As just described, all three referees MUST agree. So not only must have they have observed the incident from their angle on the mat, they must ALSO agree that intent was there. Not one I’ve dealt with, but one incident talked about concerned a player alleged to have kicked their opponent when getting up off the ground… the angle meant there was no way all of the referees could have seen it.

So, a coach may demand a hansoku-make for Kani Basami, but what if the referee feels it was more of a result of two simultaneous techniques? (One player going for a rear sacrifice throw at the same time as the other turning sideways for, say, ouchi gari?). Players collapse in a bit of a heap and the legs are in a ‘sort of’ Kani Basami position, but is the intent there?

The coaches I most have respect for are those that are balanced. One minute I can see them calling for a score which was not given, but the next they are also telling their player to get a move on! (In a nice way, of course). They recognise that referee decisions that are bad will come and go, but ultimately the player can make it all very easy: Win decisively by Ippon with a crisp technique. Job done.

Certainly you never want it to go to the referees’ decision: Golden Score has been reduced to two minutes for seniors now, less for juniors. As the decision is based purely on the Golden Score contest time, that is NOT much time for either player to look far superior to the other unless they get a score. (Currently, this superiority is judged purely on ‘number of attacks’ which in my humble opinion could be improved, but that’s one for another post).