Refereeing – Page 4 – extricate.org

“It’s not the premiership, ref!”

I am privileged to have been appointed as referee in the main cup final for the Sunday league in which I officiate. It looks to be a challenging game by all accounts: The finalists ended up #1 and #2 in the top division. Thankfully I am to be provided with neutral assistants.

In addition, I am acting as Assistant in another league’s U17 cup final and that in conjunction with my recent county cup quarter an semi appointments means I must be doing SOMETHING right!

By some coincidence, I had two games today: One Sunday league, one U17s. Clear blue skies and the sun beating down meant it was going to be a challenging one from a stamina perspective as well.

The Sunday league game was a little niggly. I’ve had the home side quite a few times this season (“Doesn’t this league have any other refs nowadays?”) and the game ended 2-3 with the deciding goal coming in the final play of the game.

This brings us to the title of this blog entry. Sometimes with this level the players REALLY don’t expect any cautions to be issued and you can get comments like that one along with, “It’s just Sunday morning football”. This is something I don’t ascribe too. The problem is, if you start ‘bending’ (Or let’s be honest here: Blatantly disregarding) Law in this way you are being inconsistent from the very start. I do strongly believe in man management to handle problems but these are more for cutting off dissent and flashpoints between teams.

As an example there was a clear deliberate handball by a defender in the area. No-one disputed the penalty. This was also an absolutely clear caution for me. However, because of the players’ expectations as described above this did damage my match control a little. No such argument with a caution for some ‘afters’ following a challenge later in the game, however. In retrospect I still feel I was in the right for both of those: Players can’t pick and choose which Laws apply and neither should the referee!

Amusingly, I had the comment “This isn’t Sunday football” during the U17s game so let’s talk about that one now…

At this point the sun was at its peak and I was feeling it. I had already grabbed my emergency water from the car and the home team also provided me with some but I was having to dig very deep. It is great how you see a friendly face wherever you go though: One of the players was a fellow assistant referee on a supply league game recently. Great guy with a great attitude. He was also very honest and stated how his team had one of the worst disciplinary records in the league, complete with a recent game being abandoned! Hey, I love a challenge.

The game itself was excellent and reminded me why I love refereeing this age group: The skill level and attitude is typically very good indeed. There were three cautions in this one (Two for tackles, one for aggressive behaviour when retaliating) but all were accepted in good grace. I felt it demonstrated my tolerance level early on with the first two cautions as they came at the same time (tackle then retaliation)… I was thinking at the time, “Yeaaaah, nailed-on match control!”. I’m a little sad like that.

You see, the players at this level accept that the Laws have to be applied so there is no arguing with a card when they know a tackle is dodgy, or if they have just shoved an opponent (I still don’t understand the “This isn’t Sunday league” comment). This is normally when the managers and supporters (parents, girlfriends!) are encouraging a good spirit and you typically do not get that same support network with Sunday league adults.

I am learning to be ‘firm yet fair’ with cautions. The players may need a little educating in some leagues to fully accept them but I must keep up the self-confidence to issue them rather than back down in order to appear to be a nice guy. The youth games really help me realise when my approach is ultimately the right one: It’s a great training ground for open age.

Bonding the referee team: Tasty treats, T-shirts and Timekeeping

I was happy to be assessed when acting as Senior Assistant Referee on the Combined Counties Football League at the weekend. This is a supply league and I am picking up a lot (good and bad) from working with the various referees.

The results of the assessment were extremely positive, especially with regard to my speed and fitness which is something I have always been keen on improving.

However, like a good breakfast sets you up for the day, so does bonding with the rest of the referee team at the beginning. If this doesn’t happen then it will drag people down leading to a spiral of decay which we really don’t want to happen! In other words, the quality of the team was linked strongly to the my performance and therefore the eventual assessment.

I have posted before on this sort of bonding but now have some further thoughts to share:

BE ON TIME: If anything sows ‘invisible dissent’ in a team it is one member arriving late, especially if they are not particularly apologetic for doing so. The others have made an effort to get there early or on time and there has typically been at least five days notice of the location and timings. If it starts to get close to the wire this will also cause nervousness in the team as they know they will be below full strength and have to call in a club-nominated official which will reduce match control effectiveness.
WARM-UP TOGETHER: It surprises me how often this does NOT happen (typically when older referees are leading the team). This is KEY in my opinion and I would ALWAYS do it. Not only is it important for bonding but it is vital for injury prevention and gives the right message to the players (“We take this game seriously”).
LOOK THE SAME: I liked this one: The referee had a collection of t-shirts with him that he gave us to warm-up in. The result? Looked like a team! Was a good feeling as well. You can also apply this to making sure you arrive in similar dress and even the same brand of refereeing kit if feasible.
SWEETS: Sometimes the changing room can resemble a buffet party. It’s nice when each member has brought along their own snacks (jaffa cakes? Sports drinks?) and make an effort to share them. You can extend this if acting as Senior Assistant by having boiled sweets with you and offering them to the benches if they are getting angsty… or perhaps if they are well behaved?! I’ve not tried this one myself yet but will report back on the results.
CARE ABOUT THE GAME: Blindingly obvious but if you want to gain the respect of the players then make the effort. Warm-up leads into this. From the moment you are leading the players onto the pitch be focused yet friendly and full of smiles. If the atmosphere is appropriate then take this into the bar afterwards as well!

I would love to hear about any other tricks and tips you have found to help with this! Horror stories also permitted!

Coming back from the brink: Avoiding the negative feedback loop trap

First impressions count in refereeing. The first few minutes of a game are when it is particularly essential to be bold, confident and get the decisions right. It establishes your credibility and then allows you to slip into the background again. In fact, a good start will let a referee ‘get away with’ any minor complaints such as disputed throw-ins or little trips without too much harm to match control.

However, things can and will go wrong.

Firstly, a big mistake can be made. A contentious penalty shout where the referee’s angle is not the best one? An off-the-ball incident which everyone else has seen? An incorrect restart of play? Actually, it may not even be a mistake: If a team has perceived it to be wrong or blatantly unfair then the same negative comments will come at the referee and may well be enough to make him or her THINK an error has been made.

Thirdly, a game may be starting to severely heat up: A few flash-point tackles (even if correctly called and misconduct given for) can still bring about reprisals from the other team and suddenly the game has switched in temperament and not in a very nice way.

Recognise when you are starting to get caught in ‘the trap’. The symptoms are:

Starting to generally feel not in control of what is going on.
Feeling of anxiety (despite the endorphins being released from all the exercise!)
Delayed physical reactions: Not switching positions to changes in play as quickly as normal.
Delayed decision making: Not calling throw-in direction etc as quickly as normal.
Loss of confidence in decision making: Greater reliability on assistants, waiting to see what the teams do first.
Weaker body language: Signals and posture ‘show fear’.
Weaker positioning on the field of play: Not as close to the action, putting in distance but for the wrong reasons!
Stopping any ‘banter’ with players.

The results? If you start to referee with the traits above you are just inviting further mistakes, further negative feedback and certainly your match control will start to slide into the abyss.

The key after a bad incident is to TAKE CONTROL. You are in control by default as the match referee so assert it! The incident has gone and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it now (other than tear yourself to bits over it). You have the rest of the match to get PERFECT. If you are close to the end of the match, think the 80 preceding minutes that have gone great for you! In fact, how about all those other games that have been great?

If anything, you need to be more assertive if the atmosphere has become charged. Tighten up the game: Perhaps play less advantage, be RIGHT on top of play (perhaps closer than normal), give those decisions QUICKLY and firmly. Handle dissent properly, be it from players or team officials: Certainly don’t just ignore it or it will eat away at both you and your match control.

If at the end of the game players want to talk to you about the incident, well, I’ve found it useful to be human and do this and BE HONEST. If they’ve clearly seen you make a mistake don’t try and deny it. Had the wrong position? Admit it. Players make mistakes too. You should value their feedback. Naturally, if this feedback turns into abuse territory then take action and make your exit as appropriate.

Remember you may well be refereeing any ‘problem’ team again in the not too distant future so you want to do your best to ‘soothe the savage beast’. Making a mistake is one thing, but making out you have not is going to particularly give you a bad start next time around.

Following a tough game, I would recommend following the advice given in Nicky Kriel’s 5 ways to reject the feeling of rejection – You can’t please everyone and you need to ensure that the negative feedback loop trap doesn’t continue onto your next game. It needs to be a confident and bold new start.

Good luck out there!

Bonding the referee team – Lessons from judo and football

The team of referees on the mat at a judo competition is a team of three: The referee and two corner judges. In football you have the referee and two assistants (running the line). There is one distinct difference right at the beginning here: In judo, although the referee controls the contest, the ‘majority of three’ rule applies and thus he or she may be overruled. In football the assistants do just that… ASSIST. The referee has the final say.

However, there are good hints and tips I have picked up along the way. These have become especially evident on the football side where for the vast majority of games I am the referee and needing to brief two new (club provided) assistants at each match. They are strangers to me when I arrive unlike the comfort zone of most judo competitions where I know all the referees!

So here are some points which have really helped me:

Start as you mean to go on: Your strength as a team does not begin with the start of the contest or match. It should be as soon as you get together. Learn the names (I am terrible with names when meeting people so this something I try and make an effort with now) and use them. I found out just how well this worked when it was the referee using MY name regularly when I was assisting at a football match. It really helps the bonding process.
Brief the team: (Football perspective here). Vital. I was staggered when one club assistant told me after my briefing that some referees he has helped out don’t even bother doing a briefing. Nice! Remember that the briefing is not just about telling the assistants what you want them to do, and assess their knowledge: It is to help get to know them so that you are comfortable with each other. Club assistants are likely to have been abused before in previous games so definitely get the point across that you will help protect them as well. For most ‘park’ games I like doing this briefing in the centre circle prior to the coin toss as it gives a very public display of everyone working together.
Constant communication: Be it verbal or a simple thumbs-up (This sort of thing can look unprofessional in judo but there are subtle ways), keep the communication going. “Thanks Steve!” after Steve has helped you out from a tricky spot goes a long way. And it will help someone who is new and a bit nervous gain the confidence they need after those first few decisions. Important for assistants/corner judges to do this as well if there is someone new and perhaps nervous running the show!
You are a team: Support your team-mates. If a mistake occurs never ‘pass the buck’ as ultimately in a lot of cases it is the team that has failed. Work out how to resolve it as a team (if possible), otherwise make sure you also learn from it AS A TEAM. It is also good to try and stay together in breaks to discuss decisions that have been made and bring out the whole mentoring concept.
Give the referee the benefit of the doubt: If you disagree with something SLIGHTLY then take a few moments before deciding to express your opinion. Remember the referee had a different view to you so is it possible that they did the right thing with that in mind?

Any experiences from working in one of these teams? Or have you observed things that have worked particularly well? Or even particularly badly?

Bringing up the fitness and now… STRETCH!

I recently rejoined the gym on my work campus as running outside was just not happening any more. The current weather in the UK has put paid to that. I was soaked through just walking back from the gym to the office (30 seconds!) due to the lashing shower that suddenly appeared.

The adage which applies is “Get fit to referee, don’t referee to get fit”. Absolutely true and my ‘judo fitness’ has very much helped me hit the field of play running. I have yet to struggle to keep up with play but of course most of my games are at ‘parks’ level until I climb the ladder a bit more.

However, my body has not adjusted to the style of exercise too well. Lots of changes in speed (walk..jog…SPRINT…walk…stop…SPRINT) and direction have put quite a stress on my hamstrings and achilles. The achilles in particular forced me to rest but is now mostly under control. My hamstrings are tight as anything as it is due to my years of computing so this needs resolving. Some Asics Gel Lethal 11 boots are helping there!

Firstly, I’m working on running in the gym, working towards the Cooper test. I have no need to take this test for a long time but it is a nice benchmark. Starting point is 2500 metres in 12 minutes which I can manage fine on a treadmill but of course that is easier than doing it outside (even with a 1% incline). It’s good to start teaching my body the pace though. I’ll be mixing that up with interval training.

Secondly, lots of stretching. I’ve been neglecting this FAR too much. Obviously this is concentrating on my problem areas as mentioned above but I’m making sure I do EVERYTHING so I don’t just transfer the problem somewhere else. Early days but so important.

There we have a mix of aerobic and anaerobic exercise and stretching. I haven’t thought about core strength much yet but it will need to feature to help keep things balanced… hmm…

Nothing below the belt – Proposed judo rule changes

Rule changes for judo shiai are coming, and they are a big talking point right now. They have been officially trialled at the Junior Worlds and this was considered a success by the IJF. As a result, the trial has been extended at select senior competitions over the rest of the year. If things continue to go well it strongly looks like the rules will become official from 2010.

Here is the Word document detailing the changes.

Some may choke slightly with one of the first lines:

The IJF’s wish is to defend fundamental judo values.

Lest we forget the introduction of the blue gi and koka?

Working through the document, we start with FORBIDDEN in big red text referring to direct attacks or blocking via contact below the belt. You can see where this is going: No more leg grabs or even kata guruma. So this is removing direct usage of throws from the gokyo. Okay, you won’t find any leg grabs in the gokyo but they are still an accepted part of judo and have been used to powerful effect.

The punishment is somewhat severe. On the first offense, a shido penalty (as expected) is given. But the second is a direct hansokumake! Harsh. Two lapses of judgment and you are off the mat.

Now, a judoka CAN use these techniques if they are as a result of a sequence of techniques. Classic example might be ouchi-gari and with the arm coming down behind the leg to assist with completing the throw.

Secondly, they may be used as a counter. The classic would be against a failed uchimata and using Te guruma.

Here we are presented with our first problem as referees, and this has been demonstrated at the Junior Worlds. If Tori attacks and is fully committed, and Uke proceeds to counter by way of a technique below the belt, all is fine. However, there have been cases when Tori has more ‘offered the leg’ or feinted. Uke has gone for the counter as a ‘twitch’ reaction and been penalised for it. Not an ideal situation.

Naturally many are not happy with the above changes. It may be the intention of the IJF to ‘defend fundamental judo values’ but is removing techniques (and not for safety reasons) the way of going about it?

Why is this happening?

Ultimately, it comes down to judoka at the top events (such as the Olympics) being of a very similar level. This is naturally assisted by the qualification system: A nation has to be of a certain standard to even take part. The chances of ‘WOW’ ippons is therefore reduced. And what happens in a stalemate? Boring judo.

In particular, drop kata-gurumas which are immediately squashed by Uke and end up with a bit of fumbling on the ground, then ‘Matte’, then the whole thing again. It’s not interesting to watch. Remember, the IJF want judo to get more TV coverage and thus they need more excitement in the matches. Ban the techniques, liven up the judo, job done?

We shall see. The Junior Worlds did prove to feature positive judo but of course it favoured nations that traditionally use more stand-up techniques anyway (Predictably, Japan did excellently!). Competitors work around the rules, however, so it will be interesting to see what ‘mongrel’ techniques start to appear as the year progresses.

In relation to all of the above, the document also emphasises the need to penalise for ‘extreme defensive position’. Think ‘wrestling stance’ for this one. Adopting such a position in a negative judo way was previously a penalty anyway, so this is more of a clarification than anything new. It is also one I am glad to see pointed out again, as I am personally quite ‘hot’ on penalising negative judo for obvious reasons… it’s negative! STOP DOING IT!

As I have had told to me by IJF referees and taken on board, and have mentioned before on this blog, referees have a duty to penalise negative judo to absolutely make it clear that competitors need to be more positive. Moaning about ‘bad’ contests afterwards when you had the ‘power’ to do something about it, and in a strange way ‘educate’ the competitors, is no good. And also strongly remember that it is not just about penalising the negative, but giving their opponent the opportunity to shine.

Overall, I feel it is a great shame that we are having to prevent certain techniques and strategies. Referees at international level could have been advised to simply be stronger on penalties for negative judo. Now, I remember the guidance coming out on this matter previously, but from watching video footage of recent international events (pre Junior Worlds) … I just didn’t see it happening. Plenty of false attacks and negative judo, but not many penalties as a result.

You can’t blame competitors for being defensive sometimes. After all, one Ippon and they could be on the way home, especially with the ridiculous new repechage system. That was a bad idea. “Who wants to see losers fight losers?” was a heard quote and made me pretty annoyed. The competitors deserve more of a chance to prove themselves than they are currently being allowed.

We shall see what happens…

Hampshire Split Grade Open 2009

I attended the Hampshire Split Grade Open in the capacity as referee at the weekend. The venue will always hold a special place in my heart for various reasons: I got the final points for my Dan grade there, I have medaled there before, and I think I got my first referee qualification there as well.

There were plenty of people I knew there, including representatives from my own clubs (Which made me miss them terribly given my current Achilles sprain which stops me training AT ALL which is horrible).

It was a scrappy day for me to begin with. Our mat was delayed starting as the mats themselves had not been correctly laid out and this took time to fix. Then our team was in a state of flux anyway so no sooner was I on, then off again, and then having lunch! It worked out in the end as I stayed on to referee the Open and got some of the Finals to do as well.

Lance from the upcoming Hampshire Judo Academy was present to advertise and that is an exciting project in itself. The emphasis is on all the Good Things, and not just three days of Western-style Randori resulting in bits falling off the judoka who are present. Check it out.

Despite this being a low-level event in the big scheme of things, it was great to see judoka from Willesden and Camberley judo clubs. This meant that there was some great judo to watch, especially when they fought each other!

It was not my best day of refereeing. I didn’t get anything wrong or anything like that, but I did not feel in the zone either. I have had the opportunity to study some of my work on video. Essentially I look too ‘rushed’ so I just need to calm it down and take my time. Some IJF-level feedback I received was that I am ‘over-gesticulating’ which is a habit I’ve picked up from the football refereeing where you NEED such strong body language to sell decisions! Looks totally wrong on the judo mat though.

Essentially, I need to be serene and controlled, rather than somewhat fierce and controlled. Which sounds like good advice for judo in general, if you ask me…

Referee cross-training: What can football teach us?

Cross-training can be a great help in judo. Brazilian Ju-jitsu (BJJ) would be a classic one due to the newaza cross-over in particular. Mix in anaerobic work like circuit training, tabata sprints. Skipping is a classic. You probably have your own favourites and opinions on what is worthwhile and what is not.

Should the same apply to refereeing? Can referee principles from other sports assist the judo referee?

I’m intending to find out. I’m partaking in a Football Association Referee Course. It’s where the money is. Let me clarify that! I don’t mean I’m after the money! Instead, what differences will the sheer numbers and money available make to the quality of training?

Also, will my judo refereeing skills help at all with football refereeing? What about the other way round? Judo, 2 players, short matches. Football, 22 players (just on the pitch), 90 minutes. Oh, and the referee can’t saunter around a small mat area to keep up with what is happening.

It will be interesting to find out.

From the introductory session, here are a few differences in training that I have already noticed:

1. Big, glossy books and training materials. The Laws Of The Game are detailed in a book. This book is also freely available to download in PDF format. Here it is.

2. Lots more initial training. I think around 25 hours of ‘classroom’ training, and you are expected to spend that much of your own time going over things. In addition, 6 games must be carried out. For the basic referee course, it was a day of training, and you were examined at the next competition you could help out at.

3. You do not go on the course to learn the rules. The introduction pointed out that in the initial gap between introduction and first core module, you are expected to learn them. The classes are to cover interpretation, answer queries, basically the nitty gritty rather than, “What is the legal kit for a player?”.

Number three is a big deal here. In judo, we have a refereeing manual which has the rules. Where is the information and training on matters such as handling contentious situations? Calming a player down so the good judo can happen without hansoku-make? What makes a good conflab between the referee and the two corner judges? Football has LOTS of information out there on how the Assistant Referees should work with the man in black in the middle.

(Note that football has a different policy here: No majority of three. Referee has the final word. The assistants are just that: Assistants.)

Now, this is in no way a dig at judo. Let’s face it, football has far more money and numbers involved. 7,000 referees LEAVE football every year. There is a pool of about twenty THOUSAND.

There is some slowness from the BJA though. Koka was removed at the beginning of this year, for example. The revised 2009 rulebook only appeared within the last week or so! And I only found out about this from a cursory forum post. I have received no official notification. I make a determined effort to keep abreast of all the rule changes… but does everyone? Is learning on the morning of a big event really enough?

I think the main culture shock will be attitude of players, spectators and coaches. Judo is very refined. Abuse nowadays is VERY rare, most of those involved are respectful of each other and the officials. Partly due to respect, be it the ‘Rei’ or otherwise, is drilled in from the first session. Also, maybe because Judo referees must be judoka to even qualify (blue belt or above, but most are Shodan at least)? I’m not sure.

Watch this space…

Kent International 2009 and my National ‘C’ examination

I was very happy to be invited to referee at the Kent International competition this year. This is a competition which has been going for a while and goes from strength to strength. It is officially a ‘mere’ county event, but due to its prestige and reputation attracts players from abroad. There is even a bit of an exchange programme where players from Britain travel abroad to similar competitions. It’s a great concept.

This year, the competition was back at Crystal Palace. This was also where the London Youth Games was this year so I had already had the delights of the ‘renovated’ venue. Admittedly, I had never experienced the pre-renovation one, but comments about the venue itself were generally negative compared to anything more modern. At the end of the day, it’s an old venue, but there are no alternatives in the area currently which can host seven full-size mat areas: When the competition moved to K2 in Crawley (due to the renovation works) it had to run over two separate weekends. Here is a bit more on the two venues.

It was VERY hot as the venue serves as a greenhouse and just to make things even MORE fun there is an Olympic sized heated swimming pool a short walk from where the judo hall was. Mmm, heat. Two spectators were stretchered out on oxygen after collapsing.

However, enough of the venue: There were seven mats there and a huge amount of judo. It was a great weekend.

Some of the mat areas. There were seven in total. 'My' mat central in this photo.

Saturday (Juniors) was my practice day as the examination was on Sunday (has to be with Seniors where armlocks and strangles are permitted). Contests started at 10am and I believe we were finished by about 8pm. Each mat typically had two teams of referees so we were utilising an ‘hour on, hour off’ which worked well. It was still obviously a long day.

I had an IJF ‘A’ referee leading my mat and I was also on pretty much the most central one, so it would have been obvious very quickly if I wasn’t handling the pressure associated with the crowds and venue. I received continuous feedback so it was clear which elements I needed to tighten as the weekend went on.

When on breaks, I found various methods of cooling down:

An ice cream van was handily parked right outside.

The day over, we popped out for pizza, bumping into various members of the Dutch contingent who were over. They were all impeccably behaved. We also had a Dutch referee on our mat team which was great at getting different perspectives, although of course we had the common Japanese language of judo! That said, they all spoke pretty good English anyway.

I was sharing a room and behold the glorious digs that we had:

The glorious Crystal Palace accomodation. Note shown: Plaster peeling off wall, 2006 dated coffee.

Up in the morning for breakfast and the next briefing. One element in particular mentioned was that rather than complaining about ‘crap judo’ we are in the perfect position to do something about, especially with the new rules on negativity. Penalise negative judo. Give the players the ‘shock’ they need to wake up so that something happens.

I then did my Theory paper. No problems, scored 100%. Really, anyone actively involved in refereeing would ace this.

Of course, a high score on the Theory paper means little – a pass is a pass. The practical is the meat of whether a referee deserves to be promoted. And it was now the day when this assessment would happen. Essentially, I would be watched throughout the day, so business as usual.

It was the turn of the youth and seniors, and it was a good day. Another hot day, but a good day. We had a good mix of different weights on our mat so got to see all sorts.

Towards the end of the day I was summoned back to the briefing room where I was asked for my own opinion, and given feedback. Here’s my combination of both:

I had been working on my positioning and this was better. Some work to be done (‘working the triangle’) but better.
Facial expressions still leaking through. I thought I had improved this but obviously they are still visible. Must try harder.
A bit stiff. I need to relax more. I do feel relaxed but obviously more to be done. This is hard to do in conjunction with no facial expressions!
All scores that I awarded were pretty much spot on.
Newaza, hot and cold. Sometimes I called ‘Matte’ too early, typically as a player chose that moment to transition into an armlock attempt. Not good. Thankfully, there were other instances where there was clear and logical progression, and after about 45 seconds or so, an armlock or osaekomi was secured.

The good news is that I passed!

A long, excellent weekend with some great judo, and I have progressed. Ever onwards…

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).