Hoops

The State Of Refereeing

Nathan

thank you for your response.

Perhaps you missed my point of emphasis. I certainly didn't and dont think i was good enough to go straight to ABL, but i had done ABL scratch matches (pre-season), and didn't think i was 18 months away. After hearing the 'must ref seniors 2-5 for 18 months' i gave up reffing. The point i was trying to make was, how many other young refs get turned away after being told this???

I certainly wasn't having a whinge about not reffing ABL level, just questioning the system of getting there, possibly, detering or holding back some ref's.

anon - 37511

"players in the afl rarely argue"

that is the most incorrect statement i have ever heard. After every whistle, you see the AFL players give a spray to the umps.

Apart from that statement, your right, it shouldn't be part of the umpires duties to control players or coaches.

couldn't agree with you more DC!

Perhaps the Zero tolerance policy needs to be enforced!

Players and coaches need to know that the only person who, under the rules of basketball, is allowed to talk to an umpire is the on-court captain. Even then, i think, it must be during a break of play. Can anyone clarify this?

I don't want to get into a slinging match, but some refs are their own worst enemies by letting things get out of control.
There are many games where the ref lets things go for a while and they may warn a team 3 times, then finally have enough and 'lose it' by calling every little misdemeanour and totally frustrating everybody.
Use control early, Tech the coach or team mouthing off or whingeing (they will learn), then umpire consistently.
Same for the ref who wants to "talk" or is that argue, with a player or coach. After enough 'bait' is let out, the player or coach responds, only to be hit with a tech foul. This does not generate respect.
Some refs actually speak to a player at the break and explain a call. This is fine, but keep it short and a lot more respect will be held between both parties.
You can't have a game without refs, but the best ones are those you don't notice.

Matt

Perhaps i was thinking a few steps ahead of myself. Of course we'd like to avoid solo's, and if that means having the UIC do a few games, then i guess that is what needs to be done.

Take the hypothetical of having sufficient umpires for a nights games.

Do you not think it would be better for umpires development that UIC were (if not on sideline) accessable to other parties?

Dont you think that umpires could develop better if they were receiving constructive critism from a senior umpire, whom they respect, or just get bagged on the court by parents and coach who often dont know what they are talking about?

And similarly, would the coaches, parents, players be more receptive of information and clarification coming from a UIC then from the junior umpire who is learning the rules him/herself, let alone the communication skills?

Finally, you failed to give your comments on the ABL system, any thoughts, or do you concur?

(Don't view this as UIC bashing, i understand they work hard and do a great job, i just think more/different roles could be taken.)

Without adding to the entourage of people complaining about the ref's i do wish to voice my opinion regarding the 'system' in which ABL ref's are selected.

As a Junior ref, i umpired Friday nights, all ages, div one games. I also umpired a few ABL trial matches. I then asked what the process was to become an ABL ref and was told that you must umpire seniors (div 2-5) for at least 18 months before being considered.

I had better things to do with my time, and didn't look to take my umpiring any further.

My issue is not so much that 'i coulda been' but how many other young refs are being disgruntled, turned away, held back by a system which doesn't allow for progression.

Unfortunately i dont have a solution, but i think this has been a cause of decreasing umpiring standards over the past little while.

The other issue i have, is the amount of abuse umpires cop. And for that i'd like to blame the umpire-in-charge. I encourage any UIC's to reply, however at the stadiums i play and coach at, they are around far too little.

I would like to see a system where any umpiring query is directed through them. This would allow for alot of pressure to be taken off the umpires, and also allow for any constructive critiscm to be passed down through a senior umpiure...in a more effective manner. This would allow umpires to develop their game, and not become so defensive.

I don't know the precise role of the UIC's, but i feel they should be on the court (sideline) watching all games, and ready to answer any questions (specific umpiring questions, not 'why didn't you call that hack') from coaches, spectators, and after games players.

That's my two cents.