Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Game Journal - WFTDA Western Regionals

WFTDA Western Regional Tournament 2008 - the Battle Royale

Incident - The quick acclimation required at tournaments within a ref crew was made a little harder during the first day as the majority of my crew had a... different style than I did. This left me a little on edge throughout the day, and I was more terse towards or less forgiving with some skaters or captains than I might otherwise have been.

Comments - I worry that this is going to continue to be my achille's heal as a referee. On the plus side, I did not have the same problem on the second or third days. I had made some adjustments to my crew's assignments and made some adjustments to my own approach that helped me. The takeaway from this then is two-fold. Firstly, I need to be more willing to make adjustments to crew assignments when I decide I need to instead of waiting until the end of the day or the end of the bout. Secondly, I need to start ignoring things which upset me but do not affect my ability to do my job. For instance, a skater that doesn't leave the track but argues a call does not change the rules, and should be handled neutrally and as the rules prescribe (as opposed to angrily, and as the rules prescribe), I should disregard that they are arguing, and focus on the fact that (by arguing instead of exiting the track when called out) they are breaking the rules. These changes helped me to focus and become more comfortable in the second and third days and I expect them to continue to do so.