As I think I mentioned earlier, I'm actually going to two regionals (or playoffs as they're now
officially known) this year; the first I was a skating official, this second an alternate. I really
didn't think I'd have anything to write. Really, do you want to hear about how I sat down, watched
a game, occasionally walked into the center for an official review or timeout, then told the
announcers what it was and the result?
Since in many ways this was my first regionals all over again (new sport), I went back and compared
the notes I wrote (literally, on an old Apple Newton) and compared them with my experience this
last weekend. And there are several similarities and differences:
Similarities:
* Chance to get better games if you perform well
* High pressure, high stakes games
* Some nice comrade with the other officials
But there were some big differences, too.
I'm actually going to two regional tournaments (officially playoffs) this year; I did last year but
didn't write anything because it would have entailed "I kept track of score" and "I wrote down
penalties on a small whiteboard" and repeated several times. Chances are I'll be skipping writing
about the upcoming playoff/regional because I'm an alternate, and as such won't be doing a lot,
except watching a buttload of games during the weekend.
Wow, this was an interesting day. Some ups and downs, but mostly ups. My crew worked the
consolation bracket today, which, while not exactly glory matches, they are extremely important to
the teams and demand no less than our best. And good thing, too - because our first match was a
doozy. We had 49 majors called in the bout - not trips to the box (where four minors would get you
sent there), but majors - from what I gather (I hadn't thought of it before), a typical bout has
something like the low to middle 20s.
For the tournament I'm doing Outside Pack Reffing. There's a minor problem with roller derby - it's
not that outside pack reffing isn't important; it's just that it could be said that the other
positions are just "more equal" than OPR - honestly, it's much like Assistant Referees in soccer;
when you have good OPRs things can go absolutely awesome, and the inside refs appreciate the heck
out of them and it can turn a well-reffed bout into an awesomely reffed-bout.
NOTE: I know several of you have stated that you really don't care when I write about that other
sport I referee. If that's the case for you, you can safely skip this series of entries. This blog
still has the same purpose as always (self-evaluation and venting when necessary), but it won't be
focused on footy for a while, as for me this is the soccer off-season.
You would think, with the economy sucking as much as it does, that more people, even those who
previously retired, might don stripes and referee. High School soccer pays pretty decent (I'd get
$40-$45 a center for high-school ages at the club level - high schools pay close to $70), but I've
been getting emails, and now texts, from assignors desperate for officials - and just not getting
them.
