On Saturday I went to Buffalo to catch the Nickel City Knock Outs skate against the Devil Dollies (Two of Queen City Roller Girls' Home Teams). Having been on the Roller Derby scene for awhile, I saw a few familiar faces on the track… and I introduced two gals I graduated from High School with to the world of Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby.
The Skating Officials line-up (as I recall):
Head Ref (IPR) – Shock-Her
Inside Pack Ref – Fran Deck-Her
Jam Ref – Señor Wiener
Jam Ref – Guy O. Tine
Outside Pack Ref – Lizzie Longshanks
Outside Pack Ref – Boo D. Bloxx
Outside Pack Ref – Elvis Refley
Observations as a spectator:
I will fully admit to being kind of spoiled in Rochester. We have a couple of excellent venues for our bouts, with ample parking and seating, room enough for a solid Referee Lane & safety line… and if people are standing to watch the bout it’s because they choose to, not because there’re no more seats left.
Rainbow Rink was jam-packed by the time we rolled in… dinner went a little late and we got our check late; and then there was the hunt for parking in the neighborhood as the lot was completely full. We ended up standing behind the last row of chairs near turn 3; which in and of itself wasn’t too bad, except when the first jam started a few people 2 rows in front of us decided to stand up to watch. I finally got annoyed enough to ask them (2 burly bald guys) if they’d mind sitting every few jams so that we could see behind them. They ended up sitting through the first Period. Second Period didn’t yield quite as much luck; and I even resorted to a snarky out loud comment wondering why people even bothered to get seats if they weren’t going to sit in them. Ah well
Ursie and Heather really enjoyed their first bout, I answered questions when I could, explained how the scoring worked, why certain people were called on certain things, etc. The Devil Dollies busted out with a Star Pass so I explained what was going on there, and commented on a couple of strategy things that didn’t make a lot of sense at first (which I’ll cover later). The Knock Outs proved victorious... apparently further perpetuating a friendly and loving inter-league rivalry. Oh, and I got a loaf of Cohen's Rye Bread. Who says Derby don't give back???
All in all, they had a good time and definitely want to check out more Roller Derby. My work here is done. ;)
Rainbow Rink was jam-packed by the time we rolled in… dinner went a little late and we got our check late; and then there was the hunt for parking in the neighborhood as the lot was completely full. We ended up standing behind the last row of chairs near turn 3; which in and of itself wasn’t too bad, except when the first jam started a few people 2 rows in front of us decided to stand up to watch. I finally got annoyed enough to ask them (2 burly bald guys) if they’d mind sitting every few jams so that we could see behind them. They ended up sitting through the first Period. Second Period didn’t yield quite as much luck; and I even resorted to a snarky out loud comment wondering why people even bothered to get seats if they weren’t going to sit in them. Ah well
Ursie and Heather really enjoyed their first bout, I answered questions when I could, explained how the scoring worked, why certain people were called on certain things, etc. The Devil Dollies busted out with a Star Pass so I explained what was going on there, and commented on a couple of strategy things that didn’t make a lot of sense at first (which I’ll cover later). The Knock Outs proved victorious... apparently further perpetuating a friendly and loving inter-league rivalry. Oh, and I got a loaf of Cohen's Rye Bread. Who says Derby don't give back???
All in all, they had a good time and definitely want to check out more Roller Derby. My work here is done. ;)
ETA:
oh look! a highlights reel was posted!
Observations as a Ref in Training:
My other intention in going to the bout was to watch other referees in action, and work on watching the pack for penalties and how situations are handled. I didn’t actually whip out a pen and notebook (or my phone) to take notes, but I did make it a point to recall a few things that I may or may not get a chance to discuss with the other Wardens at some point.
- Strategies. I saw a couple of interesting strategies at play… strategies that seemed to be well-executed and accomplished their goal (and tells me that they’re something I should be watching for once I’m on the line).
o Scenario #1 – the Devil Dollies’ Jammer was starting the Jam from the Penalty Box, she was standing so she was within her 10 sec. At the sound of the 1st Whistle 2 of the Dollies’ dropped back almost to the Jammer Line. One or two of the Knock Outs hovered around the Pivot Line while another one or two started forward with another of the Dollies. The Dollies’ Jammer was released from the Box and just as she was on approach the 2 Dollies that had dropped back sped up and past the Pivot line, the 2nd Whistle sounded and the Dollies’ Jammer flew into the pack.
Now, I didn’t have a clear view of the floor at that side; so I don’t know about positioning, but that is a question I intend to bring up tonight… if she’s coming in from out of bounds after the 2nd Whistle is there a specific about her positioning vs the Knock Out’s Jammer who was behind the Pivot Line? Could (and did) the Dollie’s Jammer have to enter the track from behind the Jammer Line? Like I said, I couldn’t really see; but no one on the inside (or outside, for the matter) called a Penalty, so whatever she did she did it right.
Now, I didn’t have a clear view of the floor at that side; so I don’t know about positioning, but that is a question I intend to bring up tonight… if she’s coming in from out of bounds after the 2nd Whistle is there a specific about her positioning vs the Knock Out’s Jammer who was behind the Pivot Line? Could (and did) the Dollie’s Jammer have to enter the track from behind the Jammer Line? Like I said, I couldn’t really see; but no one on the inside (or outside, for the matter) called a Penalty, so whatever she did she did it right.
o Scenario #2 – something I think I’ve seen RCRD practicing; or that we’ve discussed in Warden’s training (it seemed familiar). Maybe something that was brought back from ECE for discussion, I can’t recall. Anyway… I believe both Jammers were on the line at the start of the Jam, the Jam Timer gave a 5 sec warning, just as he blew the whistle 3 of the Dollies in the rear of the pack took a knee, and the 4th skated forward with the 4 Knock Outs. Shock Her called Pack is Front, Jam Timer blew the 2nd Whistle, the 3 Dollies stood up and boxed in the approaching Knock Outs Jammer.
- Shock Her is a freakin’ Machine. I watched him call 2 Minors and a Major in the middle of a bunched up pack at turn 3… Bam Bam Bam! (Sadly, I can’t recall what the Penalties were, tho I believe at least 1 was a Back Block). I just watched in awe (and felt very very teeny).
- Perspective. Who hasn’t watched Football or Hockey or some other sport on TV, and yelled and berated the officials for not calling some infraction that was blatant? I found myself seeing a lot of penalties going on in the pack as they passed Turn 3 (esp a lot of Elbows and Forearms… arms flailing everywhere… saw at least 3 Elbow-to-Head’s in the course of the night).
It suddenly occurred to me that my problems with refereeing are the same as going to the movie theatre. The screens are so huge that if I get stuck sitting in the first 10-15 rows I spend the movie literally panning my head left-to-right because there’s too much screen and too small a field of vision. Being a referee holds the same challenge. It’s hard to see everything when you’re right on top of the action (coupled with trying to avoid flying bodies and poorly positioned coaches, etc). There’s a much wider field of vision that you have to train your eyes to “snapshot” and your brain to “process and return results,” and everything is constantly changing so you have only a few seconds in which to do it.
It suddenly occurred to me that my problems with refereeing are the same as going to the movie theatre. The screens are so huge that if I get stuck sitting in the first 10-15 rows I spend the movie literally panning my head left-to-right because there’s too much screen and too small a field of vision. Being a referee holds the same challenge. It’s hard to see everything when you’re right on top of the action (coupled with trying to avoid flying bodies and poorly positioned coaches, etc). There’s a much wider field of vision that you have to train your eyes to “snapshot” and your brain to “process and return results,” and everything is constantly changing so you have only a few seconds in which to do it.
The amount of work I have to do intimidates the hell out of me… especially when you’re watching good Refs in action… especially when you’re watching Refs who’ve been at it for a couple of solid years in action.
I’m mulling over how I can widen my field of vision… how can I see more, and see it more quickly… and then once I can see it, how can I make my brain process it and spit out the results quickly? Walter Ego said at practice last week that in all it should take about 10-15 sec to see the action, process it, make the call… after that it starts to be too late and you have to move on. I’ve also been told by just about every current Ref in the Wardens that it doesn’t happen overnight, and that they still screw up, and that it is an ever learning process.
But man, I’d really really like to be able to skate in my first bout as a Referee by my 40th Birthday.
Nope, no pressure. None at all.
#1: Anyone entering from the penalty box has to enter behind the pack. Not behind either of the lines, just behind the pack. The Dollies went slow in that case to delay the jammer whistle-- the jammer whistle won't blow until the pack has crossed the pivot line. So as long as the legally-defined pack is still behind that first line, the KO's jammer wasn't released, so she wouldn't have a head start on the jammer in the box.
ReplyDelete#2: The Dollies had a failed attempt to create an instant no-pack situation. If everyone takes a knee before the whistle, there is no pack-- but nobody destroyed it, so there are no penalties-- so, that means that the legally-defined pack is not behind the pivot line, so the jammers are released immediately. The 4th Dollie who didn't drop to a knee effed that up-- if the KOs were into the slow start, they could've just stood there and kept the jammer whistle from blowing, and the Dollies would've been stuck. Fortunately for the Dollies, the KOs didn't notice / don't like to use a slow start.
Shock-Her is pretty great-- I think this is his third season, and his second as Head Ref. He's a real serious guy and studies the rules a lot, and studies footage from tournaments. He's really into it.