Ref Love

I'd like to talk about refs.

I've recently started reffing on the side. Our head ref was loaning his skills and asked if I'd be available to ref a men's bout. I am a skater who is reffing. I am a skater who happens to know the rules pretty well and has a whistle. As a trainer, I'm used to looking for penalties during practice.

Refs are volunteers, just like the rest of us. If they're lucky, they get a travel stipend to go to an away bout, but often not. They don't get all the glory that skaters do. They keep reffing to make sure that we skaters are safe.

So when skaters yell at refs, it de-values what they're doing. I know that there's a higher percentage of men's skaters who are refs, but please refrain from calling penalties while on the track. We spent a long time at our practices stressing that even when we don't have a lot of refs, we on the track need to not be calling the penalties ourselves.

When skaters yell at me, it makes me not want to ref that team again. Our refs are extremely valuable, let's do everything we can to retain them. Before you start to yell something at a ref, I urge you to remember, that they are watching the feet, forearms, heads, chests, directions...etc of up to 10 skaters on the track while skating in close proximity to other refs and often avoiding skaters going out of bounds. It's a lot to think about and I ASSURE you that yelling at them doesn't help.

Please thank your refs. Buy them beers at the afterparties. Include them in your league functions. Thank them and thank them again. Make sure that your refs know that you appreciate their efforts and couldn't do it without them.


Signing off,
Reffin' Rita