Who is #tinyref?

Have you ever played a game of quidditch refereed by a short, slightly overweight, purple-cap wearing human? Chances are, that was me. Especially if they had OUQC printed in big letters across their butt.

photo by SnappyGibbs Photography

My name is Zoe Ford, I'm a beater for Oxford University Quidditch Club, but I'm probably better known as one of the top assistant and head referees in QuidditchUK. I've been refereeing since rulebook 7, pretty much exactly two years now. I'm known as tinyref because compared to most other head referees in the UK, I'm on the short side at a little over five feet. I'm agender, so my pronouns are they/them/their, and I'm AFAB.

This season I've refereed at a bunch of different things, from friendlies where I only had one assistant referee to the finals of the European Quidditch Cup. Due to a bunch of factors I've been focusing a lot more on my refereeing than on my playing this year, with the aim to go from being 'the ref who knows all the rules' to 'the ref who applies all the rules in a way which keeps the quidditch going smoothly'. This has involved shaking my reputation as the most card-happy referee in the country, and also working on my own reactions to situations to keep everything going smoothly. Advantage sucks, but is useful!

In this blog I will attempt to impart little bits of wisdom, rant about various aspects of refereeing that need improving, talk about my own strengths and weaknesses as a referee, and maybe even post some things that are vaguely amusing. I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful!