As a pretty prolific referee, I have worked with a great number of assistant referees over the past two and a half years. These are the most common niggles I've come across, from both a head and fellow assistant referee's perspective. Also, I have probably been guilty of these at some point in my career, so don't feel bad if you recognise these as things you do! This is all about improvement.
photo from EMC 2014
1. Don't call beaters beat until the bludger is made dead.
This is a hard one to get right, because there is a lot of pressure when you're assistant refereeing to make the beat call as quickly as possible so no team gets an advantage. However, beaters are not technically beat until the bludger is dead - that is, it hits the ground or is back in the possession of the beater who threw it. Until that point they are just struck, and can try and catch the bludger to negate the knockout effect. So it's fairly important not to call them beat until that point, in case you distract them (though in most cases beaters are pretty good at ignoring early beat calls, even if they shouldn't). Obviously if the bludger hits them and rebounds off several miles through the air it's safe to assume that they won't catch it, and in that case you're okay calling it.
2. Don't be a backseat head referee.
One of the most annoying things as a head referee is having an assistant - or several - only watching the quaffle, and essentially just making all of your calls for you. Assistant referees are there to watch the things the head referee can't see. What is the point in having two sets of eyes on one scenario at the expense of another being seen? As I said in AR101, it's important to be aware of what the other referees on the pitch are watching, so you don't miss something because everyone is focused on the same spot. The same applies to assistant referees and head referees - if as an assistant you're watching the quaffle game, you're doing it wrong. Even if you think the head referee isn't doing a good job, you still have a responsibility to do your job and not theirs. There may be situations where a head referee asks you if you saw something, but they aren't expecting you to have an answer. The only time an assistant referee should be watching the quaffle is if the head referee explicitly asks them to, if they are new or not so confident and want one specific person to check everything is going well. Obviously head-qualified referees are most prone to this (a surprising number of good head referees make terrible assistants for this reason) especially when it comes to making judgement calls, something I'll get to later on.
3. Make sure you stick by the guidelines your head referee gives.
In the pre-game meeting, the head referee should give you some guidelines as to how they referee, and how they would like you to referee as part of their team. It's important to stick by these so that the game runs smoothly - I'll run through a couple of examples. If your head referee is one who is particularly strict on players talking to referees (only captains, no backchat etc) then as an assistant referee you should make sure you are only accepting the same level. It's no good for your sanity if someone is venting all of their frustrations at you instead of the head referee! Also it's not great for the head referee to try and have a 'quiet' match if their assistants are chatting to all of the players. If your head referee wants you to indicate advantage when calling a delayed penalty, make sure you know which way they want you to point - towards or away from the fouling team. Not all head referees are the same and have the same requirements, and as assistants it's an important skill to be able to adapt to these.
4. Be confident in your delayed penalty calls.
Firstly, if you're calling a delayed penalty, sending the offending player back to hoops. This is the bit which a lot of referees forget to do. Then obviously raise your fist to get the attention of the head referee - make sure it is clear what you are doing, and if you're short it's especially important to have it straight up and not half-heartedly resting on your head because then they have a better chance of seeing it (if you see another assistant referee calling a delayed penalty, also raise your fist so the head referee has a greater chance of seeing it quickly). Depending on what your head referee wants, indicate which team has an advantage - personally I prefer my assistants to point towards the hoops of the team which fouled, so I know to let the advantage play towards those hoops. When brooms down is called, run over to the head referee and inform them of who made the foul, and what they did. It's important to know exactly which player you're talking about - sending them back to hoops using their name and number might help the information stick in your head. The most concisely you convey the information, the quicker the foul can be adjudicated and play resumed, which is what everyone wants. Long referee conferences because assistant referees are unsure about what they saw are frustrating for tournament directors, players, and observers.
5. Pay attention.
Refereeing is not really something made for those with a short attention span. Up to fourteen players on pitch, plus four balls. But there are some things which you have to work extra hard to pay attention to, which many people forget about. One of the key things is knowing where players and balls were when brooms down was called, so make sure players don't cheat and edge closer to the bludger etc. whilst the referees are discussing any calls to be made. It's also important to move players that run on after the double whistle blow and balls that roll away and create an advantage that didn't exist before. Another thing is to pay attention when brooms up is called, to avoid being out of position and missing anything that occurs right as play resumes - often beater battles are mid-flow at stoppage and need to be watched carefully! But the most important thing is to keep focus during play, and not get caught up with conversations with the crowd or worse, other assistant referees. You're there to do a job, and everyone will like you much better if they see you trying.
6. Have respect for all the other referees on the pitch.
There are a couple of facets to this point. Firstly, when you are acting in the capacity of an assistant referee, you are the equal of all the other assistant referees on the pitch. It doesn't really matter who has been refereeing for longer, who got a better mark on their tests - on the pitch you are equals. When making calls, by the rulebook what matters most is who is nearer. Don't try and overrule someone just because you feel you are a better referee, and equally don't be afraid to speak up if you were nearer to an incident and saw it better, but are saying something different to someone who has more experience. You are trying to make the right call, and it doesn't matter who saw it. Secondly, don't undermine the authority of the head referee. There have been many times when I have been an assistant referee for a head referee that I have vastly more experience than, but that absolutely does not give me the right to bully or cajole them into changing their mind on a discretion based call. By all means correct them on an actual rule, but if they feel something deserves a yellow card over a red or vice versa, then you listen to them. They are the head referee, you are not. Taking a step back is an important part of being an assistant referee, and not doing so is rude and disrespectful to the person with the cards. Finally, leave all preconceptions about the other referees on your team at the side of the pitch when you start. If you don't like the head referee, or the snitch referee, that is not something to take out on the teams playing by doing a bad job. Do your best, always.
7. Ask for feedback.
Not enough referees ask for feedback directly after a game. Often when I'm head refereeing, I'll do so much that I can't remember specifics about a certain assistant referee the next day let alone any longer than that, so if someone wants feedback and tips for improvement it's best to get it straight away, with the game fresh in everyone's mind so you know where you can apply those pointers. Different head referees will pick up on different things, and remember that you can always improve - sometimes I get stuck in a small spot on the pitch and don't move enough, or other days I might just be too slow at calling beats and back to hoops. So those are the things I try and work on especially and pay extra attention to during games. There's no shame in asking for feedback!
So that's fourteen long-winded points I've written now about assistant refereeing - I don't know if/when I'll have some more, but if you have anything in particular about assistant refereeing you'd like me to write about, please get in touch!
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