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I am always unprepared, usually tongue-tied, and if I don't forget something major I generally consider it a miracle. So this post is definitely as much for my own reference as for everyone else. I'm sure all captains will appreciate meetings that have more than 'please do good quidditch and rules things' in them, with some wavey hand gestures. This will be a list of things that should happen in captains meetings.
1. Coin flip
This is not a requirement, however you should always ask both captains if they have a preference for which way they want to attack. If one has a preference, then you need to do a toss - or equivalent if, like me, you are bad at coin flips - for sides. The rulebook says something about USQ rankings which obviously we don't have, so I personally go with seeds if there are any, or distance travelled (longest wins). Well, I guess which one is further away from the location. When in doubt, it was probably Falmouth. It's harder for merc tournaments, so just have something in your head that you're always going to go with - I use the home team of the captain, which sucks if you're an Oxford captain at Valentines but now you know, I suppose.
2. Introduction of ref team
I always forget this! Introduce your assistant refs - so teams know whether you have two or three or whatever - and your snitch ref, and it's probably a good idea to say whether your snitch ref will be assistant reffing for the first seventeen minutes. I won't say it's definitely a good plan because I can't honestly say I've done it enough times to know. I think this would probably be a good idea so that any issues teams have with the referees can be addressed before the game starts, and so they don't ignore someone who is on your team because they don't recognise them as a ref. Also introduce the snitch, especially if they've run off to the bathroom which is a surprisingly common occurrence.
3. Overview of specific rules being watched for this tournament
This can be anything from a clarification of the fact that 'kicking near hands' is not a foul in the rulebook to a reminder that turnovers will be called probably more regularly than either team is used to. It can be hard to remember everything that has been brought up, but if you're refereeing a lot you'll know which ones are actually important to state. Anything you say to the captains you can assume will be passed on to the players, so anything you state as a warning in that meeting will apply to everyone who will enter the pitch - use that as you will.
4. Identification of players' genders'
You should always double check this, unless you've already refereed both teams that day. Remember to pass the information on to your assistants, too, so you don't have unnecessary delayed penalties called for the gender rule.
5. Identification of speaking captain/translator as necessary
Coaches are entitled to be present at captains meetings as well as team captains, and a team may appoint who they like as a speaking captain. Make sure you clarify who this is to the other team too, so that you don't have to waste time explaining why you are speaking to someone during a game who the other team didn't realise was nominated. And if refereeing in Europe, check that the speaking captain either speaks the language you do, or get a translator. Saves loads of time. Trust.
6. Identification of players with specific disability requirements
This was a particular issue at BQC - a number of players were red/green colour blind and couldn't see the pitch markings. Evidently it would be mean to award penalties to the other team over this, so I made sure I knew which players to redirect if they were running in a random incorrect direction. This also applies to players who are hard of hearing. It's always better to spend a couple of extra moments getting to know any potential issues before the game so you can do something about it - moving to be on the good hearing side of someone, or making sure you explain a foul from a place where someone can see your lips.
7. Any specific hazards wrt the field
As much as we'd like for it not to be the case, most quidditch pitches are far from perfect. Make sure to alert captains to particularly bad dips, or if the hard boundary is right on the edge of something like a road. A muddy pitch also warrants a warning, and probably a reiteration of rules on sliding.
8. Chance for captains to raise any issues before the game starts
Including if you've forgotten any of the above points.
9. Call for an equipment check
Every team should have an equipment check on both days of a tournament, and it's easiest to get captains to have everyone line up for you. Boots, jewelry, headbands, additional equipment - it shouldn't take you too long, and you can get an assistant ref to help too!
I'm also bad at conclusions.
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