At the end of the 2014/15 season, I took a good look at my refereeing, and what I needed to improve on. These are what I came up with, and how I feel I did.
1. Application of NHNF.
I wrote a whole post on No Harm, No Foul here. It was a well-known fact in early 2015 that I wasn't really one for using NHNF, so if you did something vaguely wrong on my pitch, you paid for it. Arguably it didn't help that there were a lot of cards designated for things which are now back to hoops and turnover fouls, but I was still very much heavy handed and my games stopped a lot just so I could give out all of the cards. So over summer last year, I sat down and I re-read the rulebook, and I came up with scenarios and examples in my head of where I would give just a warning and NHNF. Part of it was finding a compromise between old Zoe and Ash's methods of refereeing, the latter being almost entirely based on NHNF (:P). So now I go into games making sure that I balance accuracy on calls with fairness based on how the foul affected play, which means things that didn't impact the other team are far more likely to get warnings. Overall I think my application of the rule has improved dramatically, especially as I can now write about it in a blog.
2. Dealing with angry/upset players.
Emotions often run high on a quidditch pitch, in all directions. As a referee you have to soak it all up like a sponge, and keep everyone calm. While I never really lost control of a pitch, I also wasn't the best at keeping the tempers of people in check. A lot of this ties into my next point about confidence, but the specific things I worked on with regards to players were keeping my own demeanor calm, and speaking to them in a firm way which didn't antagonise them further. It was easier when I remembered how I felt if I was annoyed with how a game was going - then I would know what sort of words to avoid, the level of firmness required in my voice to get someone to take a deep breath, that sort of thing. It also comes with practice, and I must admit it helps being on teams with big mouths. I've also got a lot better at brushing off destructive criticism fired at me by angry people after a game didn't go their way. My opinion of myself and my refereeing ability is a lot more grounded, and depends a lot more on how I feel and how other referees judged it.
3. Confidence.
I feel a lot of this comes with time and age. I'm 22 now, which is very much middle-aged in quidditch, and I've refereed for long enough now that I should hope I know what I'm doing. At first I started out by just pretending to be an extremely confident referee, and now I'm at least partway there to actually being that referee. It's okay to not be confident (I've written about this too, a bunch of times) as long as you recognise that it is an area you can work on. Unlike knowing a rule, it won't happen overnight, but hopefully I am proof that it can happen over a season. I'm now comfortable in saying that I'm at the top of the refereeing pile, and offering some words of wisdom once a week to those of you who are interested. I'll throw my name into the ring for big finals, and I'm not surprised when I'm asked to head referee a game. Now I suppose the thing I have to keep an eye on is not getting over-confident!
4. Communicating with ARs.
I used to be very bad at looking at my assistants when I was a head referee. I would miss delayed penalties for up to minutes, which wasn't great really. Also it's important as a head referee to check that your assistants are in the correct positions and aren't getting distracted, so looking over at them occasionally is fairly necessary. As I've worked with more assistants, I've got used to checking consistently, and also know a lot better what things to cover before matches to get the most out of my team. I'm also more confident in telling my assistants to hurry up with their explanations, rather than just listen to them slowly slip over their words and tell me basically nothing. The general standard of assistant refereeing has also improved over this time, which is very helpful. Communication is something you can always work on, as with everything, but as far as improvements go I'm pretty happy that I'm a better head referee.
5. Fitness.
If you know me on Facebook, you'll probably know that I suffer from a chronic illness. This whacked my fitness over the head when I was diagnosed, and I've been working slowly to improve it ever since. I can referee hour-long games now, though not happily, which is an improvement on not being able to stand for more than five minutes! This is always going to be an ongoing thing when my body is basically fighting me, but it will be easier with regular quidditch training and access to a gym, and I think most people would agree that I am a fitter referee than I was at the beginning of the season. Long live the NHS to continue giving me medication and tests, even if it is painfully slow at times.
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