[Jon K.]

I would just like to say, that I personally know some of the refs and Head refs at these events, and most of them have been with the FIRST program for a little bit of times, some this might be their first year with FIRST. Asking refs to make a call is a very difficult position for them to be in, especially when a call would have to be made either against or "for" an old team. I know many of the refs do read the manuals before hand and do have a great grasp on the rules. While I do not know what went on this past weekend, I do know what it is like to be on the receiving end of a penalty that cost a match, and on the receiving end of penalties that almost have cost a match in the finals. If your drive team feels that they have had a call unfairly made against their team, then it is their responsibility to go up to the head ref and ask for a clarification of the call. The Head refs are usually more then willing to explain the call to them if they ask about it. And this shouldn't be an adult going and accusing the refs of poor judgment. This should be a STUDENT MEMBER of your drive team, after calming down of course, simply going up to the Head ref and asking why they received a penalty, and why they feel they did not deserve it, if after receiving clarification they feel otherwise. I know at the Chesapeake regional, RAGE was on the receiving end of a call we were unsure of, and it was a 30 point penalty as well as a 10 pointer, I believe called with G25 as its base. We had won the match, but still had questions as to why the calls had been made, I was the coach for my team and the alliance captain, and I went up after cooling down, and simply went up to Aidan and asked for a clarification even though the outcome would not have been effected, and he was more then willing to give me an explanation, and the ruling was based on a call that neither myself nor the drivers could see. We had backed up into a team that was in the loading zone, and we didn't know they were there. It was a legitimate call and we accepted it. While the adult mentors may get upset at this, being a student and coach, I knew the rules, and I had no issue with the ruling as it was called, and as such I went to my team right after the match and explained the reasoning behind the call, and they then realized it and calmed down.

Basically what I am trying to say is, have a STUDENT go up to the Head ref and ask them about the call, and then have that same student explain the ruling to the team. It usually helps to calm mentors down a bit when they see a student calm about a call.

Also it isn't the responsibility of the Ref to explain their actions, they shouldn't have to. They should have the respect of every one in that venue, because they are the ones who are visibly working the hardest during those 2 days(I say visibly because I know there are people working just as hard all 3 days, but they are more behind the scenes, like the regional directors and all the other volunteer support staff at the events.), and they usually show up on Thursday whenever possible to get a feel for how the game will be played out.

I would just like to give my sincerest gratitude to the referees and thank them for all their hard work and effort that they put forth to make these event what they are.