[Cory]

I think everyone is being too nice to the refs.

I understand it's a volunteer job, and they are to be commended for taking it on. However, I have been a ref (3 times in 2005 [SVR, Davis, Champs], which to date has been the most difficult game to referee), and I have seen how qualified, or lack thereof referees can be. It is a difficult job, but with a thorough knowledge of the rules, I do not think it is nearly the superhuman effort some make it out to be (unless you are the head ref... then I'm sure it's pretty darn stressful). Beyond one specific instance that occurred during an event I was part of the ref crew at, I never felt like my job was really that difficult, as long as I was paying full attention. The issue is many refs DO NOT know the rules like all of us involved with teams do. Many of them are people who show up on Wednesday, having never seen the game before, or never read the rules before.

In general, there are a lot of good referees. Most do not make egregiously bad calls.

I thought last year in particular there were WAY too many inconsistencies between head referees, to the point where the outcome of the game was being changed, on a regular basis.

I do not feel that just because someone is volunteering their time, ignorance or incompetence should be forgiven. FIRST owes it to the teams, who have paid $4000-6000 to attend an event to make sure the rules will be enforced as written, and to do something about it when they aren't. FIRST the program is not about the robots, but when at the actual competition, it is very much about the robots. I think the referee qualification course is a great step in the right direction, and I look forward to (hopefully) consistent refereeing across the board in 2008.