Please bear in mind that I can only make a judgment based upon what I have read in this thread and the Silicon Valley Regional thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bduddy
However, the refs had called it that way all day. If they suddenly changed their mind then, to literally decide the championship, 100 (and their partners) would have a legitimate argument that, based on what the refs had been saying, they thought they had done enough in the match.
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As much as we all ask for consistency, I am sure we do not ask for something to be done consistently wrongly; that certainly does not make it right. I certainly understand the argument that referees are human, that referees will in fact invariably make errors, but every time there is a mistake, we cannot simply cite it as an inevitable human error. There has to be some accountability, hasn't there? Isn't that the only way things can improve? By admitting that a mistake was made? I think there could have been no greater demonstration of accountability than admitting that a mistake had been made, and rightly awarding the third match to the blue alliance. Replaying the match seems to come across to me as side-stepping any sense of accountability whatsoever.
As for knowing the entire rulebook, isn't this something that teams do anyway? I would think it is impossible to spend six weeks building a robot without knowing every rule in the rulebook. How else would know what you can and cannot do? Why should this be any different for the referees?
Referees are indeed volunteers and I am truly grateful to every one of them for giving up their valuable time to help to ensure that competitions run smoothly. Thank you so very much. However, referees are also volunteers who choose their roles. They are roles that come with the burden of responsibility, a responsibility that can decide winners.
The referee certification course this year was definitely a step in the right direction by FIRST. It shows that we as a community want to make a change, that we want to put things right. However, situations like these also need to be handled in the right manner to make that change. When an error is made, accountability is a must.
Again, all that I can say is based upon what I have read, take it for what you will.