Zone versus man-to-robot refereeing styles

[Caleb Sykes]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

I think it is great that some are taking time to think and carefully lay out a potential improvement other than just making another the same lazy post about how instant replay will fix everything.

Thank you, that is exactly what I was going for.

Originally Posted by EricH

Also, Caleb, this is something that would take some time to go into, and I'm not entirely sure I'm supposed to do that at this point in time.

I agree that this is something that would (and should) take some time to transition into if we wanted to use this system. I'm not even convinced that this system is superior, I'm just trying to float ideas out in the hopes that the system can generally be improved.

Suffice it to say that the refs operate two to a zone, but it's a floating zone based on what's going on for at least a couple of refs (as in, refs can flex). Focus: POINTS. Not fouls, POINTS. You want us to focus on fouls, beg the GDC to go back to games using end-of-match status as the score and bring back scorekeepers.

Thank you for this clarification. This is roughly how I have always observed the referees to operate. The focus should be on points, not fouls. I have not said anything to the contrary.

The fact that you're trying to change a system that you admit to knowing very little about means that people who DO know the system--and know it well--will be all over you about how you don't know the system. Note that I'm trying to help you understand the system a little bit. But I do think that you should look at the system first. Ask your local offseason--they're more lenient on who can ref than the regionals are, at least sometimes. Maybe ask the head ref at your next event if you can shadow one ref or another for a couple of matches--not sure if they'd allow that, but it might be worth a shot.

I respect that others know more about the current arrangement than I do, I'm not trying to imply that I know their jobs better than them. I aired this suggestion so that we could start a conversation on potential ways to, among other things, make life easier on the referees. I directly asked for input from current/former referees to help the discussion along, I thought that was a clear enough deference to people with experience, but I guess I'll have to be more clear next time.