Let's hear it for the Refs !

[Michael Corsetto]

Being critical of referee quality and thankful for referee volunteerism are not mutually exclusive.

I have good relationships with many people on the volunteer reffing crews for all of our local FRC events. I make a point of thanking them for volunteering for this thankless job, usually with a hand shake and a "thank you for volunteering your time."

Most of the issues I see in FRC reffing come down to training (and sometimes game design). This is similar to the primary issues I see with FRC inspecting. I typically send my concerns to FIRST HQ, as I already have with some of my observations from CMP 2016, in hopes that training will improve in the coming years.

Big thanks to all the event volunteers, referees included.

-Mike

[Richard Wallace]

I volunteered as a referee at two district events this year, for the same reason EricH gave -- a VC asked me to, because they were short handed. So after the robots were all inspected, I put on stripes.

BTW, the referee certification process is harder and more time consuming (for me) that the one for robot inspectors. Also, inspecting naturally includes time for reflecting on decisions, while refereeing emphatically does not. I am much more comfortable as an inspector.

Carolyn Grace made the most important points in this thread, I think, when she wrote about all of the avenues available for provide constructive feedback for volunteers. VCs want and seek this feedback, and getting it helps them make future events better. Getting that feedback is actually part of their job, and not an interruption.

If I make an error as a volunteer, I hope someone like Mike Corsetto will come let me know. Let the VC know also, but I want to correct my problem ASAP.

[Michael Corsetto]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

If I make an error as a volunteer, I hope someone like Mike Corsetto will come let me know. Let the VC know also, but I want to correct my problem ASAP.

Richard,

This sort of approach is very admirable.

My favorite Key Volunteers have this same approach. I've had many positive, constructive conversations with Head Refs and LRI's regarding rule interpretations. Not necessarily regarding any specific match (this is not my place), but regarding rules in general and how teams can expect these key individuals to make calls. Often, I find that I might be aware of a Q/A or something else that this individual is not aware of, and we work together to improve the overall event experience.

On the flip side, I have less respect for KV's who hide behind their role and refuse input from participants at the event (through appropriate avenues, of course).

-Mike

[Roboshant]

This game was a very hard game for refs, and their hard work and simple graciousness for volunteering should be commended. Compared to last year, where most of the reffing could be done after the completion of the match, this year is very fast moving with many game objectives and elements.

I can definitely sympathize with referring under these conditions, especially for lesser experienced refs, as I myself have reffed for games with much less complexity in VEX. Competitors also need to understand the fact that refs are not perfect, and most likely will not be able to remember what happened 54 seconds into the game in the opposite corner of the field. No matter how trained, refs will not become superhuman omniscient beings. The total amount of mistakes they make in relation to the total amount of matches is probably less than the amount we make in our daily lives.

Now let's face it, we need to something to eliminate bad calls. The problem is it can be very hard, even for trained refs, to do this. I believe this is where video review comes in. I would love to see how video review, with obvious regulation, would work on reducing the pressure on refs as well as the reduction of bad calls.

Let's hear it for the Refs!!! Thank You!