Thank god for rules
One incident in particular prompted George to request a "writeup" by me. I will relate it the best I can.
This was not one of the more tidy matches. From the get-go, both candidates were a bit...frisky. On more than a few matches, I handled this by breaking the two individuals up, and giving them BOTH warnings. The next warning is a point for the other, and the fourth is automatic disqualification.
THERE WERE NO DISQUALIFICATIONS IN ANY OF MY MATCHES, NOR WERE THERE ANY INJURIES WORTH WRITING HOME ABOUT. (One case of a few drops of blood from the nose, and another
brief case of the male ouchies
). This is remarkable, and speaks volumes of the organization involved By Richie Bap, George, and Jay.
That being said...
This match started out a bit wild. I did my best to control it as best I could. One candidate in particular though was flailing. Yes, flailing. I can't think of a better word for it. The resulting chaos even prompted Jay Salhanick to ask me to stop the match, and give him an opportunity to offer the two of them a free ticket home. You go Jay!!
So in any case, the "flailer" came charging at his opponent. This opponent faded back, but managed to get a quick side kick in before stepping out of the ring. I stopped the match. After they returned to their positions, I yelled "
JUDGES CALL!!" I pointed to the gentleman that threw the quick kick. The judge behind me signaled no call. And Al...did nothing. I was about to signal "No call" to the scorekeeper when Al suddenly threw his hand towards the same side-kicker. I quickly gave the individual the point and moved on.
More chaos, Jay's speech, a little more chaos, and match ended. Nobody got hurt, so good. But more than once during the rest of the match, I heard these angry protests from the back. I had a feeling I knew what his beef was. Afterwards, he made his displeasure quite clear. He was unhappy about the "weak side kick," and Al's late call. That point was the difference in the match.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? How to solve the dillemma? Did I do the right thing?
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Here's the deal. This individual complained to me, and I first started by reminding the individual (according to the rules) that he needed to register his protest in a sportsmanlike manner. Fine...he calmed down.
Then he talked about the delayed call. I explaied my logic to him, and I will put it here - for the record and for anyone else interested in such classic protest situations.
First, I paraphrased the rule (on this webpage for anyone to see) that I applied. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
LATE CALLS: All officials should make their calls at the sane time. If, in the opinion of the referee, the corner judges are making a late call intentionally, the referee can disqualify the call (noise not allowing the judges to hear the referee and the honest mistake of raising the wrong color or pointing at the wrong competitor should be taken into consideration not to disqualify the call).
I explained to this individual - and I am now explaining "for the record" - that I did not view Al's act as an "intentional late call." Al was distracted (it was VERY noisy) and it just took a second for him to snap to attention. I trust Al. Al was winning tournaments when the competitors (and coach) were pooping their diapers. Al has no agenda. Al told me later he was distracted. Yes...these things happen.
Note: At one point in the tournament I actually pointed to the wrong competitor when I yelled "JUDGES CALL." Humans goof. But when I saw the other two judges pointed to the person I MEANT to point to, I didn't advertise my brain fart. Point for Andrew Moore. Sorry Andrew, but no harm in the end.
That's what we were talking about - a human goof. But the intentions were honest, and the initial intentions were correctly recorded.
I would also like to add the following points....
The rules state <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
1. Never, at any time, can a coach enter the ring without the referee's permission
Sorry, fellow, but you lost brownie points in my head when you entered the ring and started complaining (over my left shoulder) during Sal's speech to the contestants. I DID NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO ENTER THE RING. I let it slide.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
1) I appreciate the emotions involved. I told the protesting coach that I fully understood how bad things looked. IT'S IMPORTANT FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, AND THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
2) I read the rules. I read them five times. I discussed aspects of them on several forums (CHECK IT OUT!!!) weeks ago. This saved my butt, folks. If you aren't with the rules, then an unruly protestor will eat you alive.
3) Any good competitor doesn't get themselves in a situation where a single "event" causes them to lose a match. Be above it all by being good - period. Win convincingly. This is how the champions make it to the end.
4) Learn some defense so you don't get nailed running into a weak-assed kick.
5) Competitors need to understand that the referee reads and abides by the rules. Parents need to understand that the referee reads and abides by the rules. When this happens, everyone appreciates that things are "fair", even when things don't go their way. It also implies that the event is likely to be a safe and rewarding one. And on that note, the proof was in the outcome.
6) And finally, the poor losing competitor here is a fine martial artist. He did a most amazing form in the men's black belt. I told him how impressed I was with him when I shook his hand later. I expect to see him next year, and he better walk home with a sparring trophy at the end of the day to match the kata award!
- Bill
And so did the rest of us.
