Some people who shall not be named are a little overzealous.

If we had to pin an exact number, I'd nail it to one second.

Changing tones? A buhh?

I disagree.  This is a matter of Head Ref preference.  As such, it is not a "biggest mistake" - it is a preference.

I give the instruction to my Jam Timer that unless I have called a Timeout to start the jam at the 30 second mark whether I'm ready, whether the skaters are ready, regardless.  Even if there is no-one on the track, that whistle goes at 30 seconds unless I say otherwise.

In my experience, allowing Jam Timers to hold for a few seconds increases the risk of affecting gameplay by giving tardy teams additional time to line up.  This is game affecting.

If you look at the "Advice for HR / Captains meetings" threads you'll see a conversation between Rev Riot and Johnny Zebra where one strongly prefers one way, the other strongly prefers the other.

I'm not stating one method is the better than the other.  I have my preference, others have theirs.

I just want to point out that it is not an NSO mistake.

What about the ones whose job has no impact on the outcome of the bout? WFTDA recently seems to have decided that lineup trackers are NSOs, despite their job of recording lineups and penalty box in-outs having no impact on the outcome of the bout.

All that aside, I have no problem with refs, NSOs and Stats folks getting in the lineup for the victory (and/or the "thanks for playing!") lap. Sometimes I think we get our panties in budge over far too much. As for cheering or high-fiving, that's bad form.

How long? I have been hearing people hold it out for several seconds which seems like overkill to me. 1 second long, sure, but 2-3? I have also heard it change tones which can sometimes sound like several whistles blasts instead of one, depending on the venue.

+1

I've seen both the front IPR and the Jam Timer put themselves in front of the pack like this. I like to make a verbal indication to the pack that the whistle will be a "this is the end of the timeout, NOT a jam start!". There are times where even if you're 5 feet in front of the pack, hands doing the OTO signal, they make eye contact, all that jazz, and then WHAM you get assaulted by 8 rollergirls when that whistle goes off.


+1 again. One of my biggest pet peeves is when either a No Pack situation occurs or the defined pack has left the line (with a few stragglers hanging back) and the Jam Timer just hangs out waiting for the last skater to cross the line. Rules say when the last pack skater has crossed the line...

Also, note that the first jam whistle isn't a quick TWEET. It's a LONG TWEET. (Thank you, Ref Clinic East)


This is something good to give a seconds' attention to during the pre-bout ref meeting (if you have NSOs in on it, I like to bring 'em in) or have the Head Ref pull the Jam Timer aside for a minute before the bout starts.


That's why I always recommend people to get Fox 40 Sonik / Sonik Blasts instead of the classy Fox 40. Those little f'ers are LOUD even with a screaming, packed crowd around you.

I agree with SeerSin as to the importance of being impartial between the teams, even after the bout.

On the other hand I am not and will never be completely impartal.  I am distinctly on the side of Roller Derby.  That includes both teams because they make up the bout, all of the girls, all of the officals and almost all of the fan.

I don't aim for indifferance but instead try for what my mediation teachers called positive neutrality.  I want everyone involved to understand I like them but that I can best serve them by doing my job, which requires being objective and fair, to the best of my ability.

I'm not a fan of the officials high fiving, clapping, or celebrating outwardly at all. We officiate the bout, clapping and high fiving gets us too involved. Appearence of bias or not we are not there to compete, or even to celebrate their competition. We're there to ensure the integrity of the competition.

And the officials' "hat" doesn't come off as soon as you're out of stripes at the after party. It's still inappropriate for an official to attend the after party and start talking about how one team "smoked" the other, or "I can't believe how many penalties she got" or similar conversation.

When you end up drafting a random skater to NSO it probably will happen. But for dedicated officials it's highly disrespectful.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

This.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but it will never replace the basics.