YourMomLikesRollerDerby

Referees often say they don’t think about strategy at all. I think they are lying. There are cases where knowing derby strategy comes in especially handy. This is absolutely true as a jammer ref.

As a jammer referee, you must be able to anticipate what your jammer is about to do. Being able to do so can make the difference between a good jammer referee and a great one.

There are two times that reading your jammer is critical. These times are at the beginning of the jam and at the end of a jam.

You should always watch your jammer for going out of bounds before she reaches the engagement zone for the first time. There is always a chance that she will step out for whatever reason and render herself ineligible for lead jammer. Sometimes though, you can tell that one of the jammers is setting up to force the other jammer out. Be on your guard to notice a wheel over the line. It may not be your jammer stepping out, but it’s always helpful to back up the other jammer ref at this time. Also be aware that the jammer that is being more aggressive may be the one to step out first, or they might both go out of bounds.

Where you really need to understand strategy is when your jammer is lead. Making sure that you end the jam the moment your jammer signals for you to is crucial. If you don’t understand strategy, you are likely to be slower than necessary to react.

So what triggers should cause you to be expect a calloff at any second?

Any time that your (lead) jammer is approaching the rear of the pack with the other jammer close behind. If there is a decent bit of space between the jammers, expect your jammer to try to score 1 or 2 points and immediately call the jam off. If the jammers are very close to each other, expect a calloff before they reach the pack.

As your (lead) jammer is going through a scoring pass, be prepared for her to call the jam off as soon as she clears the pack, or the last opposing blocker.

Also, it is important to be aware of the other jammer’s whereabouts. Any time the other jammer is approaching the rear of the pack, your jammer may call it off.

The whole idea is to sneak in as many points as possible while preventing the other jammer from scoring at all.

Here comes the important part. Do your job! Call it off the moment you see the signal. Don’t make your 4 whistles take too long. 4 whistles should happen within one second. Each of the 4 whistles should be loud and distinct. Both jammers can score up until the fourth whistle. If those whistles take too long, you are getting in the way of the game. You should not be responsible for allowing more time than the lead jammer wishes to allow for the other jammer to score.

Keep this in mind while you are jammer reffing and learn to be ready for your jammer’s actions before they happen. There are other strategies that you may find useful to be aware of in order to help you do your job better. Don’t completely avoid learning these strategies.

This is a question that many have asked. The answer is not especially clear.

There is an obvious answer for what referee certification hope to achieve. Ideally, you should be able to bring in a certified referee and know that you have someone who is exceptional at refereeing WFTDA sanctioned bouts. The higher the level of certification, the better the job they should be able to do.

Is this the way it works now? Not necessarily. Why wouldn’t it work that way? Referee certification is a complicated system that is in its infancy. Let’s face it, roller derby is in its infancy. This most recent incarnation of roller derby has been around for less than a decade; Referee certification has been around approximately a year. There are many kinks to work out in the process, but the steps have been taken in the apprpriate direction.

So, it’s a building process. What does it mean to be a certified referee at this very moment? Honestly, not a whole lot. Though, the few things that it does mean, mean a lot to me.

Being a certified referee tells people that you take this seriously enough to pursue certification at a point in time where it is far from being required. It tells people that you have asked people for their honest opinion of what you do as a referee, to be evaluated by a certification granting committee, without reservation of getting a bad evaluation. It shows that you have confidence in what you do while on the track and intend to conduct yourself as a professional.

Some referees have mentioned to me that there would be reffing jobs offered because of certification that would actually pay more than gas money. I’ve not been offered any such positions, but would feel a little uncomfortable making any money (beyond travel expenses) for reffing a bout. I have, however, noticed a slightly increased number of offers to ref bouts lately. I have reason to believe that some of those opportunities are due largely to my being certified.

It is my personal belief that being a certified referee comes with a very large amount of responsibility, beyond that of any contracts you enter into during the application process. Becoming a certified referee is not the end of the process, it’s only the beginning. It’s not a license showing that you are the epitomy of awesomeness, but something showing that you want to do everything you can to achieve perfection. It means stepping up and working bouts that are intimidating. It means doing everything you can to enhance your abilities.

That doesn’t mean that you have to work only high-level sanctioned bouts. In some cases, that isn’t hugely helpful. I do a lot to try to help out newer, non-WFTDA leagues. They need good officiating crews and need a lot of help to get there. Reffing bouts with very inexperienced leagues may not sound very exciting to a tournament level ref, but I will always insist that it will always be a great learning experience. In bouts with experienced leagues, there is a certain amount of predictability.  You get accustomed to looking for different things with more experienced leagues. When you ref for less experienced leagues, you need to forget some of those habits and just open your eyes to what is happening.

What I’m trying to say is this… Being a certified referee doesn’t give you license to tell people I’m better than anyone else. Being a certified referee doesn’t give you license to believe that you don’t have anything to learn. Being a certified referee doesn’t give you license to expect positions you wouldn’t get otherwise. However, being a certified referee shows a committment to the pursuit of excellence. Being a certified referee means taking every opportunity you can to further your abilities. Being a certified referee means striving for perfection.