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Coaching and Refereeing: A Perfect Fit
by Mike Armstrong
Okay, maybe this is not a "Coaching" article, as this page usually carries but every good coach needs to know the rules, and becoming a Referee is one of he Best ways to learn the rules.
Lifting weights and competition against yourself, others in your class and the record books is what Powerlifting is all about, right? Well, of course that is correct, but if you've been in a few contests already, you've no doubt noticed that contests don't just happen by themselves, and that there are a number of "support" jobs required to make them happen.
One of the most important of these is that of the referee. The guy we all love to hate, who tells you your squat is high, your lockout is uneven, your knees are not locked, etc, etc, and seems to keep his finger permanently flipped to the red side of that switch box. Maybe you've decided you could do a better job in the referee chair, or perhaps you just think it's about time you gave something back to the sport that has given you so much for so many years.
Regardless of the reason, becoming a referee is one of the best things you can do to support the sport, it will make you a better lifter, it's a lot fun, you don't have to train so hard for it, it gives you the best view of the lifting, and if your lifting days are over, is a great way to keep in contact with all of your powerlifting friends.
It can also be a very big job however. And what happens while you are in the chair is not nearly the whole job, and even when you are in the chair, simple "good or no good" decisions are not the whole job. In this issue we are going to talk about everything except judging the execution of the lifts, we'll save that part for the next issue.
The Number One Rule: From the start of the weigh-in on (and before even) …… The Referee's are in charge! The meet director might think he is, but it is really the ref's that control whether the meet runs smoothly or not.
1) Before the Meet
Check with the meet director a few days prior.
- Does he have lifter cards, attempt cards, scale, spotters, weights, enough racks, etc?
- Is the meet director experienced at running meets?
I've been to too many meets where a rookie meet director was unaware of the rules and what was needed. One time I was asked to ref at an unsanctioned high school meet. I was the only qualified ref, and due to work, I could not get there until ˝ hour before the lifting was set to start. They had set it up with 50 lifters in one flight, and had one warmup squat rack! They did not think they needed to follow the rules in a "fun" meet.
2) The Weigh-in
- Do you have blank scoresheets, attempt cards, lifter cards, load charts, conversion charts, tape measure etc. in your briefcase? Don't just expect that someone else will have all of this.
- If it was your job to st up the flights, did you arrange it so the first flight weighs in first? No one wants to weigh-in as number 27, and lift ˝ hour later, while the big guys weighed in an hour ago but don't lift for another two hours possibly.
- During the Weigh-in, you need to take control, and keep things moving. Lifters will want to chat, other ref's will want to chat, it can wind up taking way too long if you let it. One to two minutes per lifter is all it should take!
- Veterans will have all of their opening numbers and squat rack heights ready and start shedding clothes right away. New lifters usually have nothing ready, and often have no idea what is going on. Be prepared for "why do you need my openers now?", "I forgot my membership card", "should I go and get my rack heights now?", "what are attempt cards used for?", "how much is everyone else doing", or my personal favourite: "how much do you think I should open with?" How the hell should I know, seeing as I've never seen you before! Educate the newbies, but don't intimidate them. You were one once yourself.
- Equipment check: Here in Canada we have largely done away with equipment checks at local meets, it usually means checking the same gear over and over. But we encourage new lifters to get their stuff checked. It is the Lifters responsibility to know what is and is not allowed. If they show up on the platform wearing illegal gear, use your judgement about that lift, but tell them to change it before the next lift. Don't let them say "it does not say anywhere in the rule book that I cannot wear a goalie mask (or whatever) when I lift". The rules don't say you cannot wear a fur coat either, but no one would expect that to be allowed. Rules tell you what you CAN use, anything else is not allowed. I think hats are the only thing specifically mentioned as "not allowed"
- Complete paperwork as you go, and get it to the table ASAP. Referee's often disappear, going for coffee or breakfast, with the scorecards in their pockets, appearing 5 minutes before the start of the meet. Most annoying to the table personnel.
3) The Scoretable.
- Do not ignore the table - are the personnel in place in plenty of time?
- do they have an experienced crew? Don't assume they know what they are doing
- is there a timekeeper for starting the lifts or turning in attempts?
- do they know to make the announcements "five minutes to change openers…."
If at all possible, have a referee work the table, it helps for sorting out things like misloads, re-doing attempts, lifter questions, etc.
4) Equipment
- is it all there, in place, lights working, bleach available, wire brushes, rags, etc?
- Are there emergency flags, colour cards?
- Have the weights been weighed for accuracy?
- Is the weigh-in scale accurate and appropriate? I went to a contest once where the meet scale the director had arranged for was a "meat" scale, measuring in ˝ pound increments, 200 pounds maximum. We had to scramble to get a better one.
5) Spotters
- are they experienced? Do they have/need load charts?
- During the contest, do your best to keep the spotters moving quickly. In a meet with 40 lifters, shaving 15 seconds off each lift setup can save over 1-1/2 hours in total.
- Spotter size is not important as spotter attentiveness! Accidents can and do happen very quickly.
- give some instructions on how to spot if you feel it necessary.
6) Things HAPPEN during a meet… be prepared to resolve them!
- Misloads - what happens if the lift is good or no good, if the load was heavier or lighter.
- If a lifter is following himself due to a misload or 4th attempt, what happens? At one time the practice was to leave the bar alone for the extra time, then load it and call "bar is loaded for…. The lifter has one minute…". Now the practice is to load the bar right away and call the bar loaded, "the lifter has 4 minutes to start…" (assuming 3 extra minutes, plus the one regular). The logic being that the lifter does not have to wait the full time if they do not need to, hopefully speeding things up if they don't.
- what happens if the cards out of order?
- Are 4th attempts or uneven multiples allowed for State records at a regional or national meet?
7) Time between lifts/sessions
The rules say "10 minutes to 15 minutes." between lifts. Well, if you've got one flight, with 10 or 12 BIG men on two warm-up platforms, that is barely enough time to get enough warm-ups in, nevermind getting into a bench shirt. Don't be afraid to let things stretch a bit.
8) After the meet
- Sign the scoresheet! Without your signature, it's just a piece of paper that some guy wrote a bunch of numbers on.
- Drug testing - if testing is required after the meet, the ref's are responsible for doing this, or delegating the task.
Summary
Refereeing Powerlifting contests is great fun, but it does need people that are not afraid to take control, not afraid to make decisions quickly, and to defend those decisions if necessary, and have a good eye for detail. Don't take the job lightly, but have a little fun with it at the same time.
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