Within the last few weeks I've encountered the following:
Working with a partner who, while I'm refereeing, blows his whistle simultaneously with mine at each dead ball. He also made an illegal hit call that happened within my clear view in the center of the court and that I was making at the same time. When we switched places for the next match, I had to signal a fourth hit to him which he failed to recognize. I signalled but did not blow my whistle, expecting him to do it, while the opposing teach coach jumped off the bench yelling "That's four!!!" This official has 33 years experience.
Witnessed two partners (while my partner and I waited for our first match to start on the same court) who in consecutive matches, both followed the flight of the ball while umpiring, never watching the net or moving from side to side. I had just been taking a mental note of this when my partner verbalized the same thought to me...who's watching the net?
Working with yet another partner who while I'm refereeing, calls a foot fault. My vision was blocked by the CB and I could not see the server's foot when she was serving, and the line judge (both were given instructions which included watching for foot faults but both were also young, disinterested girls) did not signal foot fault, but my partner blew the ball dead and called it. This official has 30 years experience.
I've read (over and over) about the responsibilities of each official during the match and have found myself wondering lately if those responsibilities have changed over the years. I've been finding that I seem to work better with other officials who have five or fewer years experience since those are the ones who still pull out rule books and are willing to have post match discussions. They're also the ones who make eye contact and mirror signals, while experienced officials never look my way and give conflicting signals throughout the match. I'm sure my experiences are not the norm, but what can...or should...I do in these instances? Do I have any right to inquire of an official who has 30 years more experience than me why they do what they do?
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