WIERD SITUATION

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by TXMATTHEW05
I'm an official varsity scorer. This was a home game, and although some of you may think I'm "just a scorer", I know enough to officiate - I will get certified in August. But anywho, here's the situation.

NEVER say you're just a scorer!!!!

G21 on breakaway. Clearly fouled by W15. As the official reports, he puts foul on G21. We give him a funny look, and then he says - "Sorry, sorry, WHITE 21, push"

I'd suggest you ask a gentle question here - was 21 the player who fouled or who got fouled? It's obvious there was a mix-up as to the color, and this is a way to plant a seed in the ref's mind without becoming confrontational.

The thing was, that was a completely incorrect call. White 21 was at the other end of the court. Shortly after, the quarter ended, and we called the head referee over. He says the guy blew the call, and he doesn't know if it's correctable or not. He talks to the other official that made the call at half time, and he swears up and down that it was correct.

Who fouled or who was fouled is a judgement call that cannot be overridden by the referee.

Before the second half, the head referee comes back and says that he agrees with us, but he doesn't know if it's correctable or not.

This is definately one of the official "correctible errors." I'm going to vote that this is not correctable. Bookkeeping mistakes can be fixed - if an official knows he called 3 fouls on #21, but only 2 show in the book, the record can be changed to 3. In your case, the foul was properly reported and recorded (even if charged to someone other than the fouler).

He then talks about if I (the scorer), ever has a question about a call, to stop and talk about it. Now I'm not going to do that if the call goes against the home team, but if it was a clear mistake (as above), then I will, yes, do it again.

WHOA!! By saying you won't point out something that helps the home team, you lose all credibility as a scorer! If there is an error in either direction, point it out. You should feel comfortable questioning a few foul calls (i.e., I've seen where a foul is called on red 14, and red 14 is on the bench - that needs to be brought to the officials' attention!).

The next night, I got a second opinion from a different referee. He agreed with the head referee, and said as official scorer, I have the authority to change the book if I feel something is wrong. I guess I have more authority then I thought.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!! If you feel something is wrong, and the officials approve the change, change it. Simply changing the official book will get you in trouble real fast. Example: Official calls a foul on Red 14, but you decide to switch it to Red 51 (without telling anyone). Red 51 then fouls, and (according to the book) it is his 5th foul. Red coach and book show Red 51 as having only four fouls. Technical foul on red coach.

No offense; I NEVER yell at a referee for any calls, what-so-ever (one exception, I'll tell about it later)

There is no exception when you are at the scorer's table - whether as a scorer or anything else.