Refresher v Official Exams
 

As most of you know, the IAABO exam is on Monday. I am plowing my way through the rule book, case book and various prior exams in preparation. Feeling pretty confident, but trying to avoid overconfidence...

Question is- I am reviewing some refresher exams as well as "official" exams. We discussed very briefly in class that the refresher exams are made up of questions rejected for the "official" exam. Is this true, and if so, what am I to make of the difficulty I am having with a very recent (2008) refresher exam? Most of the other exams I'm practicing on have not given me too much trouble.

Test jitters?

Z

The Refresher questions are not "rejected" questions. They are intentionally harder than the questions on the New Applicant exam, since the Refresher is intended to be taken by officials who are already IAABO members.

Occasionally, the Refresher questions are not only more difficult, but also very badly worded. There were more than a couple like that on the '08 Refresher. So don't worry too much about it. Most of the questions on your test will have come from previous New Applicant ("Official") exams.

Dumb Question
 

So, if you don't pass the "Refresher" exam, do you lose your IAABO membership?

2008 IAABO Refresher Exam ...
 

The 2008 IAABO Refresher Exam has a lot of problems. For example:

Question #7: The “Alley Oop” play. This has three of the four requirements for goaltending, except it’s not a try, or tap, the missing requirement. The question clearly states that it’s a throw that is expected to be caught and dunked. It’s a pass, not a shot. We don’t have to use any judgment here, because we have all the information needed, it’s not a try. The ball was supposed to be thrown, caught, and dunked. I don't see the word "try" anywhere in the question. How can you have goaltending without a try? So why is the official correct in calling goaltending?

Question #30: A player, in the backcourt, passes the ball to another player in the backcourt, the official calls backcourt and is correct? Why? I wouldn't be going back to that school again if I called that play that way. It is my understanding that the question is missing some needed information.

Question #36: B1, and B2, are in the correct spaces, the marked lane spaces closest to the endline. According to the new rule, anything below the neutral zone is called a “vacant” area, not a marked lane space. What we used to call the second marked lane space, is now called the first marked lane space with the new rule. The official is correct in allowing B1, and B2, in these spaces, in fact, by rule, they must be there, so how can he be wrong? Didn't the question writer read the language in the new rule?

Question #49: This question deals with the official giving the ball to the wrong team after a timeout. Within the time frame of a correctable error, the mistake is discovered, so the official cancels everything that happened after his mistake. This is not a correctable error. It never has been. Yet according to the answer sheet, the official was correct. The reference cites a very “specific” unsporting act involving the players, on their own, not as a result of an official’s mistake, going the wrong way, in one case due to confusion, and in another case due to unsporting conduct. At the end of the citation it states that the procedure suggested should no t be used in any other throwin situation except for this “specific” act. This “specific” act had nothing to do with the exam question, which involved a mistake made by the official.

Question #53: The infamous “Blarge”. The official “disallows” an “unsuccessful” goal? It was unsuccessful. Why did he have to "disallow" it? Is that why he was incorrect? It is my understanding that the question should have read the goal was successful.

Question #56: Common foul during the jump ball to start overtime, before either team gets control. A-2 gets a free throw even though Team A is not in the bonus. Shouldn't’t Team A get a throwin? Is the official correct in giving a free throw when the team’s not in the bonus? The answer sheet says he's correct. It is my understanding that the question should have said that the team is in the bonus.

Question #74: A1, and B1 start a fight that ends up including some bench personnel. The official has his work cut out for him, and "seems" to do everything correct, except penalize A1, and B1, who started the fight to begin with. How can he be correct without ejecting both A1, and B1? The answer sheet says that he is correct.

The past year, or so, has been a transition year for IAABO International. The previous Executive Director resigned. The international office was run by a couple of volunteers last year, and the new Executive Director was only recently hired. My local interpreter has assured me that this won't happen again in the future and trusts that the new Executive Director will do an excellent job. Be patient. Let's not let this ruin IAABO's eighty-fifth birthday. Do all of you realize that Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. has been an IAABO member for the entire eighty-five years? I hope that he doesn't pass out when he blows out the candles.

No "Blind" Jokes Please, We're 85 Years Old, We Just Need Reading Glasses ...
 

Here in my little corner of the "Constitution State", the exam score counts 10% toward your annual rating, and ranking, which will effect your assignment schedule next season; level of games (varsity, subvarsity), and number of assignements. It's a big deal here.

Not AFFECT? :) (was I dreaming or did we debate this one before?)

Please Don't Tell Mr. Baumgartner, My Sophomore English Teacher ...
 

I've never completely incorporated this into my brain, even after a Forum member was kind enough to post on this issue on more than one occasion. No debate needed. I'm sure that I'm wrong. Do you want me to fix it?

Heck no. I'm more disturbed with the fact that I even recognized it. Somewhere, my 6th grade english teacher is smiling.