Self help guide to officiating…..
“THE BASICS”

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF…….

1) Give yourself a score out of 10 for how confident you feel about officiating in the following sports (10 is high and 1 is low) Badminton, Basketball, Football, Tennis, Cricket, Rugby, Table Tennis, Netball

2) Score yourself out of 10, for how much effort you make to try and referee or umpire games in PE lessons or at clubs?

3) Have a look at this basic self-help guide to officiating to help improve your skills and confidence

Some common problems…..

· Standing with a whistle but never blowing it or making a decision

· Having a whistle but standing on the sideline and trying to make decisions without moving around the playing area

· Not knowing the rules of the game

· Being influenced by your mates either by allowing yourself to be criticized or feeling like they need a helping hand!

· Feeling under-confident or that everyone is watching and criticizing you

· Being afraid to make a decision in case someone has a go at you for getting it wrong

So, let’s take it from the beginning……. what should you do?

KEEP PLAYER SAFETY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

Do EVERYTHING you can to protect the participants from harm. Check the playing area for possible hazards or ask the participants to do it. It is in their interests!

top tips….

a) apply the rules which keep people safe
b) keep the game fair
c) allow the game to “flow”
d) change the game slightly to account for any hazards or talk to you teacher or coach about any hazards and how to deal with them
e) raise the awareness of the players to anything dangerous. Just knowing there is a danger can help to avoid accidents

UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES. Sometimes they are dreadful mistakes, but we must accept them as an environmental hazard in an avocation that calls for us to make a multitude of split-second decisions under very stressful conditions.

top tips….

1) blow the whistle HARD… It should sound like a really loud WHHHAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH, not a pathetic peeeeeeep!

2) Find a convenient moment to practice with the whistle without being disruptive to a lesson.

TO WHISTLE OR NOT TO WHISTLE?

You expect to officiate some games without a whistle (like squash or badminton). It is best practice to use a whistle in many games, although in a PE lesson, you can sometimes control a game without needing a whistle. For instance…. some games will flow naturally and the participants rarely need a decision to be made as they will play fairly to the rules.

KEEP UP WITH THE RULES. Ask for help or advice from others or your teacher if you need. There are loads of “rules” websites on the internet. If you know you are likely to be officiating for any reason, why not make it easy for yourself and brush up on the rules?

YOU DON’T CARE WHO WINS. Don’t make up for one wrong decision by making another in the other team’s favour. You will have just made two mistakes instead of one!

OFFICIATING BUILDS SKILLS FOR A LIFETIME. The qualities that make a good official are also qualities that make a person a good employee, and friend. Teamwork, loyalty, sacrifice, study, decision-making, fair mindedness, accountability, and honesty are just a few of the skills that can be learned through leading and officiating

AND FINALLY….. ENJOY IT!!