|
Ðèm-öñ(Pòp)tårt
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Central Florida [/Çஇௌ]
Posts: 1,463
|
REFFING: How to’s and what not to do’s.
REFFING: How to’s and what not to do’s.
On the off chance that you’ve never been to a local field, or even if you have and are just wondering on how to improve your ability to ref, there are some things that you should always know and other things you should always take into consideration. Everything the ref does involves safety, however remote it may seem. Remember that no matter how many games you’ve watched, and how many times you’ve reffed, you’re going to make mistakes. It’s a part of life, and everybody – now and then will make a bad call. Don’t get mad at the ref, they’re doing the best they can and imagine what they’re going through; having to sit through games, watching to make sure everybody’s mask is on correctly, watch for barrel condoms before and after all games, run in to call a person out, chrono markers to make sure people are not shooting high, watch for cheating, watch for people who are called out, make sure every body on the field knows they’re getting off the field, watch for people shooting too close (if bang bang rules are in effect) and then to help out people with questions about the field or game who are asking questions, all while under fire with no marker to return those unnecessary shots in their direction.
Yea, it can be stressful – and a lot of times, it’s not even for pay but to volunteer to their local field to give back to the game they love. These people deserve a lot of respect. A lot. If you’ve ever been a ref you know how hard it can be, just being in the sun all day can wear down your nerves. So we’ll start off section by section to tell you what to watch for, so if you decide to, one day, give your time and energy to a local field – you will be invited back again, earn a lot of respect, and be remembered as a ‘real decent guy/girl.’
SAFETY:
We’ll start it all off with safety, the reason a ref is ‘hired’ or needed on a field is number one to promote safety for all individuals. A key point in reffing is that when the barrel sock is off, the mask is on, and vise versa! This rule applies EVERYWHERE! Not just at local fields, but also for the safety of everybody, socks on always when game is not in session, and masks on when game is. This includes people who are within shot range, which is about 300 feet from the field (unless there is paintball field type netting, and only in that situation. Only!) Remember to tell people to hydrate! It’s more than necessary to have water in your system and is even dangerous when you don’t. this is not something a field can afford to forget.
Now, a big factor, and fight in safety sake is knowledge. A person who knows a lot about the game is NOT going to remove their mask during the game, or even on the field because they know the dangers of it. Make sure you reiterate this point, and to everybody – even the people who look like they know what they’re doing. It is also your job to govern the times the games begin, and to make sure that everybody who is within range of that game knows that game is about to begin – for their sake, they must be informed with the knowledge that a game is in progress, you could facilitate the process by sharing your knowledge. And don’t be a smart a** if someone asks you something, no matter how stupid it may seem, answer it honestly and to the best of your ability. You’ll earn respect by doing this, and people will be able to depend on you for anything else they may come across.
Don’t be afraid of getting hit, I know it sounds hard, but it’s true. You are the person who will be going into the line of fire to keep a player from getting shot too much, the players will recognize that you’re removing someone from the field if you’re walking with someone – but if they’re walking alone, they’re going to get a little extra love their way. Also to refrain from getting hit yourself use your voice – you’ve got it in there, don’t be afraid to scream a little to make sure everybody on the field knows that a person is out, and they have to get off the field. This will make all the players a lot wearier of your position and keep you from getting hit more as well as the person who is out. Not only will people call you a wimp if you’re just sitting off on the sidelines, but they wont want you to cover them when you’re playing either.
A little trick some refs have is a shield. Anything can be a shield from a garbage can lid to a dartboard with a strap on the back. With one of these bad boys you’ll have a lot more maneuverability on the field without having to take any extra love yourself. A very important factor in safety is to be sure people are not cheating, someone who cheats could be shooting people more than necessary, shooting too high over the limit and many other things, and there are a few things you should watch for about cheating in the following.
CHEATING:
Yea, I know it’s a horrible thing, but it happens, and you’re here to stop cheating in its tracks. First thing to know is there are a few ways people can get hit, they are known as ‘obvious hits,’ and ‘unobvious hits.’ This is something you should consider whenever you call anybody off the field, ‘specially for cheating.
An ‘obvious hit’ is: anything that could easily be seen or felt by the person whom was hit. This includes, but is not limited to places such as the lens side or body of the marker and hopper, chest, forearm, and places that would be recognized without thinking about it at all.
An ‘unobvious hit’ is: anything that cold not easily be seen or felt by the person whom was hit. This includes but is not limited to places such as the pod-pack, front of the hopper, back of the hpa/co2 tank the person is using, and other places such as shoes that could not as easily be determined by the player weather they were hit there, or felt the hit.
Playing on: it happens, it’s when a player is hit, but still continues to play the game. Going with what was said on ‘obvious’ and ‘unobvious’ hits, it’s up to you to determine if the person should be penalized for playing on. Remain polite, if possible, and go up to the person and tag them out.
Wiping: this doesn’t just happen sometimes – if you see someone wipe they meant to do it. People who try this are obviously hit, and refuse to leave the game. These people deserve to be pulled and probably flamed by everybody there, they could’ve received eliminations that they didn’t deserve and ruin the outcome of an otherwise good game. But you have to be weary of other things like ‘old hits’ from previous games, ‘bunker rub’ from paint that was already on the bunker, and things like ‘ground balls’ that a player might have accidentally stepped on and popped during the game, but was never shot and eliminated. Some people have come up with some crafty ways of wiping, including rubbing the spot against a bunker to make it look like bunker rub, sliding where they were hit to let the ground to the work for them and even shooting themselves where they were hit to say they did it themselves, ‘see look, it’s my paint.’ Chances are, things like that should be called out, weather an accident or not, just to be sure – but if you’re not sure they cheated, you should probably not penalize them for it. Again, it’s up to you to decide.
Shooting High/Over chronograph limit: at all local fields, but not all personal fields there is a limit to how fast a paintball may travel in feet per second (fps). It is usually about 280 through 300 feet per second, and shooting any faster than this causes more pain then necessary to players on the receiving end and more likely to break the skin. It’s difficult to test the fps on a player owned field without a chronograph, but if the ball hurts excessively, be courteous and turn down your velocity for their sake.
Bonus balling: ok yea, inadvertently shooting someone when they’re getting off the field happens, I don’t want anybody to run up on me, but watch out for this, certain players are known for laying down some extra love for someone who eliminated them on a previous skirmish and that creates more problems than it solves. It can cause fights (as seen on many popular paintball videos online), it can cause tension, and it can even cause newer players to loose a love in a sport that really needs all the real love it can get.
Cycle rate too excessive: this doesn't only apply for local fields, but it applies for tournaments and locations where the ROF is capped to a certain number to avoid excessively shooting a person who is already eliminated. It’s painful and dangerous to shoot someone more than they have to be shot to eliminate them being shot in the same place 3 or 4 times can even make you bleed. Lets face it, you don’t want to be shot 15 times before you get off the field, so assume everybody is like you and hopes for the same mutual respect from the other players.
__________________
○ voted most helpful member winter 2006/7 ○
|