WATCH for this:
- Wrestling at center
- No ball
- Perimeter minor foul at O4
- Entry pass
- Center defender sinks the center with the right arm
Commentary:
- Before the ball arrives, no need to whistle at the center
- As the ball arrives, the center defender sinks the center with the right arm
- The center defender should be excluded
Referee training is something that has been in the forefront of our sport this year. FINA has recently revamped its training methodology, moving to professional educational pedagogy to provide a more engaging educational experience for referees worldwide. FINA turned to Water Polo Academy to provide the updated curriculum based on its faculty of professional educators who understand the challenges of teaching the rules of water polo.
The field of education is the specialty to which we turn for the education of children rather than entrusting it to mothers, fathers or grandparents who are also arguably experts in children. The fact that an individual may be an expert water polo referee (or mother, father or grandparent) does not automatically make (him or her) able to educate others in the art of which they are expert. The fact that we have turned to people who are not professional educators to instruct water polo referees for so long is one of the reasons we have an NCAA rulebook based on 200 pages of “if A happens, do B” instructions which fall short of conveying the actual rationale behind the rule.
The new FINA referee training was designed to help overcome the major problems of international training: language barrier(s) which do not allow accurate, common terminology to describe an event, regional/personal bias in the game and often inconsistent referee evaluators.
WPA used high resolution, purpose filmed HD video combined with short bullet points of explanations to produce this training. Common, precise language was used to begin streamlining communication and reduce the use of imprecise “jargon” which is a common cause of communication failures. It is also important to realize that even high quality 2 dimensional video is an imperfect tool to use for a 3 dimensional game which officials/fans and coaches often view from different angles and perspectives.
The video tests which follow will aptly illustrate how imprecise video can be as a training tool. 2 dimensional video becomes particularly problematic in a sport with far too many grey areas subject to the personal interpretation of officials.
Recently, a member of the water polo community penned a Water Polo Primer: A Rules Parody for the New Spectator. While this is currently being circulated privately, it very clearly illustrates everything that is wrong with the game;
It is important to not get mad at the referees when watching a [water polo] game – even if it seems like your son or daughter or favorite player got the bad end of a call. These referees are being asked to make thousands of judgment calls during the game. As noted above, the actual written rules of the game state that players cannot hold, sink or pull back, however referees are secretly (as in not known to the general public) instructed to ignore certain types of holding and in certain circumstances that usually change every couple of years or so. For example in the center position referees are told that holding is generally okay (despite what the rules say!) but if it is out of the water then they need to call a foul. Or if the offensive player is facing the defender and the ball is passed in, an offensive foul should be called – even if no offensive foul occurred. These kinds of calls can really confuse you as a novice spectator and since you don’t know the secret rules of the game, you should not waste your time getting mad at the official. Even if you suspect that the referee is using their enormous powers of calling grey area situations to improperly sway the game in one way – well in that case you could be a little upset - it is always important to remember that there are a number of unwritten rules that you probably don’t know, so in the end it is better not to say anything. Coaches can yell at referees because they are usually privy to the secret rules that no one else is told.
Until the water polo community pulls together and changes the rules to something more understandable, Water Polo Academy has decided to help by bringing the 2011-12 FINA Rules and Interpretations Video to the public. We hope this will help reduce the gap between the referee instructions and the understanding of the game on the part of players, coaches and fans. Each month, we will bring 10 new video situations to the public. These segments can be viewed at this link Split Second Decision
Oh...and the next time you think about yelling at a referee, you will remember…each of these situations represents only 1/50th of the decisions a water polo referee must make in one game...in a split second.
