Tourney: Cambridge National Series 19-20/5/2012

The following items are recommended for the successful refereeing of a UK National Series Bike Polo Tournament

1 designated head ref. Please make sure that this role is filled at least 1 week before tournament. If in doubt, please consult me (Bill). This person will have last word on ALL reffing decisions, but principle task is to make sure that all games have a full complement of refs, to answer questions about reffing & rules, to remain sober during the tournament, and will almost certainly ref the last 2 or 3 games (i.e. finals) on the last day. Ideally, this person will have reffed & played at several tournaments, and is fully conversant with the rules. This person does not have to be me (Bill) or Jono.

5 copies of rules, laminated. 1 copy per court, secured to court by zip-ties at reffing position, 1 copy to be held at registration, 1 copy each for tournament organiser & tournament head ref.

**A paragraph on the entry form, **ie the form that every player signs, running something like this: "I have read & understand the rules of this tournament, and agree to accept the decisions of the referees without question, at all times during play."

A link in the first post on the official tournament thread on this forum, and on the tournament website (if there is one) **to the rule-set that the tournament will be using. **This link should also be included in confirmation emails.

3 X Whistles, 3 X Stopwatches (1 per court & 1 spare)
I like the following: Acme Thunder Brass Whistle & XLR8 Electronic Basic Stopwatch

6 X flags for goal refs - we used flags for goal reffing at the London Invitational; they worked well, as it was clear not only when a goal was scored, but it also made it clear who the goal ref was. These were the ones we used, they were ok, but not especially brilliant.

loads of baby wipes (for cleaning whistles between games, prevents transmission of nasty stuff)

**clipboards, pens & paper **so refs can make a note of score during & at end of game, and hand the note to results collater.

scoreboard - no recommendation here. The LHBPA is still working on purchasing combined scoreboard / clock. Ideally, large numbers, visible from both sides, easily operated by ref - this is important! - and close to centre of court, but not right on the centre, as players will mistake it for tap-out.

tape measure or electronic measuring device, preferably capable of measuring up to 15 metres or half the length of your court, whichever is longer.

line paint - I have used this to mark goal-lines on London courts but you can use anything you see fit.

measured & clearly marked centre line essential for tap out & restarts - I think that tap-out point is unnecessary, and often annoying - they almost always seem to break during tournaments, tap out will be in the centre in any case, so optional tap-out point, mandatory centre line.

**measured and clearly marked centre spot **as close to dead centre of court as possible.

measured and clearly marked goal line - goal line should be at least 2.5 metres from back-board, and should be aligned with centre-spot, and no more than 50 mm wide.

2 goals per court - see elsewhere in NS ruleset for dimensions. If you do not have your own set of goals, check to see if another polo assoc (eg London, Cambridge etc) has a set they can lend you.

2 sets of 3 training bibs of the same colour - for use when one or both teams do not have matching shirts, or teams have similar colour shirts, eg both teams are in black. For those that don't understand why matching & non-clashing shirts / bibs are necessary, it makes it easier for the refs & non-involved spectators to work out who is on what team. Playing with shirts off, ie 'skins', is not an option. Team to wear bibs to be decided by coin toss. I can’t remember where I got mine from but these look ok.

ice box for balls, 1 per court (ice box not necessary for Cambridge tournaments)

ice (not necessary for Cambridge tournaments)

**cloths for cleaning balls, **at least 4 per court.

new balls, density appropriate to expected weather; 3 balls per court + 1 extra ball for last 3 games

There’s other stuff that is useful to have around the tournament, such as first aid supplies (and an actual qualified first aider), brooms, gaffer tape, marker pens, desks, power, someone who understands brackets, and is willing to sit at a desk diligently updating whilst all & sundry are hosing his (or her) phone etc but these are not really ref things.

All of the above are recommendations, not obligations, but are founded in a year’s experience of NS events.

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=10X8SV1Q6fNgEuR-8yP5rfNlSA8ZMWj-hMW2hI9QAKSs