Referee Report back Jarvis /Kaplan 2012

Excellence is not an event but a habit, and as an embodiment to the future……

If the applause at the final function for the referees is anything to go by, then I look back on our habit of trying to build a professional refereeing body that adds value and gives a top notch service to our players….  Then Jarvis/ Kaplan 2012 will be remembered as the breakthrough year for team referee and the acceptance of the players that a sporting event like Jarvis, like any other sporting event has as its inclusion…. officials whose main task is to give a fair result.

What’s the Point? #5

Hitting to ‘Any Part’ of the Front Wall, Side Wall and Reasonable Fear of Injury
The right to hit the ball to any part of the front wall is another of the fundamental freedoms. Further, it is implied that
the striker has a right to hit the ball to the front wall via any other wall (sides and back). Where these rights are
impeded, interference occurs. The related parts of the rules are not very complex to understand, but their application in
general is poor. As several rules are involved, I have listed them in point form, in order of the considerations to be
made.

What’s the Point? #4

Swing Interference, Reasonable Swing and the Straight-armed Hazard
Swing interference is a complex and poorly understood area of the rules and is one of the victims of the folk-rules I
spoke about in the first article in the series. To make a correct call in an “interference” situation on court requires clear
understanding on a number of points.

What’s the Point? #3

Direct Access and the Lesser-Spotted Blocker
We are all familiar with the frustration of finding our path to the ball blocked by a sluggish or sneaky opponent.
Chances are the opponent either has no idea that he must clear the ball or is taking advantage of a referee who is
not penalising him for doing so.
Let’s investigate some of the issues around one of the major interference components in squash – direct access.
It’s in the Rules!

What’s the Point? #2

Feedback from the World Refereeing Conference
Since returning a few weeks ago from the refereeing conference and the World Men’s Team Championship in Germany, I have had some time to reflect on a few points. The conference opened my mind to the complex analysis that is applied to improving the rules and refereeing (application of the rules) and gave me an increased understanding of the background and interpretation of the rules.

What’s the Point? #1

The broad objective of this series of What’s the Point? articles is to improve the standard of refereeing at both a competitive and social level. Content will focus on providing clear explanations on areas of the rules that are generally poorly understood and those areas that are of particular contention. It will look at the two fundamental areas of knowledge of and application of the rules, in the context of correctly judging the situation on court.