Here are some of the big changes you will see in the
2013 season:
 |
| LVRG Head Referee, Bob Lloyd |
1. One
whistle will start game play simultaneously for both blockers and jammers. This
will eliminate the slow play starts we have been seeing in the past.
2. There
will be NO MORE MINOR PENALTIES! Instead,
some minors from the old rule set will now be upgraded to MAJOR penalties. Some
of these include direction of play blocking, and cutting one opposing blocker
or more than one of your own teammates.
3. Hands,
touching and different contact: with the elimination of the no minors ruling,
players may now touch opponents for up to 3 seconds (without changing their
relative position or knocking them off balance).
So who is in charge of enforcing all of these WFTDA
rules? The referees, or as we call them, our zebras. This year, our zebra pack is lead by WFTDA Certified [head] referee Bob Lloyd. We sat down with Bob Lloyd and asked him a
little bit about the refereeing aspect of derby and how he stared with the
team:
Tell
us about your history with the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls (LVRG):
I started officiating women's flat track
roller derby back in June of 2008. I went to high school with Tortellina
Temptress, a member of LVRG, and came to watch her play. I had been to a
few games, and really enjoyed what I saw. One day, I saw an advertisement
on MySpace (yeah, THAT long ago!) that LVRG was looking for volunteers,
referees, and officials. Right away I sent a message to the league saying
I wanted to come help out. I hadn't been on roller skates in about 15
years, but I really wanted to try something new. 4 years and 80 some
bouts later, here I am! Since I started, I've learned to skate, learned
the sport inside and out, and met hundreds of new, interesting people I would
have never met, otherwise, best of all - I met my wife, Heather, through roller
derby!
How long
does it take to be eligible to be certified? What makes up the
qualifications?
There really isn't a time that it takes to
become certified, it depends on how actively you pursue it, and how well you
officiate. The WFTDA has minimum requirements, which they publish on
their website (WFTDA.com/officiating), but
those are really some bare-minimum requirements. It took me about 2 1/2
years of working actively towards certification, until I felt that I met the
requirements, and the expectations of the WFTDA skaters and officials.
Some officials may take less, or even more, time until they earn their
certification.
Officials are
considered qualified for a certification level based on their performance,
experience, and ability. Officials are reviewed by their peers through
evaluations that are submitted for the official when he/she works a regulation
or sanctioned (ranked) bout. These evaluations are reviewed by a referee
certification committee (made up of skaters and officials from many different
leagues) who votes to award certification to an official, in addition to the
official passing a rules and skating test. Higher level certifications
are available for officials who excel and have a large amount of high level
officiating experience (at tournaments, for example).
What
advice do you have for someone who is intrigued by becoming a Roller Derby
official, but is not sure on how, what, or why they'd pursue such?
Just get out and do it!! It's so
much fun! - Seriously though, we will be having recruitment and meet and
greet sessions at the beginning of the 2013 season, and are always looking for
good, dedicated volunteers. Keep your eye out on Lehigh Valley's home
page for more details about meet and greets and officials recruitment sessions.
If you just can't wait, you can contact the recruitment e-mail for Lehigh
Valley and someone will get in touch with you.
Why would someone want to be a roller derby
official?
Most likely,
they're a glutton for punishment! After that, it's the excitement, the
fast paced action, and the challenge of officiating the hardest sport to officiate. Period. Roller
Derby is a unique sport in the way it's officiated (it doesn't stop for
penalties, like hockey or football do, for starters), and that challenge is
what keeps me coming back for more each season. Also, the ability to meet
so many great people, travel all over to officiate in so many different places,
and to challenge and push yourself are all great reasons why someone would get
into officiating roller derby. At the end of the day, it's rewarding to
know you've done a good job, called a fair and even bout, and given the skaters
the best bouting experience possible. I am definitely proud to be a WFTDA official,
and to be affiliated with Lehigh Valley. But at the end of the day, I
know I've done a great job if no one's noticed me. Part of being a great
official is letting the skaters be the stars of the show, it's their bout,
their sport, I'm just there to make sure it all goes smoothly. Though,
I definitely rock my WFTDA track jacket when it's getting a little chilly
outside. To learn more about officiating for the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls, please contact us at: join@lehighvalleyrollergirls.com
