what the REFS think ...

  • Peter Kramer (International Referee)

  • John Massarella (International Referee)

  • Peter Blackmore (National Referee)

  • Linda Davie (National Referee)

  • Tony Parker (World Referee)

   
Why do you LIKE refereeing ?


John Massarella

Why do you like refereeing?

Peter B:
I love watching the game, and it’s the best seat in the house! And also, because you can sometimes help a difficult game get going and roll on, and you can help a good game flow.

Linda: I played sport at top level, and I like being at the top level. Since I can’t play squash at a top level, I don’t have the patience to coach it, there one other thing left, and it’s to referee it. And I like to see top squash!

Peter K: I’ve been playing squash all my life, so I just like to put something back into the game. I enjoy the camaraderie with the other referees and some of the players (not all of them).

John: I like to be involved at a high level of sport, and I need the adrenaline. I need it in my work, and I need it in my leisure. I love the challenge!
   
What do you HATE about Refereeing ? Peter B: Bad attitude from the players

Linda: Being treated as a second class citizen (by the organisations, sponsors, players)

Peter K: Argumentative players on court.

John: I hate to watch any player, at any level, who doesn’t give a 100%. What are they doing there if not to give it all?
   
What would you CHANGE in the Refereeing System ?


Peter Kramer

Peter B: Well, I’m not sure really. I did say that if the referees were paid, and could make a living out of it, I would probably go for it. Unfortunately, I don’t think the sport itself can support professional referees, because there is not much money in the sport, is there? But maybe in the bigger tournaments, some money should go to the referees.

Linda: It would be nice to get paid, and I don’t see where the money would come from. Sponsors have their priorities, and we are at the bottom of that. But I would be happy if at least we could get even.

Peter K: On the money front, the travelling expenses we get barely cover the motoring costs. The food on certain venues sometimes tense a lot to be desired, but we understand that. For Junior tournaments, we start at 9am, you referee right through the day finishing at 10pm. You do 14, 15 matches a day, it’s too much!

John: I don’t like the politics of it, but I’m afraid it is inevitable.
   
What would you CHANGE in the general organisation ?


Peter Blackmore

 

 

Peter B: No opinion on that one!

Linda: I think we ought to try and centralise the scoring system, to stabilise it. In tennis, you don’t suddenly change the height of the net, or the scoring system. We are the only sport that applies different scoring systems depending on the event or the gender, and I think it is very confusing.

Peter K: Sometimes, we are in a very bad position to referee. They want the referees to do a first class job, but where they put the referee and marker sometimes is unbelievable: 30 yards from the back wall, in and amongst the crowd, we can’t see the players, the players can’t see the referee and the marker half the time. In the old days, when we had the “Wimbledon Chairs” over the back wall, we could have a little friendly word with the players without the crowd hearing, and that would calm every thing down.

John: You know, refereeing is my leisure, so I go with how it is. I don’t have the time to think deep enough how I would change it. I take it as it is.
   
What is your favourite
SCORING SYSTEM, and why ?
Peter B: Probably PAR, because it keeps the game flowing faster, and because you’ve got to fight for every point, whereas with traditional scoring, you can let a rally go.

Linda: I can see the logic in the PAR and trying to make the game more exciting. I you go back to Janhangir/Jansher games, I can remember watching first rally 200 shots, ending up in a let! That’s boring. Today’s generation doesn’t want that, they want action all the time. As a player, I prefer the English system. But my favourite is the National League system, PAR to 9 with 2 clear points. It’s over quickly, but it’s exciting! And also, it would allow more top players to be at the end of each tournament. Somehow, you get penalised for being the best because you get to the end every time till you are exhausted! A PAR to 9 would avoid that.

Peter K:
I don’t mind either of them.

John: I hate the PAR to 9, because I don’t think it gives the game time to develop whatsoever. I’m a purist, and I like the hand-out to 9, or the PAR to 15. But the PAR to 9 does have a place for the club spectator of the National League, who likes a drink between games, three games in the night, no more than 2 hours of squash. But not in major events, no way.
   
 REFEREE UPGRADES

 

THE PROGRAMME
The World Squash Federation International Referee program -
how the refs are made ...

Did you know, that in England, to upgrade from
National Referee to International Referee ...
 
You have to keep a log sheet where you log every match that you do. In three years, you’ve got to referee 15 matches between players ranked in the top 75 in the world for the men, and for the ladies, in the top 50. Then, we have a referees Committee, and they decide who they think should go forward with the nominations.

And that committee ...

It was decided in Vienna last year at a seminar after the Men’s Teams Championships  that the committee should consist of certain players (men and women), Lorraine Harding (secretary of WSF) and Graham Waters (Director of Refereeing WSF).