We're a collection of friends and roller derby officials in New England who have been around several different blocks a handful of times each. Along the way we've picked up some tips and tricks, some hopefully interesting anecdotes and experiences, and some ideas of how things ought to be done. You might agree or disagree. That's part of the strange beauty of this sport.
Above all, we believe that the officials, both on- and off-skates, are The Third Team on the track. There's nothing like that "well-oiled machine" feeling of a really solid officiating crew that thinks and acts like a team. In a sport where we almost never get to work with the same crew twice, how do we make that happen?
We hope you'll join us on this ride. We suspect many of you already have.
Introductions
Anne Persand is one of those rare creatures in roller derby: a female referee who never wanted to be a bouting skater. She began officiating derby in early 2008, shortly after learning how to skate, and has worked with both men's and women's teams throughout her derby career. Her primary interests in derby include the recruiting, retention, and development of newer officials, fostering productive and respectful dialogue between officials and skaters, and spreading the good word about officiating men's derby. She also owns and operates http://mymonsterhat.com and loves ref-on-ref hipwhips.
Ian Fluenza has been officiating roller derby since 2006; you'd think he would be better at it by now. He loves working with leagues at every skill level. He believes that everyone involved in the sport should NSO more often, that there's a place in the sport for everyone to have fun, and that it's not derby unless something goes wrong. He tries to approach all three by maintaining flexibility, grace, and a sense of humor.
Three-Day Bender is the relative baby of the group, having begun his officiating career in early 2009. In a former life he played Ultimate for more than 15 years and narrowly avoided becoming an Observer for that sport when derby reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. He considers himself a sports geek who likes learning the rules to obscure sports and finding the academic similarities between sports that have nothing to do with each other.
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Please remember that the point of this blog is that officials are a *team*. Teammates are respectful to each other. Comments are moderated and require approval before being published.