Product for Referees

I'm talking but you don't hear me...

When refereeing a match, it is of utmost importance that your statements are crisp, clear, and loud enough that all players can understand the call. Clear communications avoid conflicts and instill confidence in the referee.

The last 2 days I have refereed the senior games in Henderson County, North Carolina. The temperatures have reached unseasonable mid-80's each day. This creates a problem in gyms without air conditioning such as that where the games were held. In order to make the gym as comfortable as possible, the staff placed large fans to create air movement. The fans were very loud.

I refereed 5 or 6 matches on Thursday. By the end of the day, I had nearly lost my voice from literally yelling the scores. Something had to change on Friday or I would not have lasted through the first match. I decided to try a new toy I had bought a couple of months ago. I have one of those voices that does not project well and attendees in meetings regularly ask me to speak up. So I bought a voice amplifier.

Ambassador Retreat - Referee Certification Process (Update)

There is nothing better than a good, blind referee...

I posted my notes from the title presentation about a month in Ambassador Retreat - Referee Certification Process. The "official" handouts and notes became available recently and I think it is appropriate to show those here. As a reminder, the presentation was made by Christine Barksdale. She discussed the process to be a certified referee. The information presented is shown below.


Step 1: Play pickleball and be a member in good standing of USAPA.

Step 2: Study USAPA/IFP Sanctioned Tournament Rulebook.

Ambassador Retreat - Referee Certification Process

There is nothing better than a good, blind referee...

I attended the Ambassador Retreat in Port St Lucie, Florida this week. Several seminars were offered. The first that I attended was Christine Barksdale discussing the process to be a certified referee. She went through 15 steps fairly quickly. Since there was no handout, I took notes as fast as I could. I did not capture her exact words but the gist of the step is shown below.

1. Play pickleball and be a member of the USAPA.
2. Download and study the rule book.

Interview with Top Referee Byron Freso

Nobody does it better...

I have been posting a series of videos from Jordan Briones showing lots of good drills. Some of those videos were made while at the USAPA Nationals. While there, Jordan interviewed Byron Freso, who is generally acknowledged as the top referee in the game. Byron provides some great insights into refereeing and encourages others to join the ranks in this short video called Pickleball Rules and Refereeing | Q&A with Top Referee Byron Freso.

Rules Clarification - Player Bumped into NVZ

If confusion is the first step to knowledge, I must be a genius...

Players love to talk about rules, especially esoteric rules. i have been posting about some situations that I faced as a referee. Now I will venture beyond my personal experience into the experiences of others. This post relates to the always-confusing momentum rule and the NVZ.

Let's look at a specific situation. Alan and Barry are partners. A ball is hit to them such that Barry thinks he can poach it. However, it is volleyed by Alan before Barry reaches it. In the process of going for the poach, Barry's momentum carries into Alan and they collide after Alan has made the return. The collision knocks Barry into the NVZ after separation between the players occurs. The question is whether this is a NVZ violation. 

Asking for Directions

I only learn things when I ask questions...

Since my referee experiences, I have written a couple of articles about how to solve confusion on the court, mostly about player positioning. One of the most basic ways to figure out the answer is the simplest way - ask someone. Ask a ref if available. Ask your partner. Ask your opponents. As I said in one article - "Asking is not a challenge to one's masculinity". So don't be like the stereotypical male who won't ask for directions. Use your human substitutes for a GPS.

Sarah Ansboury's article Remembering the Pickleball Score shares the same advice. Excerpts are below.

There are a lot of things to think about on the pickleball court…many of these cause us stress.  Keeping track of your pickleball score should not add to your stress.

Referee Practice Opportunity

There is nothing better than a good, blind referee...

After the success of the pickleball referee training at Xcel, some attendees might be looking for a chance to use their new skills in a real tournament. Such an opportunity has been offered by Bob Nibarger, the Tournament Director for the Holiday Smash to be held November 17-18 in Concord, NC. Bob writes:

I would like to extend a welcome to any(one) who would like to practice their referee skills.  The dates are November 17th and 18th at the Holiday Smash Tournament at Concord, NC.

No need to register. Just show up and Dick Osman will coordinate the matches.

Referee Training Success

There is nothing better than a good, blind referee...

I announced that pickleball referee training was scheduled in July's post Referee Training in Hendersonville. Since then, both sessions have been completed. I am in awe of the response and interest of local players. The first session had 18 attendees and the second had 24 attendees. The total of 42 attendees was awesome.

The attendees with Inga Carr

The sessions were led by Inga Carr, who was charged by the USAPA to boost the referee program in western NC and surrounding areas. The sessions consisted of a small amount of rules discussion but were primarily focused on referee management of the official scoresheet.