(no subject)
Jun. 29th, 2006 10:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hnpccTwo games of netball tonight, one normal and one a fill in.
The normal game started off incredibly frustrating - why is it taking us a quarter to learn how to throw to each other? Oh yeah, that's right, it's cold. *sigh* Either way, we managed a grand total of one goal.
By half time we'd clawed our way back into the game (and, just incidentally, decided to start throwing to each other and be in front and not all run to exactly the same point every single time) and were down 5-3.
The low scoring nature of the game was not helped by having a trainee umpire who took everything back three passes to where he'd made the call. Yes, it took that long. No, 'advantage' is a concept you learn later in umpiring. *sigh* A couple of times he totally failed to blow the whistle or make a call, and we just took the passes anyway. *sigh*
After half time we started playing mostly OK, but still hampered by the lack of advantage calls and occasional lemming moments where we all ran into each other/stood still and called for the ball/threw to people's feet.
We ended up winning convincingly, don't know how exactly. I think I scored two goals total.
The second game was officially being played two divisions lower. It was a lot faster than our game, but had much more... um... creative umpiring.
It was also a lot more bitchy and up close than our game.
The bitchiness wasn't helped by the creative umpiring.
We lost, but mostly due to both our defence players invariably being called by one umpire in particular for obstruction and therefore being out of play. Three feet is, after all, a relative concept, and varies proportionally to the height of the defender. Three seconds, ditto.
I dunno. I frequently feel bitchy whinging about the umpiring. I can't umpire for shit myself. But to put a trainee on to umpire a division 1 mixed game? Is stupid. The level of umpiring we had tonight? Was pretty bloody ordinary. If both teams are sitting there laughing and shaking their heads at some of the decisions, there's a problem[1]. To quote my opponent from last week, I dunno what we're paying them for, these guys aren't worth it.
And just incidentally my pants magically changed from blue to black between games. And no one checked my nails for either game.
[1]My favourites from tonight? One player being told to stand out of play in line with the umpire. She was standing next to the player with the ball - as is normal - but was told no, she had to be in line with the umpire. Which meant she had to stand directly behind the player with the ball. Which is bullshit. We also had an "over a third, advantage" call in the second game - um, who threw it over a third? Us. Who now has the ball? Us. Who got a goal out of it? Us. OK, it's an advantage, but I can see why the other team's getting pissed off. Then we had the call of stepping from an umpire who was (a) on the other side of the court, (b) had several players between her and the player in question which convieniently obstructed her view and (b) was also about three quarters of the court away from the player. Oh and (d) it wasn't her half of the court to umpire... hm, could this have anything to do with the player in question referring to her as a dumb bitch a bit too loudly a minute or so before? Nah, didn't think so. Oh and apparently waving your hands around near the GS's head while defending is OK, providing it's not completely in front of the GS's face. *sigh* Bullshit. It's intimidation.
The normal game started off incredibly frustrating - why is it taking us a quarter to learn how to throw to each other? Oh yeah, that's right, it's cold. *sigh* Either way, we managed a grand total of one goal.
By half time we'd clawed our way back into the game (and, just incidentally, decided to start throwing to each other and be in front and not all run to exactly the same point every single time) and were down 5-3.
The low scoring nature of the game was not helped by having a trainee umpire who took everything back three passes to where he'd made the call. Yes, it took that long. No, 'advantage' is a concept you learn later in umpiring. *sigh* A couple of times he totally failed to blow the whistle or make a call, and we just took the passes anyway. *sigh*
After half time we started playing mostly OK, but still hampered by the lack of advantage calls and occasional lemming moments where we all ran into each other/stood still and called for the ball/threw to people's feet.
We ended up winning convincingly, don't know how exactly. I think I scored two goals total.
The second game was officially being played two divisions lower. It was a lot faster than our game, but had much more... um... creative umpiring.
It was also a lot more bitchy and up close than our game.
The bitchiness wasn't helped by the creative umpiring.
We lost, but mostly due to both our defence players invariably being called by one umpire in particular for obstruction and therefore being out of play. Three feet is, after all, a relative concept, and varies proportionally to the height of the defender. Three seconds, ditto.
I dunno. I frequently feel bitchy whinging about the umpiring. I can't umpire for shit myself. But to put a trainee on to umpire a division 1 mixed game? Is stupid. The level of umpiring we had tonight? Was pretty bloody ordinary. If both teams are sitting there laughing and shaking their heads at some of the decisions, there's a problem[1]. To quote my opponent from last week, I dunno what we're paying them for, these guys aren't worth it.
And just incidentally my pants magically changed from blue to black between games. And no one checked my nails for either game.
[1]My favourites from tonight? One player being told to stand out of play in line with the umpire. She was standing next to the player with the ball - as is normal - but was told no, she had to be in line with the umpire. Which meant she had to stand directly behind the player with the ball. Which is bullshit. We also had an "over a third, advantage" call in the second game - um, who threw it over a third? Us. Who now has the ball? Us. Who got a goal out of it? Us. OK, it's an advantage, but I can see why the other team's getting pissed off. Then we had the call of stepping from an umpire who was (a) on the other side of the court, (b) had several players between her and the player in question which convieniently obstructed her view and (b) was also about three quarters of the court away from the player. Oh and (d) it wasn't her half of the court to umpire... hm, could this have anything to do with the player in question referring to her as a dumb bitch a bit too loudly a minute or so before? Nah, didn't think so. Oh and apparently waving your hands around near the GS's head while defending is OK, providing it's not completely in front of the GS's face. *sigh* Bullshit. It's intimidation.
