Introduction to On Skates Officiating
Basic information for skaters and officials
Skating Officials
Definition
Skating Officials are responsible for assessing and enforcing penalties, must be on skates, and must be uniformed in a manner that clearly identifies them as Skating Officials.
SOs must be distinguishable from each other; for example, by displaying a name or number on their uniform.
Uniform Policy
Tops
1. Skating Officials must be easily identifiable by their uniform as the Skating Officials for the game, wearing a black and white vertically-striped top with stripes between 1 and 2 inches (or between 2.5 and 5 cm) wide. A breast pocket is acceptable so long as it matches the pattern of the top.
2. Alternate Referees may wear stripes, but they must be mostly covered by nondescript black clothing or black WFTDA apparel.
Uniform Policy Continued
Gear
1. All safety gear mandated for Skaters in The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby must be worn by Skating Officials, with the exception of a mouthguard.
2. Skating Officials are encouraged to wear a predominantly black or white helmet.
3. Skating Officials are required to wear quad or inline skates.
Whistle
1. Fox 40 (Classic or Mini) is required.
Uniform Policy Continued
Bottoms
1. If not wearing a dress, an Official must wear predominantly black pants or shorts, black skirt, or black kilt.
2. Bottoms (including dresses) must adequately cover and conceal the genitals and buttocks at all times while officiating. If the bottoms do not meet this requirement, opaque black shorts, tights, leggings, or similar must be worn underneath to accomplish this concealment.
3. If worn, belts and socks must be black and/or white.
Positions
A fully staffed game of flat track roller derby includes 8 skating officials:
2 Inside Pack Referees (Front IPR and Rear IPR), one of these is typically the Head SO for the bout
2 Jammer Referees, 1 per team
3 Outside Pack Referees (Front OPR, Mid OPR and Rear OPR)
1 Alternate Referee
Responsibilities
Inside Pack Referee
Rear IPR
The RIPR is primarily responsible for defining the pack, as well as issuing penalties as required
Front IPR
The FIPR assists with pack definition as needed when the RIPR needs to shift focus to other matters, particularly during a drawback situation, as well as issuing out of play warnings and any other penalties as needed
Responsibilities Continued
Jammer Referee
The 2 JRs will each be assigned to one team’s jammer, and paired with the corresponding score keeper
The JR and SK pair will switch teams at half time
The JR declares their jammer lead, or signals not lead, keeps track of points and holds them up for their scorekeeper, the benches and the audience
The JR may issue penalties as needed to anyone on the track
Responsibilities Continued
Outside Pack Referee
The OPR can be positioned at the Front, Mid or Rear of the pack
The OPR is responsible for assisting the other Referees with their duties, being the extra eyes on every action
Specific focus should be on cuts to the outside, and backing up the JR counting points
The OPR also issues penalties as needed
Responsibilities Continued
Alternate Referee
The Alt Ref watches the action from the sidelines, providing feedback to the rest of the crew
During an official review, the Alt Ref records the information on the appropriate paperwork
Penalties
Penalties, Letter Codes and Hand Signals
Penalties have 3 components that officials need to communicate:
Verbal Cue
Hand Signal
Letter Code
Penalties Continued
Example:
If skater Red 32 cuts the track, the Skating Official that observes the action will issue the verbal cue and hand signal
“Red 3-2 Cut” while performing the X hand signal:
The NSO who is staffed as either the Penalty Tracker (PT) or
Penalty Lineup Tracker (PLT) will write down the code X on
the paperwork. If there is a Penalty Wrangler (PW) they will
assist with catching the penalty as it occurs.
Penalties Continued
Requirements
In order to issue a penalty the Official needs 3 pieces of information:
Initiation - Who initiated the action determines the legality and responsibility
Action - What was the action, and was it legal?
Impact - If a penalty is safety related, impact is not required (High Block, Back Block), if the penalty is not safety related, relevant game impact must be observed
Penalties Continued
Penalties and their codes:
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Penalties Continued
Reporting to the Box
Once the penalty is issued using the correct verbal cue and hand signal, the skater should be directed to leave the track and report to the box like so:
Penalties Continued
Multiple Penalties
If a skater incurs multiple penalties before reporting to the box, the number of penalties should be indicated to the NSO’s in the middle and in the Penalty Box
Penalties Continued
Expulsion
Should you determine a penalty warrants an expulsion, this should be recommended to the Crew Head Referee, who can then issue the expulsion:
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