|
|
Articles of Interest to Those New To Powerlifting,
As Well as Sport Veterans. |
|
The Novice Referee
by Mike Armstrong
In the last issue we looked at the duties and responsibilities of the referee when he's not sitting in the chair, so for this issue we will look at exactly that, duties while in the chair, what to expect and what to watch for, starting with the squat is this issue, and the Bench and Deadlift for the next issue.
Let's assume that you are chief referee in a meet of about 60 lifters, this is your first time refereeing, and you are being tested for your referee certification by more senior ref's at the jury table. How do you feel about the whole thing? Probably nervous as hell. Everyone is the first time. As long as you know your rule book backwards and forwards, and can at least look calm, you'll do fine. You have to, those lifters are depending on you.
We'll also assume that you checked the lights, you have your side ref's in place, the spotters are in place, they have loading charts, and hopefully some experience. If you are unsure if any of this is true, don't be afraid to ask and maybe give some guidance! First time spotters are going to be nervous too.
The MOST IMPORTANT THING:
You must assume that every lift is going to be good. If the lifter proves it otherwise with a visible fault, give a red, but if you cannot find fault with the lift, you must give a white. You will see lifts that are sloppy as hell, all sorts of things "wrong" with it, yet still not have a fault according to the rules. You won't want to give a white, but you must!
The Squat
To begin with, where do you sit exactly to judge the squat as the chief? In USAPL/IPF competition, the head ref is allowed to judge squat depth, so position your chair a bit to one side, so you can see the depth, as long as the lifter can still see the hand signals.
Okay, the first weight has been called, and the spotters have loaded the bar. Is the weight correct? Make sure it is, but without taking more than a couple of seconds to do so. The first lifter will come out and get under the bar. Often a brand new lifter will think there is a command to lift the bar off, there is not off course, so it's okay to tell them that. He lifts the bar off and backs out. Is the bar high enough on his back? The thickness of the bar below the top of the shoulders is as far down as it can be. Are his legs straight and locked? His back also? Actually the straightness of the back is a bit of a controversial point. Once a lifter gets up to the 500 to 600 lb range, it is nearly impossible to stand perfectly straight without falling backwards, so use your judgment a bit here. The lifter should back out, some will back out a short distance, some will want to go back three or four steps, it does not matter. Most lifters will look at you as an indicator they are ready, some will be looking down at the floor or up at the ceiling, so it is hard to tell if they are ready.
In IPF rules contests, the side refs will have their hands up until the lifter is in the correct position, and will then lower them. If you see one hand up still, you must decide if you think the lifter is position or not. If you do, give the Squat command, if not, say Rerack. It's okay to give the lifter a bit of an idea why.
If everything is okay, give the signal. At this point, some lifters will exhale and take a deep breath and in doing so, the bar will sag a little. I've actually seen ref's give red lights for this, arguing that "the bar went down and back up, that was his attempt". Not true, this was not a bodafide attempt to lower the bar to below parallel, it does not count as an "attempt".
The lifter will squat, then return back up. Sounds simple enough, right? But here is where the toughest part of the job comes in…. was it deep enough? The rule book says "the top of the leg at the bend in the hip must be below the top of the knee." Fine on paper, but when this happens in about a ¼ of a second, it can be a difficult thing to be certain about. There is no easy indicator to watch for, only experience can teach this. Wide-leg squatters seem to have the more difficult time reaching depth. Watch for the elbows touching the legs. A slight touch is okay, a bounce off the legs is not. On the rise, did the bar stop and dip down? Red light it if so. Bouncing out of the bottom is fine, as long as there is only one bounce and return. Some narrow stance squatters have a tendency to do the "Good Morning" squat, tipping forward. Their head and the bar might be low, but their legs are no where near parallel. Watch for lifters who have tied their wraps off to make a knot at the top of the knee to make the knee top look higher up. When they lifter hits the top, are they locked out again, legs and back? Give the signal to Rack, and flip your switch as you feel it should go.
Is Brian Siders low enough here? Strictly based on this photo, and a front view, I would give him a white. But there is no substitute for actually being there, and seeing with your own eyes. Notice that the right leg (Brian's left leg) looks lower than the other? The angle you see it at can make a huge difference. Quite often, the head ref will give the benefit of doubt to the lifter, but the side judges will both give red for depth, when it is a close call.
|
 |
Okay, one lift is done, only 539 more to go…. Yes, refereeing can be an endurance activity. Each lifter gets exactly NINE lifts, nine times to do their best, and quite possibly a little more than their best, so they are expecting you to judge every one of their lifts with the same attentiveness that you gave that first lift, whether they are a 105 lb sub-junior girl squatting 100 pounds, or Lance Karabel with 900 on his back. All too often I've seen too few referee's at meets, sitting in the chair for 10 to 12 hours, fighting to stay alert and make good calls. And these days… if you make a bad call, you'll hear about it on the internet Forums for the next month and video of the lift will be seen by a few thousand people, all of whom had NOT just watched 500 lifts and sat in the same plastic chair designed for butt's half the size of yours for the last 10 hours.
Next month, the Bench and Deadlift.
|
|
