Blogs and Feeds

US Rowing Referee Commission Meeting

After leaving SES NY, I rushed home only long enough to catch a few hours shut-eye before hopping on a plane to Orange County, CA, where the airport appears to have an identity crisis or split personality. It has so many names -- all correct it appears -- that it is hard to make sure you are coming into the right place. I always call it the John Wayne anyway. The reason for the trip -- the spring meeting of the US Rowing referee commission.

As the newly elected New England regional representative, I had very little idea of what to expect from this meeting. In a word, it was a long, long and productive meeting. Here are just a couple of the topics discussed.

• Sub-Committee Reports
• Commission Liaison Reports
• Appointments of new members to committees, etc.
• Discussion on the future plans for the database,used for the recent officials data call
• How officials would be appointed and funded for Nationals
• Advancement criteria and testing for those moving from assistant referee to referee
• Training materials
• Communications
• Costs of becoming and staying a referee

This laundry list does not do justice to the discussion. Some elements were more interesting than others. For example, it is the intent to continue with the clinicians' teleconferences. It is simply a matter of scheduling. There was discussion of moving the clipboard publication to an online distributed item.

There is a serious effort to make sure that there are adequate training materials for all levels in the sport. Training and the need to continue with the development of a larger and increasingly capable referee corps ran through the entire discussion. The sport has grown so much that most regattas are so large that they present serious administrative challenges both for the organizations hosting them and for the officials.

If you are an official reading this post and plan on attending the Referee College, the date has been set. It is September 21-23, and this year it will focus on the role and function of the referee.

There is lots more that can be said about this two day meeting, but these are some of the highlights. The official minutes will come out in due time. Tom Mannle, the secretary for the commission, carefully took minutes of the proceedings. I just wanted to give you the highlights.

NE Rowing Officials Letter

Today, I sent the following e-mail/letter to all of the NE USRA officials. On March 1, my term on the Rowing Commission begins. This will be a challenging endeavor for me. One of my goals is to keep the lines of communication open for all of us. Here is the text of the letter.

On March 1, I will officially become the NE Rep for the USRA Referee Commission at the close of Bruce Soden’s term. I would like to take this opportunity to begin what I hope will become a working partnership with the referees in the NE, a continuation of Bruce’s fine efforts.

First, I would like to thank Bruce for his service to rowing in NE as our representative to the USRA Referee Commission. His enthusiasm for rowing, his wit, and wisdom have set a high bar. We all owe him a debt of thanks.

Second, I would like to suggest that there are several areas of concern for all referees in the NE. The most pressing are recruitment of new officials and education for all participants – referees, coaches, and crews.

As I stated in the nomination materials, we need to identify, train and develop a larger, more diverse and sustaining corps of officials while improving the overall competency and consistency of all officials. We have all seen our sport grow rapidly. Many regattas started as small local events have rapidly grown very large. We need to have a corps of officials large enough and able to meet this demand. I have asked Bruce Soden to continue helping me with recruitment.

Second, I have asked Mike Siconalfi to continue as our Dean of Education. In this capacity Mike will be working to schedule and staff clinics. If your club or crew would like to hold a clinic send Mike an e-mail, and he’ll work with you on the logistics.

If you have not completed the data sheet using the new online system, please do so immediately. In the future when you can access it on a regular basis, you will find that it takes just a few minutes to log your efforts. I will be working to see that the capabilities of this system are expanded.

It is my intent to invite officials, particularly those who have indicated that they need to attend a clinic, to attend a virtual clinic within the next few weeks. Last Spring, we held the first virtual clinic, a beta test, so to speak. For this clinic all you will need is a phone and a computer. I will send you slides and a conference call in number before the clinic. It was actually quite fun. Do let me know if you would like to participate.

Third, just a reminder, do make sure that your membership dues are paid and that your membership is up to date before the season begins. You must be a USRA member to referee.

Fourth, to enhance communication through out the region, I will be including rowing information in my blog. Don’t be put off at the title of the blog – Blogs and Feeds. There is in fact a category for rowing information, and I expect to be posting to this regularly. If you have digital pictures that you would like for me to post or information about upcoming regattas or for that matter almost any rowing topic that you think we ,as officials ,might find interesting, send it along to me, and I will try to include it. On March 4-6, the referee commission will be meeting, and I will be sure to blog the event to keep you all up to date.

Finally,  may it finally stop snowing, let the ice come off the rivers and let’s get ready for another season.

Why Rowing?

My last post on rowing might seem a bit off topic for this blog on "Blogs and Feeds," but since this is my public blog -- not one of my experimental sandboxes -- I decided to include materials on rowing.

For the past 15 years I have avidly refereed rowing. No! I did not row in college -- crew was not an option. I came to the sport from other sports. For many years, I was a high school basketball and volleyball official, but I was drawn into crew. Now that my wheels (BBall speak for running gear) have given out, I find few leisure time activities more compelling than chasing rowing shells down a serene piece of water.

This year I ran for and was elected to the Referee Commission of US Rowing so I expect to try and use this blog to communicate with those interested enough to read it.

So rowing will not be off-topic but rather on-topic, particularly when the season gets in full swing.

The Charles Is Frozen, But Rowing Is Still Hot

This is the optimistic part of the rowing season -- when the water is still frozen or too cold for rowing, but the regatta planning is in full gear. This is the season when rowing officials, myself included, are forced to make some hard decisions -- just how many regattas can be wedged into an already full schedule.

It seems the organizers are getting smarter year-by-year and recognize that there are just too few of us to staff all of their events so they ask early and often. The sport has grown geometrically and the referee corps has grown less rapidly. Also, with the tremendous growth of masters competition, becoming an official is not the only way to stay active in the sport.

In the 15 years that I have been refereeing rowing, I have had the opportunity to meet some of the nicest people -- athletes, coaches and organizers -- so it makes it very hard to just say no. So each year during this optimistic season, I say yes and yes and yes! It is only when I realize that I have not been home on a weekend for two months that I rethink it a bit, but by then it is too late.

At early Spring regattas, the challenge is to stay warm enough to work effectively. Here in New England it can still be bone-chilling cold until mid-May. Then, in the Summer, the heat and sun are enemies. But, I would not trade anything for the pleasure of getting out on the water.