Players comments on the Worlds in Essen?

[Mareese]

I just came back from the worlds in Essen and a started up my pc to see if there has already been a lot of discussion about the 'reffing' during the games. But to my amazement (and disgrace) I see that no topic has been started about it.

Djorre,

To be fair, much of the contributions to the forums during the WC's was from people who weren't necessarily there, just giving armchair comments.

Lets have some more feedback from the players.

What did players think about the draw, the reffing, the organisation?
What should be repeated at the next Worlds?
What should be changed?

This feedback will help Japan for 2004 maybe and future World Championship host countries.

Mareese

[Djorre]

Starting with the positive things,

I thought the communication centre with the possibility of making a phonecall was a very nice thing (and a lot of others with me I think).

The fields and playing infrastructure was good, allthough I think it is unacceptable that at world champs level the sidelines were so close to the side of the pool that if you were paddling straight out you hit the pool wall and thus could not go out with the ball (am I making any sense??).

As for the reffing,... i'd refer to my earlier post.

One thing I was really upset about was the wide variety of healthy sports food available in the area. You had the choise between a big portion of chips, a small portion of chips, a portion of chips with chopped "currywurst" and a portion of chips with a "bratwurst" and this for the full week of the tournament. OK you could also have a variety of greasy substances in the catering (?) tent, so far for the world famous german kooking.

A nice extra was the metro pass everybody got with their passes, and due to the previous point, we've made extensive use of this. (in order to stay alive, ..... ;-) )

A good thing they had in the worlds in Portugal was the music between the games, it added a little more professionalism to the whole, there was never a dull moment and it kept the crowd in the mood between the games. On the finals day in Essen you had a lot of really thrilling games with fantastic crowds and atmosphere, but as soon as the game was finished all the atmosphere was broken.

These are just some points,
greets, Djorre.

[The Fly]

Jeah you are right about thet food thing...

Just to point out: I think some refs don`t even know what whistle means....

[Laura]

One stupid thing about some referees was that they didn't speak languages... At least one women from Finland was totally confused after getting a green gard while the referee wasn't able to explain what she had done wrong. The referee had said something weird that the player thought might have been tackling with 2 hands but the player was sure she hadn't made that. But the referee didn't understand anything said in English or german...
:(

[Djorre]

That's right,
If you don't know why you are green carded, how can you prevent to be sent off with a yellow for a second foul.

[RB-Ex-MrPolo]

Why does the Referee need to speak to the player at all.?
The hand signals are designed to explain what the penalty is for ?

Often, in a heated game, no way the ref could speak over the noise of the crowd, or right across the pool.

Speaking slows the whole thing down.

The player has to accept the signal. The player is not at a World Championships to learn about fouls. They should already know that.

It's great that a few nations have adopted English as a "universal" langauage so thoroughly. But the reality is that most players will not be fluent in English during a game, and many if not most Ref's. It should not be a requirement.

The Referee should NOT talk to the players, with the exception of the captain.

[niall]

Why should english become the language of polo? Althought it would be an advantage to be able to understand the ref when he/she tries to give out to me.

[Djorre]

RB,
You're right the players should all know the rules before they go to the worlds, but if the rules are applied in such a ridiculous way as was the case in Essen, you were lucky if you knew why half of the fouls were given.

[jelle]

Djorre I think your overreacting..

I think the refs were strikt. They applied rules more often than ussualy is the case in tournaments but that dousn't mean they aren't wright. If you have problems with the reffering at the worlds, then I think the problem lies in the rules.

In my opinion rules make the game: The rules are the criteria, and players must try to score without breaking the rules. The team witch do that the best are also the best in this sport. In other words: If you must break the rules to score, apparently you're not as good as your opponent.

Oke all refs make mistakes, but not as mutch as players make fouls! There are a lot of comment's on the refs, but it's the players that make them necessary. That is a strange contradiction: the people you need yourself to play the game and would probably liked it better if they could play them selves are under fire.

I know that this is a problem in every sport, but at least the teams who make the most fouls and make good refing necessary are (in most sports) also criticed.

So please pick on those players will not play within the rules, and not on the people who are there for your sake.

[seppe]

I'm fully agreed with Djorre!

It was indeed true,the referees where good, even excellent, but the rules and the interpretation of it ===> they suck!

Give us 1 year or 2 years and polo is not becoming but IS a sissy game!
Why change, before it was good and even better!
Like Djorre I think you can win even if you're the only player of the team!Just go with the ball to the other side with the ball and you get along al your fouls with you!
This is extreem but that's the way it gonna become!!

Think about that

[vish]

I went to the Referee's meeting and read the rules as well as the interpretations sheet. Our NZ women's team had to pass our referee's theory test in NZ to be selected for the team, and we have to get 75% to pass it. Our rules are basically the same as ICF but it is reffed a lot stricter in NZ than it was at Worlds.

Our team had the privilege of playing at a German competition before the Worlds and so we had a fair idea of how different ICF rules were compared to the local version of the game. I personally enjoyed both tournaments!!!

I think the interpretations were fair and that the referrees applied advantage responsibly. One thing I thought was a problem was that some referees were afraid to ref the games strictly in the games leading up to the playoffs. I think it is important for referees to feel comfortable about calling players up for illegal restarts, presenting the ball etc and to do so consistently from the beginning of the game and especially, the beginning of the tournament. It may not impress the teams but then they are playing canoe polo, not canoe brawl.

There is nothing generally wrong with the rules, (in my opinion- at least they are available to all and you can discuss the interpretations openly at a meeting ) but there seems to be an attitude with some players that the rules are expendable. I think that's irresponsible. There are referees who feel miserable about teams who lose advantage because they don't know the rules, but then the coach and the players should have the intelligence to investigate the game from all angles. If that includes learning the rules and considering the grey areas within the interpretations (and the world wide differences in interpretations) then you greatly improve your chances to succeed.

[Pierce]

I thought the problem with the reffing at the world's was the inconsistancy. I know there were guidelines given to the refs in regards to penalties and obtruction at the beginning. Some of them seemed to keep to them religiously while some ignored them. Particularly on the penalty issue this impacted on games.

[Laura]

I thought the official language of ICF is English. Isn't it??

And when the referee invites the player to talk to her/him the language is needed. Ok, if the referee only shows a signal with hands, the language is not needed. But I saw many times the referee talking to the players and if they can't understand each other what's the point??... I think the discussion with the referee is good thing it cools of the payers. :)

One thing about the referees that we notised wasn't a good thing in our oppinion: some of them were players.

Well, I must say that the referees were good enough. I am sure that everybody makes mistakes. I am just telling something so the referees can become even better. :)