Any advice for first comp as a referee?
I've got invited to refeeree a comp at a local university. I believe it's a white/blue belt comp only.
I know the rules. I've competed under ibjjf rules probably about a dozen times, but I'm still bit nervous of fucking up in front of everyone. Anyone share their experiences as a bjj ref?
LOL, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD LUCK!!!! Prepare to be yelled at all day.
In all seriousness, just be relaxed, remember that you're not a God out there, I can't tell you how many times I've blown or missed a call, only to realize it after the fact...... Just know that you can correct a bad call. When in doubt, call your tournament director over. It's a service industry, and you as a competitor know how emotionally invested you can become. Try not to get upset at what they say, speak only to the competitor and coach (teammates, family members, friends shouldn't be talking with you).
Other tips-
Be clear and percise when making calls (hand raised high for all to see)
Communicate with your table workers (make sure you are on the same page with match times, brackets, rules, etc..... They are your lifeline a lot of times.... If it's not a barricaded event, don't let them get overwhelmed by the coaches/competitors/family/friends around them).
Don't kneel down (walk around the action on the mat, it drives me crazy when I see refs lying on the ground to see if someone is ok in a bad spot.... You train, you've been there before, if you have to get two MM away from someone to see if they're tapping, train more)
DO NOT TAP TO COUNT POSITION HOLDS!!! (Mental counts only, throughout the course of the day, you'll get tired... If you're tapping your leg with your hand to count 3 seconds... That tap will speed up or slow down throughout the day.... I've seen refs get called for being biased because of this, don't tap, none will be the wiser)
Don't be biased (if you know the competitor, don't show favoritism.... You can ask to change mats briefly if it's a teammate of yours... Coaches appreciate that.... And for fucks sake, DON'T COACH AS YOU REF!!!! Another thing I dealt with running a tournament).
Drink water, eat snacks, take a break if needed (self explanatory.... You get tired and you'll make a mistakes)
Other than that, relax.... Run matches like you'd want your matches to run... Don't talk to the competitors like MMA refs do, just make the calls when needed. Ask the competitors if they know their ruleset, or have any questions pertaining to the rules, get on the same page prior to the match (it helps with most issues).... Other than that, have fun.... I reffed for 7 years, ran a tournament for 5, I'll tell you this, adult matches are 1000000 times easier than kids.