Page 3 of Clyde's New Canoe Polo Questions Answers Page

This is Page 3 of Clyde's New Canoe Polo Questions Answers Page.

Where and how do I get assessed ?

Referees of all grades are assessed at a suitable level where their ability should not be too far off the pace of the game. Trainee referees should try not to take on more than they are up to since it's one thing to know the rules, and an entirely different matter administering them. After all, there are the players to consider too, they might not like playing important games at the mercy of trainees. For this reason, here in Britain assessments are carried out below the level that the qualified referee at that grade may referee for.

So as unfair as this sounds, this is how it currently goes (don't forget this is for a British Referee):-

Ref's Level Assesment may be taken at these divisions

Grade 3 Ladies Div2 YouthDiv2 Regional

Grade 2 Open Div3

Grade 1T Open Div1

Grade 1 Open Div1

Following last years Referees Seminar, the Refereeing system is currently under review by the Chief Referee and the Polo Committee, who are rumoured to want to change to a more progressive systems which is easier to see where referees are allowed to referee and be assessed.

For example, a new system may be adopted where all existing referees are fit into a 1 to 4 grade system where the grade directly relates to the level of divisional polo that can be refereed at. Assessment would be then taken at one level below the grade applied at.
It's only talk at the moment, but it's looks pretty sensible to me.
There are also plans to create a list of referees who are authorised to assess others. With luck this will help the assessment process get easier.

The procedure for getting assessed is this:-

Find an event which is within your level of assessment.
If you know a Grade 1 Referee will be going, then ask them if they would assess you. If they say yes ask if they can bring a form or if you should get one.
Ring the Chief Referee and ask if you can be assessed at this event and if he knows who can assess you (if you don't have a name to suggest). Also ask if he can send you an assessment form.

Assuming he is happy with your choice of venue and your assessor if you asked for one in particular, then just make sure you have your form on the night.

Currently assessment forms are either available from the Chief Referee, and you might have luck asking around some of the more visible grade 1's. But don't these people to just happen to carry them around with them. A phone call is all it takes.

Before I was fouled I could have made a shot, but now a referee has awarded me a Free Throw I can't, where is the justice ?

This question was prompted from discussions at last Novembers Referees Seminar when it was suggested that the rules should no longer disadvantage the team who are awarded the foul.
This "fouled" player is often more disadvantaged than usual simply because many referees fail to award Free Shots following either dangerous play or fouls which result in the fouled players hands or body coming into contact with their opponents boat or paddle.

The suggestion instead would be to no longer have an indirect Free Throw, just the Free Shot, Goal Penalty Shot as well as the issuing of cards as options.
This way there wouldn't the disadvantage rightly mentioned in the question. However all ball out of plays (Side lines, Corners, Goal Line Throws) would still have to be played 1 m Horizontally before a shot at goal could be made.
This is only still in the talking stage, and the earliest you could hope to see a rule change is if the polo committee decide to change the BCU rules, though they are unlikely to stray so far away from the ICF.
The only other possibility is that a modified set of the current rules with a few interesting changes be used in either a friendly or local event so different ideas can be tried and tested.
This is what tends to happen in places like Australia, when they dream up new ideas to move the sport forward, they feel it's important to test them thoroughly before implementing a mass rule change.
My suggestion would be to use the National Championships for such a test bed as there will be many teams from all over Britain to provide the necessary feedback afterwards.
If you have any other suggestions of alternative rule ideas then please pass them on giving your thoughts behind the suggestions.

	We have a team who want to get better and we even train together at least once a week, but how do we know what to work on ?
	The first thing you need is a coach. This person doesn't need to be a player or even someone who has ever been near the game, but they do need to be the kind of person who can see something that's right in front of them and when they say they see something they wont need you lot telling them they're lying ! In the first instance this person is someone who can give feedback and report what is actually happening. They can tell just like me if you look all unbalanced when you're shooting and again just like me can tell you if you're doing crazy horse things with your head when you sprint. And OK, while this things are skill orientated, nevertheless, it's a start. With time and inclusion in team activities as well as a greater exposure to the sport, with a little encouragement, a great coach could be in the making.

	So where do you get a coach who currently isn't a coach ? To start with, use what you have around you. Parents, partners, brothers or sisters often come along to games to support, so why not extend that role. Start with paddle bunny duties, keeping track of the playing time to call out how much is left and see where it leads. If that goes down OK, then they could also be given camera duties, or asked to look to see if your defence is particularly weak from attack on say one side. You should know yourself, but it's just a way to get them involved. If you still haven't lost them, then you should seriously encourage them to participate on one of the many Coaching Awards courses, which start from first principles.

What exactly should a referee carry for equipment ?
Where can I get cards from ?

Without fail they should have a Whistle and Green, Yellow and Red Cards. As an optional extra, a second whistle may be a life saver at times and I personally always have a paddle gauge too.

At last years Referees Seminar it was accepted as being good practice to carry a small note pad and pen to keep track of the score throughout the game, though it was also accepted that it would be hard to enforce, particularly with those referees who had just played a game.

Where to get your refereeing kit...
I've not seen any of this kind of thing available commercially, although I have in the past made up Cards, and Gauges from time to time. So if you are having trouble finding them, then you can contact me through the usual channels.

	I am only 1.6m tall and weigh 67Kgs. Should this effect the length of paddles I use and type of boat I paddle. This question is as a result of many people asking roughly the same kind of thing
	The simple answer is yes. You should first try to borrow different lengthed paddles to get an idea of what the difference makes. You should find the shorter ones feel more natural for paddling around and may even feel lighter than the longer ones. But your playing position may also have some bearing on this, since if you play in goal it's going to be difficult to block any high shots if your paddles are shorter than 210cm The shape of blade has very little do with this kind of thing, although perhaps you should be looking for the blades with smaller surface areas which will may feel easier to paddle with. DB Designs had a dimond shaped polo blade which was quick small specifically for the smaller paddler. I think it was called the V2000. Alternativly, the Reaction Polo Blades from Mega International Group also have a smaller than average blade sized. Contact paddle manufactures and ask if they have a set of adjustable paddles you could try. This will really help when thinking about the best length of paddle for you.
	PHOTO OF DIFFERENT LENGTHED PADDLES
	The boat situation comes down to a couple of things:- Do you have too much room in side ? Do you have problems turning your boat ? The first issue can be quite serious if it results in you falling out of your boat whenever someone pushes you. Being quite small may mean you have trouble bracing properly (this is assuming you do actually know how to brace anyway). You could try packing your cockpit out with large bits of foam which will make your boat heavier, you could make sure you foot rest is so close you are jammed in your boat, or you could buy a boat specifically for your size. The second issue could be down to technique, i.e. do you know how to turn properly ? The boat could certainly help if it was made specifically for a small light paddler. This could include the overall weight of the boat being kept to a minimum, the seat would be fitted quite forward in the cockpit and depending upon the design may be possible to cut down during manufacture to reduce the volume slightly. Alternatively, there are a few boats around that are specifically aimed at the lighter paddler, like the Revenge Nitro from The P&H Company or the Evolution Series of polo boats from Mega Group International. Either way a smaller boat could help your game.

	Clyde’s Tip:- Try every boat you can lay your hands on. Keep your ears and eyes open for when new boats hit the market and contact the manufactures to see if your club can borrow a demo boat. Ideally you would want the demo boat to come with a seat that can be adjusted in some way as this makes a big difference in the way the boat handles.

From file Paddles6.doc
All Copy owned by Clyde 2/99
Back to the New Q & A Menu