Unit 2: Practical Sports Year 10 BTEC First Mrs Hutchinson

Task 3 – Rules and regulations P5 Describe the main roles and responsibilities of officials in one team sport. P6 Describe the main roles and responsibilities of officials in one individual sport. Task Content Know the roles and responsibilities of officials in selected sports. Roles: e.g. umpire, referee, judge, scorer, timekeeper, assistants, starter, table officials, 3rd umpire, 4th umpire. Responsibilities: e.g. appearance, equipment, fitness, qualifications, interpretations and application of rules, control of players, accountability to spectators, health and safety (equipment, facilities, players), fair play, use of technology, effective communication (voice, whistle, signals).

Officials Different sports have different types of official, each with their own roles and responsibilities. Some sports require referees, umpires, judges, timekeepers, and each official has clear roles and responsibilities regarding the application of the rules and regulations as stated by the governing body.

Complete the table on your sheet. Can you guess who’s who? Complete the table on your sheet.

Umpires Sports such as netball and cricket use umpires. The umpire will be in charge of all decisions made on the pitch / court. The umpires ensure that the game is played in accordance with the laws of cricket. The umpires use signals to communicate with both the players and scorers to ensure the correct decision has been recorded. In cricket a third umpire has been introduced to support the on-field umpires when making controversial decisions such as the LBW.

Referees The role of the referee is to ensure that all the laws of the game are followed by sports performers. The referee can apply the rules on the field of play and / or manage the game from off the field of play. An example of a referee who is on the field of play and constantly making decisions that effect the end result, is a rugby referee. An example of a referee who is off the field of play is a tennis referee.

Judges Sports such as gymnastics and boxing use judges to officiate. For gymnastics, the judges observe the performances of the athlete and makes a judgement regarding the demonstration of the skill or technique. The judgement is made against a criterion which is set against a perfect model of the skill / technique. A boxing judge will observe the performance of a boxer competing in a ring and award points for every clean punch connected or, at the end of each round, award one of the boxers the round. Decisions are made from observtaions.

Starters In sports like swimming and athletics the starter plays a vital role as it is their job to start the race. The starter is in charge of monitoring false starts and sanctioning performers when the starting rules are broken. Communication can be verbal and is often followed by a pistol / horn. In other sports such as rugby it is the starters job to tell the referee when to start the game.

Timekeepers Some sports have a restriction on the amount of time allocated to a match or competitive situation. For some sports there are official timekeepers to record the duration of the game and to start and stop the clock at specific points in the game. In some sports the clocks stops every time the ball goes out of play.

Responsibilities of officials For each official in each sport there are defined responsibilities or obligations. These depend on a number of factors. These factors have to be learnt and understood by those taking the role of an official.

Officials responsibilities Qualifications e.g. C award in netball. Interpretation and application of rules e.g. red card. Control of players e.g. stopping the game. Accountability to spectators e.g. the people watching. Health and safety e.g. items on the pitch. Equipment e.g. right size ball. Fitness e.g. 90 minute match. Appearance e.g. uniform. Effective communication e.g. whistle. Use of technology e.g. Hawk eye. Fair play e.g. unwritten rules.

Task Independently research and complete the table for responsibilities of the official and provide a sporting example for each. Example: Appearance – umpires in netball have to be dressed in a white t-shirt, skirt and trainers. They should be wearing no jewellery and hair should be tied back. All officials have a duty to wear the appropriate clothing and appear professional.