...and then there were none.

        The skater barged into the ref changing room after the bout, pushed her face up to the head ref, and ground out “You’ll never work here again!”

        If there hadn’t been so much bad feeling in the statement, I would have laughed.  Her team will never again ask that zeeb to drive several hours, spend three hours setting up their track, then two hours calling the rule set the team wanted to use while getting yelled at and harassed, then another long drive home….for the princely sum of Nada?  Did she expect the head zeeb to be crushed at being deprived of that privilege in the future?

        Enough.  I’ve been deeply involved in derby for a little less than a year now, but I’ve already seen more than half a dozen referees or referees in training turn away from the stripes because they didn’t care to spend their free time helping out other skaters and getting screamed at in return.  And that, good derby peeps, is enough and more than enough. 

        Do referees make mistakes?  Absolutely, in the chaos that is derby it is inevitable.  Do some referees make a lot of mistakes?  I suspect nobody’s very good at it to start with; under-calling in particular is rampant until the ref gets some experience to be more sure of what she’s seeing.  Do referees make as many mistakes as skaters and coaches believe?  As the old Magic 8-Balls would say “Decidedly No”.  I’ve been yelled at and had reviews done over calls the video later supported me on clearly, but THANK YOU there is no instant replay in derby.  

        What then a skater or a coach to do when she’s been wronged?  Yell at ‘em of course; curse the scurvy dogs and may the fleas of a thousand camels infest their armpits!!!!  So how’s that working for us?
        Emotional tension relieved immediately:  Check
        Referee actually changes the call:  Never seen it happen 
        Referee encouraged to watch that more closely in the future:
                a)  Check … but a coach’s talk with the head ref accomplishes the same thing                            without the bad manners and bad karma 
                or b)  No effect, other than the previously mentioned bad karma
                or c)  Ref is of a temperament to resent the attempt to manipulate and actively
                        resists (Yeah, that shouldn’t happen either, but oddly in this world zebras
                        are people – and can the screamer reasonably complain about that?)
        Referee cowed and makes more favorable calls for the Best Screamer’s team for the rest
        of the bout:
                a)  [Most common] Very No. Thick skin is common in the older zebras in the herd. 
                or b)  Yes, but this makes the cowed ref feel bullied (because, well, that’s what it
                        was) and said zeeb never volunteers again.  Congratulations, the screamer
                        just got a few favorable calls, and only had to pay the lifetime services of
                        one official to get them!  Bargain…right???
                or c)  Yes, and the cowed zeeb spends most of the rest of Zeeb Time skating in
                        circles, looking concerned, and calling very little.  Not much better than b)
                or d)   [Rarest breed, thankfully]  Yes, and zeeb becomes a permanent homer,
                        degrading the derby experience for all who come in contact.

        Please people, be nice. Derby is better with good refs – safer, more fair, more fun for everyone.   Unless they have other strong personal motivators, people of the strength of will to make good refs are not going to long tolerate offering a valuable service and getting abuse in return.   When I’m skating a bout, I get the fun of competition and of knocking the heck out of some chick (or being the chick that goes tumbling) and having both of us grin and congratulate each other at the after-party.  We don’t get that while zeebing; and sometimes team members have been so hostile I wasn’t even sure of my welcome if I’d’ve gone to the after-party.  Understand that most of the striped herd is trying hard to call a fair bout; and we’re doing it for the sport and the teams.  Getting well treated in return is not only What’s Right – it’s What’s Necessary to keep a healthy and skilled herd.