I remember when Jonathan and I attended one of our first taekwondo tournaments a few years back. I was sure I nailed my form, and then lost the gold to my competitor. I really wanted to be able to talk to the judges about why they chose her, and what I could have done to improve my performance for next time. I was bummed out. In that same tournament, my son, after breaking all of his one inch thick boards, lost the gold to a kid who broke quarter inch thick boards. Come on! I thought to myself, and probably said out loud a few times too.
This weekend I had the honor of being a referee at the 2012 U.S. Taekwondo Festival along side my instructors, Master John L. Holloway and Ms. Shawn McDermott, both international level referees. It was trial by fire, and honestly I think that may have been one of the best ways to break into the world of refereeing. I was lucky though, to have expert level instructors by my side to make sure I didn’t make any huge mistakes.
First and foremost I will never again look at the judges of our future competitions with anything but respect. I might be disappointed if I lose a match, but I won’t be blaming the judges anymore. Parents, if you have been upset by the judging in any of your kids’ matches, I highly recommend trying your hand at refereeing. It will completely change your perspective.
I am lucky to be a mom of an athlete, an athlete and now a referee. I get the picture from all of these vantage points and that will help me understand and excel at all of them. I am now also appreciating the opportunity I had to observe the athletes and their coaches, their techniques and the strategies they used to compete, coach and teach. It will make me a better competitor and a better teacher.
The referees who work at your tournaments do it from the passion they have for this sport. We couldn’t compete without them. They commit 12 or 13 hour weekend days to you. Next time you are muttering some kind of nastiness under your breath, think twice and just say, “Thank you” instead.
COMMENTS
Awesome post. Congratulations!
Laura,
This is a wonderful post. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. As a martial arts instructor, sparring coach, and referee myself, I understand the experience you just had, it is perspective altering. Again, thank you so much for sharing this with us all.
Josh
Thanks so much for posting Josh!
