Refereeing
Early this year Gateball Australia’s Referee Committee held a meeting. This is undertaken by email. The meeting is chaired by the National Coordinator and has representatives from each state plus a number of our international referees. Top of the agenda was the consideration of the process to include reference to gateball in the ACA’s refereeing documents. This is important because the ACA processes meet the requirements of the Australian Sports Commission and thereby impact on our inclusion as a National Sporting Organisation.
There are some resulting changes we have needed to work through in Gateball Australia’s processes. The online course , our annual reaccreditation cards, signing the ACA code of conduct and completing a player’s state based working with children check are all examples of additional requirements under this ACA framework.
These and other changes have been included in Gateball Australia’s “Referee Accreditation and Reaccreditation Framework.” A copy of this document can be viewed on www.gateball.com.au under About Gateball, Officiating Rules and Refereeing at https://gateball.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Referee-Accreditation-Framework-GA-2018-April-Final.pdf
Anyone who wishes to become a referee or has a particular interest in this area is asked to read this document.
A document outlining tasks for tournament referees has also been posted under Downloads on the website.
The referee committee meets by email each year and if you have any comments or questions please relay them through your state refereeing coordinator or one of our international referees.
The National Coordinator now has the authority to work with the ACA’s National Referee Coordinators of other codes to produce a document that integrates gateball into the ACA framework. This task will take some time to complete.
Coaching
In late 2015, the Croquet Australia Coaching Committee (CACC) ran a pilot of a new level 1 coaching qualification that met Australian Sports Commission standards. After two and a half years, accredited level 1 coaches have been trained in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Although many existing players find the materials basic, that is exactly what they are intended to be. Level 1 is for beginners but consistently succeeding with these skills, 100% of the time, would improve any of our games!
Anyone interested in becoming a level 1 coach should contact their state coordinator/director in Victoria or Queensland. In all other states contact the National Coordinator. Further information is to be found on this website under About gateball/Coaching,Tips and Strategy.
A pilot for level 2 will be run at some point in the future. State coordinators have had the opportunity to discuss a draft skill card for Level 2 and a summary draft document has been posted under About gateball/Coaching, Tips and Strategy. Once the core is established, gateball will be ready with its proposed endorsement. Ideas for level 3 have also been drafted and posted on the website too. It is intended to base these around scenarios, some of which were developed for the 2017 AGC.
If you have any comments, please contact your respective state coordinator for gateball so that your views are considered when our next round of discussions occur. Alternatively you could just post your comment below this story
Just to remind you – Level 2 is our beginner level for refereeing (WGU influence) while Level 1 is the beginner level for coaching (ACA/ASC influence)
The level 2 materials look very good. Thanks to John and all who helped draft them.
On reading them again I did notice that perhaps the tactics of bombarding (rather than the skill) deserve a few sentences?
For example:
Using Touched Opposition Balls
Touching an opposition ball is a huge benefit to your team. There are three main tactics to use after touching an opposition ball.
Tactic: Spark the opposition ball out of bounds immediately.
This is beneficial to the team and relatively easy to execute. Consider the placement of where the out-ball will play from. It’s often best to scatter the opponents balls and leave them well away from gates they wish to be near and well away from other balls near them in the playing order.
Tactic: Bombard an opposition ball
Deliberately sparking the touched ball straight at a second opposition ball is called bombarding. When successful, both opposition balls are knocked out of bounds. This doubles the benefit to the team.
However, bombarding is not without risks. The extra power required increases the risk of fouling on the spark (as might a call of 8 seconds during the lining up). The second risk is that a missed bombard will put the outball very near the target ball. The out-ball can then come on and provide a rush to the original target ball. Be aware of playing order when bombarding, particularly when undertaking long-distance, low-percentage bombards.
Tactic: Use the opposition ball
When in a dominant position, touched Opposition balls can be used to the benefit of your own team, before being put out of bounds at a later stage. The most common use would be either as a “straightener” for a ball in front of a gate, or a behind-the-gate ball for use as part of a gate touch. Remember to pay close attention to the order of balls and whether there are any “live” opposition balls to play before the captured opposition ball will be sparked out.
Phillip’s explanations are excellent and very constructive. It would be good to incorporate these three tasks in the Level 2 Skills Cards.