The Tournament Referee is responsible for an event from an Officiating perspective, including the selection of officials attending the event to assigning the appropriate officials to the required matches. The Tournament referee will also ensure that each official has an opportunity for development by assigning assessments throughout the event.
A Tournament Referee will be appointed for all US Squash National Championships, CSA Championships and most larger PSA events.
Specific responsibilities of the Tournament Referee are given below.
Referee Selection
The Tournament Referee and US Squash Director of Officials will coordinate the selection of the officials for each event to make sure they satisfy the requirements of US Squash and that all venues will be covered by appropriately qualified officials.
If there is more than one venue, then a site leader will be appointed for each venue.
Assignment of Assessments
The Tournament Referee will ensure that assessments are carried out for all officials during the event. They will select appropriate matches, assign assessors and ensure that time is allowed for feedback to be provided to the official being assessed. Assessors are not limited to senior officials. The 360 degree nature of the development pathway allows for junior official to assess senior officials and vice versa. The Tournament Referee can and is encouraged to conduct assessments during the event.
The Tournament Referee is responsible for ensuring that the assessed official receives a copy of the assessment and that the assessment is logged in the US Squash Officiating form. These will be used at the end of the season in the officials’ formal review.
Referee Meeting
The Tournament Referee will liaise with the Tournament Director to arrange a meeting prior to the first match of the tournament to cover administrative matters including items such as transportation logistics, meal allocations, meeting times, locations and location details
The Tournament Referee will also review the expectations of the officials at the event, including line of thinking/interpretation, player and spectator conduct, and match supervision.
The time and location of the Referee’s Meeting will be communicated to the selected referees at the earliest opportunity, especially when travel arrangements may be impacted.
Clinics
The Tournament Referee will arrange training sessions with match officials where possible, (but to include the US Junior Open and US Junior and Adult Nationals) to discuss current rules, interpretation, conduct reports, scoring and refereeing systems. These sessions will take place prior to and/or during the tournament – as made possible by the tournament schedule.
The Tournament Referee will log attendance of clinics on the US Squash Officiating form. This will be used at the end of the season in official’s formal review.
Where possible these clinics will be live streamed so that officials not attending these events can benefit from these sessions.
Daily Meeting
Where possible, the Tournament Referee will conduct daily meetings with officials to discuss situations that have occurred during the previous day of the event and to update on any information from US Squash.
If a Tournament has multiple venues, the Tournament Referee will ensure that any key messages are communicated to the site leaders in order for them to communicate with the venue referees.
Match Assignments
The Tournament Referee will consult with the Tournament Director regarding the daily order of play and court allocations. The Tournament Referee is responsible for the assignments and scheduling of all officials during an event
- Officials will referee select matches on the first day of an event, specifically targeting potentially difficult matches for training and assessment purposes.
- Officials will oversee the refereeing of quarter final matches and referee all semi finals and finals of US Championships.
- Match schedules, player ability and officiating levels will be factored in to the assignment of each match official.
Liaise with Tournament Director
The Tournament Referee will work with the Tournament Director to ensure that the tournament is conducted in accordance with WSF Rules and, where appropriate, specific PSA Tour Rules or US Squash policies and guidelines. The Tournament Referee will communicate routinely with the Tournament Director to ensure the event is professionally managed. The Tournament Referee will;
- Effectively communicate to all players, coaches and spectators regarding rules and the application thereof
- Ensure fair play
Conduct Violation Management
The Tournament Referee will ensure that all Code of Conducts are reported by referees. All conduct violations will be collated and reviewed on a daily basis to determine any immediate impact on the smooth running of the tournament. Any conduct violations should be recorded on this form. This initiates the US Squash conduct process.
Availablility
The Tournament Referee must be present at all times during matches, regularly observing officials on all courts.
The Tournament Referee must make themselves available should a match official require assistance or substitution.
Application of Rules
The Tournament Referee is the final authority regarding the interpretation of the WSF Rules.