Content note: Referees have a rule. What happens in the ring, stays in the ring. So for Part 2 of this taekwondo referee journal post I’m going to have to be more arbitrary. At more formal events, I’m not allowed to write at all! At more local events like this, they can be a bit more lenient. However, out of the privacy of athletes, I still won’t talk about specific matches. Rather, I’ll talk about what a referee does around running the ring. No specifics and no paparazzi. Sorry, for us the exclusive is confidential!
To The Competition!
After we’re dismissed from our meeting and assigned to our rings I head to the gym for the wider competition. After I pass the food vendors, featuring a rather long line I had to brush through, I walked into the gym. It wasn’t necessarily crowded, but it did feel crowded.
Head To The Ring!
I found out something fun: the guy who was my roommate and my (again very patient) tutor in the referee code was also my ring captain! What a perfect fit. When I showed up he smiled. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was because he was happy to see me, or if it was just the humorous coincidence. Either way, I was happy to see him. Hey, it’s always nice to have a patient ring captain, right? Right as I walk up I am immediately told to start looking for papers for the ring. Plus chairs, computers, and pens. Basically, I’m given a treasure hunting list with a timer of “ASAP”. So I hit the ground running. Literally. I’m running around talking to volunteers, assistants, and other referees trying to find anything on that list. I will happily report, I was moderately successful. I was able to get a stack of blank papers, a nice blue pen, and a very helpful computer assistant. Was that what my ring captain was looking for? No. Then came the important part…
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