Term
How should Outside Pack Referees line up and in
what manner should they move to make sure the
pack is covered? |
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Definition
Fluid Half‐Lap OPR: Three skating Outside Pack Referees provides for the referees to maintain a constant eye on the pack and consistent coverage.
Basic referee positioning should start at Turn 1, Turn 4, and in the straightaway between those turns. These positions can be adjusted based on the starting position of the pack. Turn‐around areas for Outside Pack Referees are Turns 1‐2 and Turns 3‐4. As the pack starts, the foremost referee will move forward and use Turns 3‐4 as their first turn‐around area. The second referee will move forward and use Turns
1‐2 as their first turn‐around area. The rearmost referee
will be considered to be already at their turn‐around area and will move back to Turn 3 to look at the pack coming down the straightaway from there.
During the jam, referees reaching a turn‐around area will go far enough in that turn to see down the outside line of the upcoming straightaway. As the pack moves away from them, referees will back up to the start of the turn and watch the pack come down the previous straightaway.
For example, a referee reaching Turn 4 will complete most of the turn and watch the pack go down the straightaway connecting Turns 4 and 1. They will then double back to Turn 3 and watch the pack approach them in the straightaway between Turns 2 and 3. The referee then starts to skate along with the pack, beginning another half lap towards Turns 1‐2. |
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Term
| Where should the Head Referee be located? |
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Definition
| The Head Referee will be in position on the inside of the track. They will position themselves as a front or back Inside Pack Referee. |
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Term
| How should Jammer Referees designate which jammer is assigned to a specific referee? |
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Definition
Jammer Referees will wear color‐coded armbands or wristbands to designate the teams they are currently assigned to.
Teams are responsible for maintaining their own appropriately colored set of bands and providing them for each bout.
Jammer Referee helmet covers or other team indicators may be worn, but not to the exclusion of wristbands or armbands. |
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Term
| Penalties called on jammers can be decisive. Who is responsible for calling these penalties? |
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Definition
| Any referee can call major penalties on any skater. |
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Term
| Should the Jammer Referee ever take their eyes off the jammer to communicate points earned or for any other reason? |
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Definition
A Jammer Referee should be able to visually check with the Scorekeeper to verify the score reported. The Scorekeeper will visually signal back the exact score for the pass that the Jammer Referee signaled.
This requires that the Scorekeeper maintain the ability to make eye contact instantaneously, and be signaling the score received until the referee verifies it. |
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Term
| What should the referees do when the jam is being called? |
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Definition
| When calling off the jam, all referees will echo the end‐of‐ jam whistles and hand signals. Jammer Referees should only use the hand signal if their jammer has called off the jam. |
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Term
| How should a referee direct a skater off the track for a penalty before the jam start whistle blows? |
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Definition
| In order to avoid confusion, a referee will signal the skater off the track following the standard procedure, but does not whistle. |
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Term
| When a team has only one skater remaining on the track and that skater commits a penalty, what should a referee do since, per the rules, a team must have at least one blocker on the track at all times? |
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Definition
The referee calling the penalty should communicate the penalty to the last blocker as defined by the verbal cues document, in order to make sure the blocker remains on the track.
A referee will then signal the skater to the penalty box when one of their teammates returns to the pack and a seat in the penalty box is available. |
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Term
| How shall a Head Referee handle an expelled or fouled out skater whose penalty box time has elapsed while the jam is still on? |
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Definition
| The Head Referee shall be the official to inform the skater that she must leave the track for the remainder of the game, as delineated in the current rule set. |
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Term
| If a skater blocks an opposing skater in the back, making contact with the forearms, it could be called as either a forearm block or a back block. How should a referee ensure that it is not reported twice or that two separate calls do not get counted as one? |
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Definition
A hierarchy based on the following penalty categories will be used:
1. Gross Misconduct / Misconduct
2. Blocking to the Head
3. Position on the Track (Out of Play, Out of Bounds, Direction of Game Play)
4. Illegal Target Zone
5. Illegal Blocking Zone
6. All other non‐contact penalties (such as Cutting, Skating Out of Bounds, Illegal Procedures,
Insubordination) |
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Term
| How should skater numbers be listed on the inside whiteboard? |
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Definition
| Skater numbers on the inside whiteboard should be listed in an alphabetic sort. The order of characters will start first 0‐9, followed by A‐Z. (Example: 1, 11, 11A, 1A, 2, 21, 2B, 4,9, A1, etc.) |
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Term
| Is there a specific location that the inside whiteboard should be placed? |
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Definition
| The inside whiteboard should be placed at the center of the track between the pivot and jammer lines, visible to the team benches. |
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Term
| Are skater names to be included on the inside whiteboard? |
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Definition
| Numbers are the only skater identification needed on the inside whiteboard. Names are not needed. |
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Term
| On the inside whiteboard in the center, how should penalties be marked? |
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Definition
| Major penalties will be represented by the penalty code for the infraction (e.g., “X” for cutting, “B” for back block, etc.), per the codes listed on the penalty tracking sheet. |
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Term
| How should the inside whiteboard denote that a skater has served their penalty? |
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Definition
| As each skater sits in the penalty box to serve their penalty, place a small dot underneath the penalty code to denote that the skater has served that penalty. |
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Term
| Should the inside whiteboard keep track of team timeouts and/or team official reviews? |
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Definition
| The inside whiteboard shall keep a record of team timeouts and team official reviews. |
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Term
| Where should the Inside Whiteboard Operator be positioned? |
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Definition
| The Inside Whiteboard Operator should be positioned where they can receive penalties from the penalty tracker to input on the inside whiteboard. They should also assist the Penalty Tracker in picking up any penalties that may be missed. |
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Term
| How many penalty trackers should be used during bouts? |
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Definition
| The officiating crew shall use one Penalty Tracker and, optionally, a Penalty Wrangler whose duty will be to help the Penalty Tracker. |
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Term
| What should be done if an incorrect or non‐existent number is reported? |
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Definition
| The Penalty Tracker or Penalty Wrangler shall check in with the Head Referee or the appropriate official between jams. |
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Term
| When a skater reports to the box and no penalty has been reported, what should be done? |
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Definition
| If no penalty has been reported for a skater in the box, the Penalty Tracker or penalty wrangler shall check in with the Head Referee in between jams. |
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Term
| How should on‐track skaters with six penalty turns in the box be handled? |
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Definition
| The Penalty Tracker or Penalty Wrangler shall inform the Head Referee of any skaters who are at risk of fouling out due to turns to the box. |
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Term
If a skater incurs a penalty between two jams,
which jam number shall be recorded on the penalty tracking sheets? |
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Definition
| The jam number of the jam the skater was participating in should be used. For example, a late blocker hit would be recorded in the previous jam, whereas an illegal engagement while lining up for a jam would be reported in the next jam. |
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Term
| If a skater incurs a penalty in one jam, but doesn't begin serving that penalty until the following jam, which jam number shall be recorded on the penalty tracking sheets? |
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Definition
| The jam in which the penalty occurred is the correct jam number to record on the penalty sheet. |
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Term
| At what point is a skater considered to be entering the box from a clockwise direction? |
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Definition
| So long as the skater is touching the floor within the boundaries of the furthest forward edge of the penalty box (the "point of no return"), they should still be considered to be in the box, and need not skate around to enter the box. The boundary line is to be considered “in.” While the “point of no return” line may not physically extend onto the track, it is considered to extend through the track and, should a skater pass that line on the track and skate clockwise to enter the penalty box, they would then be instructed to skate around. |
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Term
| What verbal cue should Penalty Box Officials use to instruct a skater to skate around? |
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Definition
| The Penalty Box Official should use the appropriate verbal cue: i.e. “Skate around.” |
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Term
| Besides warning skaters when they have 10 seconds left, when else should Penalty Timers tell a skater how much penalty time they have remaining? |
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Definition
| In addition to telling skaters to stand at 10 seconds, and telling skaters they are done at 0 seconds (using the proper verbal cues), Penalty Box Officials should update a skater when they ask how much penalty time is remaining, within reason. |
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Term
| How should the Penalty Box Officials communicate to the referees that a skater has left the box early, owes time, or was waved off and now has a seat available? |
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Definition
| The penalty box whiteboard is split down the center by color. When a skater owes time, a Penalty Box Official displays the skater number on the appropriate side of the board. If a skater remains in the queue between jams, the penalty box official should hold up the board to communicate to the refs which skaters are in the penalty box queue. If the skater was not released by a penalty box official, the number shall be circled. Upon seeing this, a referee sends the skater in question back to the penalty box. If the number is circled, the referee sees that the skater is not in the penalty box and assigns the appropriate penalty for early departure from the penalty box. |
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Term
| What actions should the Penalty Box Official take if a skater refuses to stand as directed? |
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Definition
| The Penalty Box Official shall inform the skater who is refusing to stand that the remaining penalty time will not be timed until they stand. |
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Term
| As a skater is coming into the box, how are they to know the appropriate seat in which to sit? |
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Definition
| A Penalty Box Official shall signal the appropriate side and/or seat as the skater skates into the box. |
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Term
| What should Penalty Box Officials do when a skater arrives at the penalty box, but there is no seat available for them? |
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Definition
| A penalty box official shall signal to the skater that the penalty box is full with the hand signal and verbal cue, i.e. “Return to the track,” with appropriate signal. See the hand signal document for a description of these signals and their appropriate usage. |
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Term
| Where should a Penalty Box Officials sit? |
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Definition
Penalty Box Officials should not sit or stand in any location in which they may be confused with a skater serving a penalty.
If not timing a penalty for any reason (skater is not sitting, skater entered the penalty box from the wrong direction), the Penalty Box Official should inform the skater. |
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Term
| Where should the Jam Timer be located? |
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Definition
| The Jam Timer is stationed on the inside of the track where they can be seen and heard by both the pack and the jammers, without being in any referee’s way. |
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Term
| Should the Jam Timer make some sort of signal before the start of the jam? Are there any signals that the Jam Timer should use at the jam start whistle? |
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Definition
| Five seconds before the beginning of the jam, the Jam Timer shall raise their open hand in the air with all five fingers visible while using the appropriate verbal cue. Once the jam start whistle is blown, the Jam Timer will point to the pivot line until all skaters seemingly understand that the jam has begun. |
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Term
| If the 30 seconds between jams are about to expire and the officials are not in position, what should the jam timer do? |
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Definition
| If the 30 seconds are about to expire without the officials in position, the jam timer is empowered to call an official timeout. |
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Term
| If a referee signals for an official timeout, what should the Jam Timer do? |
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Definition
| The Jam Timer should immediately signal four short whistle blasts, stop the period clock, and get in position in front of the pivot line. |
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Term
| What is the procedure for a timeout from the moment a Captain or their Designated Alternate signals it to the moment it is displayed on the scoreboard? |
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Definition
| The Captain or their Designated Alternate signal the timeout. After confirming that the team has a timeout remaining, the Jam Timer or the first referee to see the signal calls the timeout by sounding four short whistle blasts. The Jam Timer stops their stopwatch and signals to the Scoreboard Operator that a timeout has occurred. The Jam Timer should indicate if the timeout is a team timeout or an official timeout by using the corresponding hand signal. The Jam Timer should correct the visible game clock as needed during the timeout. |
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Term
| How should the “End of Timeout” whistle sound? |
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Definition
| The whistle shall be one rolling/swooping whistle blast. |
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Term
| How should the jam timer signal the end of a jam? |
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Definition
Once two minutes have elapsed, the jam timer should sound four short whistle blasts and use the corresponding hand signal for the end of the jam, i.e. tapping the hips multiple times per the Jammer call off signal.
If the jam is called off for any other reason, the jam timer should still echo the referee whistles, but the hand signal will not be used. |
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Term
| Shall Scorekeepers echo back the number of points being reported by their Jammer Referee? |
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Definition
| The Scorekeeper shall make a physical signal for each pass. |
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Term
| How often should the official running the scoreboard update the score? |
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Definition
| The score on the scoreboard shall be updated for each pass, as per the score from the scorekeeper. |
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Term
Should there be a Head Non‐Skating Official (Head
NSO)? |
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Definition
| A person should be appointed as the Head NSO. This person will oversee the non‐skating official crew and ensure its proper performance. |
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Term
| Who handles the non‐skating official paperwork? |
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Definition
The Head NSO will ensure that the NSO paperwork has been properly populated prior to the game. The head NSO will oversee the distribution and retrieval of the
paperwork before and after the game. |
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