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During the past summer, USJA members had the opportunity at both the Junior Nationals and the Dessert Classic to study the fine points of refereeing under Mr. John Osako, Chairman of the Refereeing Subcommittee of the International Judo Federation.

It would be impossible to describe everything that was covered in this magazine, and the following barely scratches the surface. The format of the clinic included classroom discussion, demonstration and finally, practical evaluation. At Stamford, every referee had the opportunity for an informal critique of his-her actions as referee while officiating at the national level. We in the USJA have a long way to go before we are all confident and capable as national level referees, and this type of instruction is a big step in that direction.

Perhaps the key to Mr. Osako’s approach is in understanding the role of the referee. Far too many matches are decided on the basis of a penalty, putting the referee in the position of deciding the outcome. The function of the referee is to keep the match moving towards a conclusion based on skill while at the same time protecting players against injury and avoiding one player obtaining advantage through a prohibited act. This simple philosophy, combined with a knowledge of the rules and common sense, is the key to good officiating.

Before getting into the details of some of the rule interpretations it might be helpful to look at the general comments made by Mr. Osako after watching two full days of matches at Stamford.

• Voices tend to be too low. We need to work on projection and pronunciation.
• Posture of both referees and judges should be erect and alert at all times. Hands should not be on the hips, judges shouldn’t slouch in their chairs or lean on their elbows.
• We generally need to work on our mobility. Many move too fast and too much, while others stand in one place. A good referee never seems to be in motion, but always is in the best position to see the action.
• The calls of Koka-Yuko and Yuko-Wazari tend to blur. Often identical throws will draw different scores. This can only be corrected by practice: each night at practice the referee should go to the sideline and "practice" scoring throws during randorl until the distinctions become clear and second nature.
• The only time the officials bow is while opening and closing a mat. They don't bow while changing from referee to judge or while switching teams or when the competitors bow.
• Uniformity of decisions is the key to good performance.
• The referee is responsible for the administration of the contest, and hence is responsible for telling the timer to start the injury clock, correcting wrong scores, etc. The judges may and should assist, but should never directly instruct the timer or scorer to take an action.
• Gestures indicating the reason for a penalty are not called for in the rules, but are common practice and should be used. It is important that we communicate to the players and the audience what has happened, and this must be done without use of words.
• A match is ended with the call of "soremade" whether time has run out or ippon has been called. In the case of an Ippon, the sequence is "Ippon" with hand signal, check to see the judges agree, then call "soremade."
• Following "matte," hajime should be called as soon as the players are in the contest area and facing each other. There is no need for them to return to their original spots, or even to the center of the mat.
• The first job of the official is the safety of the competitor, especially at the junior level. A referee who is not more concerned about the players than about the rules should not be a referee.

With regard to the general area of penalties, Mr. Osako had the following comments:

• When it is possible to avoid a penalty by calling matte, without unduly taking an advantage away from a player, do so. The goal should be to avoid the award of a penalty when possible, and to award penalties fairly when violations do occur.
• When awarding a penalty in newaza, the general rule is to protect the advantage of the player who has not committed the prohibited act. That is, when there is no clear advantage the call of matte should be used. When the player committing the violation has the advantage, matte should again be used. However, if the other player has the advantage, call sonomama and award the penalty while still in newaza. The actual osaekomi is not necessary, only a clear advantage.
• Non-combativity should be applied based on the circumstances, not just the stopwatch. Moving around for 30 seconds without attack at the start of the championship match is good judo - it is a way of feeling for grips, body movement, etc. The same action in the last minute of the match with a koka lead is an entirely different matter, and should be called. Constant attacks such as the dropping seoinage, which have no prospect for success, are still stalling, even though the appearance of an attack is there.
• Penalties for "hand in the face" should be applled on the basis of the phrase "directly in the face" and the intent. A hand that starts to roll up from under the chin should be tapped as an informal warning, with the penalty to follow if the "violation" continues or is repeated. If the player on defense forces the other players hand onto his-her face (i.e. slips a choke) let the play continue with a warning to remove the hand. Call matte rather than award the penalty.
• Violations for such things as holding with both hands on the same side, holding the gi pants, etc. should be awarded on the basis of about 3-4 seconds before an attack. In the case of holding with both hands on the same side, if this has been caused by the other player ducking under a legal grip, such as a high collar, the new grip should be allowed to be held until either an attack is made or any shift in the grip occurs. That is, the grip is not immediately illegal, since the player didn’t take the grip but rather was forced into it.
• Techniques such as the half-nelson turnover are fully legal, and do not put illegal pressure against the neck. The reasoning is that the player on the bottom can relieve the pressure by turning over, and so it is his-her own action that is resulting in the pressure. If the player cannot roll because of an action of the player applying the half-nelson, it then becomes illegal.

During the classroom and discussion sessions of the clinic, Mr. Osako went through the rules on an article by article basis, clarifying points and explaining the current usage at the international level. Some of the comments were generally known, while others were new and will require work before we are comfortable using them. The following summarizes my understanding of Mr. Osako's discussions:

• When a player must change a gi, one judge of the same sex must go with the player, and stay with him-her at all times.
• Knee braces are a problem in this country. We need to be sure that no hard objects are worn; covering with a pad is not adequate.
• Shimewaza and kansetsuwaza off the mat is only permissible if one of the players had osaekomi. When "toketa" is called, matte must follow independent of the effectiveness of the attack.
• If the player being attacked obviously moves toward the outside in order to avoid the attack and goes outside, he-she should be penalized. However, this is rarely done, as the benefit of the doubt as to intent should be given to the player.
• It is useful to have a demonstration of the proper bow before a tournament begins. The step forward is a part of the sporting code, and should be encouraged. Red and White markers on the mat are good as they provide a measure of the distance and can be used to indicate the color of the player scoring a throw. The verbal announcement of color, in either English or Japanese, is not called for and should not be used. One qualification to this is that if the scorers are not sufficiently familar with judo to do their job without verbal signals, they can be used.
• It is important that officials be in position before the start of the competition, and that the competitors do not have to wait while the officials get ready. Officials should also be provided an area away from the crowd to relax while they are not on the mat.
• At the end of a tumultous match, it is often useful to use the time when the competitors fix their gi’s to settle things down and prepare for the Hantei call, if required. Decorum is important, though the tournament should not be delayed while players make sure that everything is absolutely perfect. Once the players are ready, at the start or finish, the announcement should be made promptly, hajime or indication of winner.
• When the referee awards a score, the signal should be made and held for 3 seconds, while the referee turns so that the audience can see the award and he-she can see if the judges agree. It the judges do not agree, the judge in front of the referee should stand and signal the new call. If this happens, the referee immediately waves off the old call and signals the new one. A proposed change to the procedures which was used successfully at Stamford was for both judges to stand if the call was to be changed, but for neither to approach the referee unless the referee clearly failed to notice the judges .
• Referees are often too close to observe entry into newaza. The best distance is about 2-3 meters. It is acceptable to go to one knee to observe the action in newaza, but never to both knees or onto the stomach.
• A player must tap twice for a submission. The referee must be very careful about misinterpreting one tap.
• Article nine is rarely applied, generally it should be used when an ineffective attack is repeated often without result. Skill is at the heart of the issue; if it works it is skillful and hence legal. If it doesn’t work, call matte, and if it is repeated award a penalty. Also, the action must be continuous.
• A holddown does not have to be a generally recognized technique to be a valid osaekomiwaza. The key is the effectiveness .
• All discussions between a judge and a referee must include all three officials. Never talk to one judge without the other. Conferences are to vote, not to discuss. Keep them as short as possible.
• The application of an arm bar must allow the opportunity to surrender. An arm bar which injurs the arm that is applied so rapidly that the injured player had no opportunity to give up should be penalized with hansokumake.
• Sonomama should be called when there is a break in the action and only when it is necessary to immobilize. Similarity except to avoid an injury matte should also be called when there is a pause in the action or a prohibited act occurs. It is not necessary, but it is a good practice to hold the players when calling sonomama, and to tap when calling yoshi. In sonomama, one judge must watch constantly for changes in position. This is especially true during a conference.
• Stopping the match to fix the gi is not just for appearance or to allow proper gripping. A sash that is not visible to the referee-judges is almost sure to cause confusion, and matte should be called as soon as this condition exists.
• Referees should try to stay in the contest area, usually facing in the general direction of the timer and one judge. He-she should never have to look at both judges, since if one stands it implies the judges have reached agreement.
• An alert bearing with good posture is a big step toward good officiating. Signals should be clear, crisp and precise. Judges should be prepared to move themselves and their chair out of the way of the players, while at the same time being conscious of the adjacent mat areas.

A continued discussion of the rules and prohibited acts will be published in a future issue of American Judo.

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