You may have heard… I was a little upset with the accommodations at the Red Lion motel (don’t you dare call it a hotel). It was convenient to the venue, but that’s about it. The rooms are small. The bathrooms are tiny. The layout of the closet was terrible (it’s practically blocked by one of the beds). The street noise was overwhelming. The view was lousy. The heater was way too loud. I had to turn it off to sleep, and there wasn’t a single other room available to consider as an option, and I checked in at 4:00 in the afternoon on Thursday. What – the – Hell?!

The event went well (sort of). The numbers weren’t very high. I never felt overworked. And the Nike lounge (I dubbed it the Robby Room), made downtime much more relaxing and comfortable. It would be nice if they attended every event. The replay system was not without the usual glitches. It would be really nice if we had a system that was consistently reliable.

Too bad about the catastrophe that was served up as the Gold Medal Sabre bout. I can’t remember the last time I heard “boos” at the conclusion of a final. It was ugly. I was waiting to referee a final bout in foil afterward, but had to delay that for the sabre match that ended three times, before they finally let Tim Morehouse claim the victory, and it’s debatable who actually won.

Portland is one of those towns that I look forward to going to whenever there’s an event there. The light-rail system makes it easy to get around. There are plenty of good restaurants and bars to frequent, and lots of hotels that are far better than that thing called The Red Lion.

With the exception of the accommodations, I had a good time there. Let’s hope things go better in Reno.

San Francisco Bay Cup  4-8-11

I was invited to referee the event two days prior to it (that in itself is another story). Peninsula Fencing Academy was hosting the event, and I didn’t even know that it would be strictly sabre. I found that out the morning of the tournament when I asked what the first event was. I flew into SFO Friday afternoon and was picked up by the event organizers (Jay Choi & Chris Atwwod). We went to the host club and had lunch (which was their treat). After that I was driven via the “scenic route” (winding roads through the hills) to Half Moon Bay, where I stayed at the Harbor View Inn. The Marina was across the street, and there were a few restaurants and bars to choose from, and I tried a couple just so I could report back to the organizers. Otherwise I would have just stayed in the hotel and done homework all night ; ). Jay Choi admitted that I was the “guinea pig” for future events, and I didn’t mind. It was a great location to be “stuck” for the night.

The tournament went well. I wasn’t overworked and there didn’t seem to be any lag-time between events. I was chosen to referee many of the gold medal bouts that day, and I felt privileged to do so. I had a good time at the event, it seems everyone did. We even finished in time to have a late lunch/early dinner at a local eatery. Thanks for picking up the tab Jay! Lately it seems like a few organizers are beginning to appreciate and understand the importance of providing quality refereeing for events. If the fencers and coaches are happy, the likelihood of a return visit increases, which would pretty much make the event a success, right? Lets look at it from a business perspective. Let’s say hypothetically you brake even on an event that the athletes and coaches agree was a good event. The next time you can probably expect at least a third more entries. More entries equals more money. I could be wrong… maybe it’s rocket science. At any rate, I wouldn’t hesitate to return. They took exceptional care of me, and they were genuinely concerned with providing a quality event for the fencers.

Well-done guys! And thank you.

March 10 – 14, 2011

My friend Mary Mahon was hiring the referees, and she petitioned me to join forces with the collection of referees assembling for the event. Mary and I have been good friends for some time now, and I agreed to work the event in hopes that her first hiring experience would be a successful one. I decided to work all four days and was optimistic that the Div. II/III and Vet event wouldn’t be too taxing, and from my perspective, it wasn’t. The bout-committee did a good job of keeping things running well. The days weren’t excessively long (not for me anyway), and when they did end, it was easy to get to dinner and drinks on foot, or via the elevated tram. I ended up in “Greektown” twice, first at a pizza place and then at Fishbone’s, and afterward at the Anchor Bar (a local dive bar with PBR on draught). I had to indulge myself. It’s not a very good beer, but the allure of draught PBR in a dive, with bad music and worn-out pool tables and the local scrowel* in attendance… it’s just too much charming atmosphere to resist.

Despite the constant warnings about “Crime-ridden” Detroit, it does seem to be experiencing a renaissance of sort. There are still some depressed areas, but they are making an effort to improve the city, and it shows. I would actually go back to Detroit if they had another event there. I had a good time in general, the venue was good (almost walking distance from the host hotel), and I had a lot of fun fencing in the team event. The only adjustment that I would make; especially considering the cold weather and snow, is to provide a shuttle from the hotel to the venue. Other than that, I felt it was a successful event.

*scrowel – degenerates. Originating in Los Angeles among my high-school friends to describe the “undesirables” at local parties.

Fencing in Rochester –

The weather was a bit cold, but tolerable for this California-boy. Fresh snow on the ground Friday evening when I landed at Greater Rochester International Airport, and it snowed again Saturday night. There were about 225 entries and something in the neighborhood of 16 strips at the venue that strangely resembled the very one I visited for a NAC so many years ago, when I was still competing.

I refereed all three weapons at the two-day event, but mostly foil. The competitors seamed pleased with the reffing, save for a few disagreements on calls, but that’s to be expected anywhere. Bout committee did a good job running the event. Breakfast for the officials consisted of coffee, orange juice, tasty doughnuts and bagels. We had a very good salad and penne pasta for lunch on Saturday, and sandwiches on Sunday.

I had a really nice time in Rochester. Many of my friends there I’ve known and loved for years, and I always look forward to seeing them. Everyone seemed to appreciate having me around, and I appreciated being invited out for the opportunity to work for everyone. In general, I feel the event was a success. It moved along efficiently, and from my perspective, everyone had a good fencing experience.

The only apparent (and major) difference between this event; and a national one, is that I received a check for payment in full at the conclusion of the event. It’s almost farcical that I feel the need to clarify this contrast, but it’s a sad truth about the organization that should be regarded as the citadel of fencing in these United States. U.S. Fencing has a major negative reputation to overcome in this regard.

And… I can’t wait to go back to Rochester!

In general, I think things went pretty well this time around. Granted, there was a day when events ran late and some people didn’t get out of the venue until 8 or 9pm. But I feel all in all it could have been much worse, and trust me… I’ve seen the worst of it. The video replay system was working most of the time. It still requires certain tweeks in the way it operates, and and in the way that U.S. Fencing operates it.

Ok, let’s talk fencing now. I understand that JOs is a very important to different people for different reasons. A “proving ground” of sorts. Coaches need to prove themselves via results, recruiters need to assess potential recruits, parents need to prove to their children that they were right to force them into an obscure sport that can earn them a scholarship to a university, and to some of the kids it’s just important to prove that they can simply fence. What kid of pressure does this put on the referees? None really, unless the calls they make threaten any of the aforementioned parties goals, aspirations, desires, or teaching. Please don’t blame the referees for your own shortcomings. They are doing the best they can with what they have at their disposal. There are good and bad ways of approaching a referee with regard to your discontent or disagreement with them. And trust me, raising your voice and allowing yourself to become angry isn’t one of them. Personally, as a referee, when a fencer doesn’t agree with my call, the ones that have the greatest impact on me are the ones that act as if they are simply disappointed in me, as opposed to the ones that look at me with disdain and beg, “WHY, WHY, WHY ISN’T THAT MY ATTACK?!”, and proceed to inform why it should be. As if I’m so inept that I couldn’t possibly know what I’m talking about. I’m a referee because I have proven my proficiency. Some people make good fencers, and others make good coaches. Keep in mind that just because someone is a good, or even great coach, doesn’t mean they can see right of way. And by the same token, just because someone may be an excellent fencer, doesn’t mean they are capable of being completely objective in their own bout. I’ve been on both sides of this circumstance, and I understand it very well.

Ok, now let’s talk accommodations. The hotel was well appointed, and the transportation via DART was adequate. Breakfast for the tournament officials was provided at the hotel and the choices available were decent. The official’s lunch at the venue was pretty good, except for the box-lunch day. That was crap. I’m a sort-of vegetarian, and for some reason they assume that we all love marinated, roasted bell-peppers in a sandwich or wrap. I don’t like it one bit. I would prefer to take a ham and cheese sandwich, and remove the ham. Granted, they’re making an effort, but would it be the end of the world if they took a poll and found out what people that don’t eat meat would actually prefer to eat? There were ample restaurants close by, and many within walking distance of the host hotel.

The venue was big enough, there seemed to be enough strips, and plenty of referees. World cup attendees get younger every year, and I hear that conflicting events had an effect on the number of entries. What ever the case, the balance was pretty good I think. Dallas seem to be a good city to hold an event similar to last weekend’s Junior Olympics. It’s convenient to fly to, and I don’t mind traveling there. I just wish U.S. Fencing would pay the tournament officials that sacrifice so much to attend these events.

The Canadian referees were paid in full on the last day of NAC – C in Dallas!

Why are our neighbors to the North exempt from the injustices forced upon our own officials? Is there a clandestine arrangement? There seems to be. How many of you were aware of this arrangement? Is U.S. Fencing so inefficient at recruiting and training their own officials that they must rely on foreigners to take up the slack of our ineptitude as officials? If it’s true, shouldn’t we be ashamed of that? Or is it just that U.S. Fencing is incapable of hiring enough domestic referees? Either way, it seems to reflect poorly on the organization. I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy seeing, and getting to spend time with the Canadians. They are good people, and good friends. I’m glad that we can bring them down to help, but why are they entitled to better treatment than U.S Fencing is willing to extend to their own officials?

 Let me present a hypothetical situation here. Let’s just say that the organization hadn’t purchased $30,000 in unnecessary and unreliable video replay equipment. Don’t you think that might have covered many of the officials in Dallas? Wouldn’t that have made it possible to hand them all a check as they left the venue on their last day of work, as the Canadians received? I realize that it’s only a small number, but it’s also VERY UNFAIR! I’m pretty sure that most of our own officials sacrificed plenty in terms of regular PAYING work, allotted vacation days, and personal relationships. And yes, they realize this going in, and no one is forcing them, but it certainly makes ME bitter to find out that other officials are treated better than I am. I’m the one that faithfully has gone to almost every national event for the past ten or so years. Why haven’t I earned any “special treatment”? Can you understand why I might be upset? I’m realizing that there are many secrets that U.S. Fencing is keeping. And the more they are able to keep everyone in the dark, the safer they feel. How is it that they are allowed to continue operating this way? Isn’t there a governing body that oversees non-profit organizations like this? How are they able to fly under the radar for so many years? When will anyone be held accountable?