BELT

Mat officials consist of timekeepers, recorders and referees.  In addition there are also roles for individuals who want to get more involved with organising and running Blackwater events.

Individuals should progress through timekeeping to recording to refereeing. Progression will be through a mix of attending courses, recommendation, some simple paper based tests, but mainly practical application of knowledge during training sessions, and club events.

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Timekeepers (TMK), Recorders, Senior Table Officials (STO) and Event Organisers (EV) do not need to be judoka. Everyone should start by knowing basic timekeeping skills. The minimum age for certification is 14, but younger age judoka can be learning skills and assisting so when they reach the appropriate age they can get their licenses signed off.

Each type of mat official ie time keepers, recorders and referees are split into 3 levels of competency; novice, club or event levels

Novice  – will have a basic understanding of essential terms and should have sufficient knowledge/ability to be able to ensure the smooth running of in-club contests so long as everything runs smoothly without any complications and when supported by an experienced team – they must always be supervised by someone who has at least club level certification.

1. A novice timekeeper will be expected to know when and how to start and stop time -keeping equipment, but they might not know eg how long to allow judoka to rest between consecutive bouts.
2. A novice recorder will be able to read a pool sheet knowing who are the next competitors but will not be expected to know how to fill out a pool sheet or decide the order of medals
3. A novice referee will be able to competently and confidently oversee a bout, knowing terms for starting and stopping the action but will need to be supervised to ensure safety and fairness.

Club – will have knowledge, experience and confidence to run contests safely and fairly within a club environment.

1. Club TMK’s will be competent with koka board and electronic board. They must be able to recognise and respond appropriately to referees hand signals.
2. Club Recorders – can fill out pool sheets and decide who wins which medal. Understand that although the referee has overall control – the mat they are in charge of is the recorders mat and it is the recorders responsibility to ensure it runs smoothly
3. Club Referees will be able to fairly, confidently and safely run a mat area. They might not know what  sogo-gachi means but will understand what to do if one person has been given keikoku and their opponent then scores a waza-ari .They might not know the hand signals or rules pertaining to medical assistance, but will show common sense of what to do if a judoka is injured

Event Officials – for those who want to know all details of IJF rules. This is essential for anyone who wants to officiate at external events, but also ideally some individuals will want to learn more and to share that knowledge with other Blackwater mat officials.

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 The starting point for everyone is basic timekeeping, before progressing to recording and then for Judoka becoming a referee.

• It is personal choice whether non-judoka stick with timekeeping or diversifies into recording.
• Judoka must gain experience/knowledge of TMK and recording before being certified as a refereeand before they can wear a Black Belt. They don’t have to be great referees but they must know what is involved.
  • Basic referees must be at least Brown Belt and over 14 and have gained at least basic TMK and recorder skills to be certified. Juniors can and should start to learn refereeing skills so by the time they are old enough and of a sufficient grade they have confidence to be safe, competent and fair referees and can quickly get their licenses signed off. A referee cannot referee grades higher than they are themself.

• Club referees must be 1^st kyu  or above (retired  black belts can also referee).

• Between basic and club referee judoka are expected to gain experience as corner judges. This will help to build their observational skills, increases their understanding of the rule book and will help them to better understand the difference between koka, yuko, wazaari and Ippon throws.

• Above club referee there is a coaching level for referees – they are not expected to have all the answers but it is their responsibility for ensuring that mat officials have the support and opportunity to gain confidence and skills

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A Senior Table Official (STO) will be responsible for all the paper work coordinating all event participants- spectators, competitors and officials, booking competitors in, organising pool sheets before, during and after the event. Ensuring judoka as far as possible get fair fights against matched opponents.

An Event Organiser (EO) needs to ensure the venue and everything in it is organised for the day, chairs, tables, refreshments, equipment you name it if it is needed then it has probably got Bob’s finger prints on it.

The final official is the Senior Event Referee (SER); he must be kept informed of any problems as he is the one who at the end of the day has to handle any complaints.

The Senior Table Official liaises with the Event Organiser and Senior mat referee so there are no complaints about any aspect of the event. The three of them must communicate to ensure that all events run smoothly