As I prepare for being a referee at an upcoming important championship, I wanted to make sure I have the t’s crossed and i’s dotted, on my understanding of how to handle this difficult situation:
If an adult comes to me as a referee to dispute the outcome of a match, what should I do? My intent would be to politely ask the adult to stand away from the field, to disregard anything they’ve said that isn’t brought to me by a student. Is that sound?
Many times, the adult is relentless. Am I able to entertain their complaint in any way? What if the adult is directing the students from afar (such as yelling from the stands) on the dispute? Is it a sound strategy to pull the students back from the crowd to listen to their independent student voice on the issue?
I know each case is different, but what is the general guidance on this?
Our general guidance is to always listen to a team’s complaints, whether it be a student or adult team member. That being said, if an adult approaches you without a student team member being present, it’s a best practice to ask for a student to be present as well. Also, if your event has areas where only Drive Team Members are allowed to be present, adults team members should not be entering this area.
If at any point an adult becomes belligerent while expressing their concerns, you should then politely ask them to step away.