Team squash exists in many forms. From club leagues, scholastic and university competitions, all the way to world team events, this form of squash is often more exciting and competitive than individual events, given the frequent partiality of teammates and fans alike. While this type of dynamic atmosphere often results in an exciting and memorable squash event, it can also prove to be among the toughest conditions for the team of referees. The recent Pan American Squash Championships held in Quito, Ecuador was no exception.
In addition to general energy of the tournament, there existed numerous other factors that only compounded the difficulty placed on the officials. While many would have crumbled under such adversity and prematurely relinquished their duties (one or two, in fact, did), most managed to remain strong and welcomed the opportunity to learn to deal with these seemingly endless challenges. Among these included:
1) Crowd control - The small seating capacity behind each court, the lack of a viewing gallery, and the frequency with which people were crossing in front of the back wall (sometimes while a rally was in progress) all made the task of crowd control a difficult one. The marker had the constant burden of sustaining a balance between allowing reasonable levels of cheering at the conclusion of a rally while maximizing silence during play. There were also the constant tasks of reminding spectators to remain seated, yelling over 100 screaming people, and remaining psychologically impervious to occasional (or frequent) booing directed towards you as a result of a questionable decision.
2) Physical play - The amount of physical contact during a squash match sometimes increases in proportion to the criticality of the match. Since national pride was at stake in virtually every team match, there were few matches during the course of the tournament that had very little riding on the outcome. Many matches, therefore, were ones of highly physically contentious natures; pushing, bumping, not clearing well, and charging were all too common. These situations tend to be challenging for officials in that they delve into some of the more complex subtleties of the rules of squash, and often result in decisions made that are very close and subjective, inevitably making one of the players, his or her teammates, and many spectators rather miffed.
3) Injuries - Perhaps primarily as a result of the more physical play, the tournament was plagued with an unusually high number of injuries, many where bleeding was involved. Dealing with injuries from a referee's standpoint is somewhat systematic. While most experienced officials know the line of thinking needed to come to the correct decision regarding an injured player, the process is a bit intricate, and only through repeated exposure to injury situations (which are, in general, uncommon) can one become truly confident in rendering a decision. Many of the matches in Quito served us well in reinforcing our capacities to deal with injuries and a fair and timely manner.
4) Unpopularity - It's no great secret that, in many sporting events, the referees are not exactly everyone's favorite bunch of people. While none of us had the misfortune of being assaulted, beaten, poisoned, or murdered during the course of the tournament, there existed a kind of cold energy between some of the players and officials. It is not uncommon for referees to be perceived by some as an extraneous, kind of inhuman group, as it seemed to be in Quito. The amount of interaction between many players and officials was therefore minimal.
5) Language barrier - Though perhaps not as quite as severe as some of the other challenges, there often existed communication difficulties between players and officials, as the Spanish and English proficiencies amongst the two groups were quite mixed. Many of us were therefore unable to explain decisions effectively, and announcements and scores often had to be translated. On a positive side, some of us were also unable to understand when the players argued with us or insulted us, which actually was quite nice.
6) Sportsmanship - Or lack of, for that matter. Probably the greatest challenge for many officials is dealing with the less than stellar sportsmanship that high level squash is unfortunately notorious for. Again, this tournament was no exception. Numerous conduct warnings & strokes were given for racket abuse, audible obscenities, unnecessary physical contact, time wasting, and dangerous play. While in an ideal world players would always behave in a sporting manner, many of the referees exposed to this challenge received an invaluable exercise in psychological resiliency and maintaining composure during highly stressful situations. Though this negative energy on court existed all too often throughout the tournament, there were a handful of teams who generally exhibited sportsmanship of the highest caliber and were welcomed assignments by the officials. Ecuador, Colombia, Jamaica, Paraguay, and the USA were among these teams.
For all aspiring squash referees, team tournaments of this nature can provide all the elements needed to significantly improve one's skills. If the seemingly ubiquitous adversity can be mentally endured, one will emerge stronger, more knowledgeable, fortunate to have experienced high caliber squash, and, if lucky, do so in a land as scenic and beauteous as Ecuador.