Difficult decitson to make

Looking back at the last year there where some very cheerfull moments and also some quite doulbtfull ones. Here is one that I kept thinking about for quite some time.



At the Rhein Main Cup (RMC) I was judgung both static and dynamic dives. On the picture above you see me giving a red card to an athlet after he had completet what could only be called a perfect dive. How did that happen?

Well, at the world championship in Maribor, weher I had my judge cours, it was striktey forbidden to enter the zone where the judges where without stating that you where the official coach. The same was the case in Lysekil during the Nordic Deep where I earned my first experiance as a judge. The penalty for a violation was disqualification.

While I am waching the athlete prepare for his dive, a man with a camera appeares next to me and I ask him "are you the official coach?". He says "No!" and so I ask him to step accross the line and give room for the two judges and the two official camera men. The dive starts and I focus fully on following the athlete.

Right after he surfaced after a personal best a man jumps at my side and starts shouting what could only be interpreted as coaching. I focus on the athlete, his SP is well in the 15s and he has no problems keeping himself above the surface. He is all clear and smiling. His 30s are over now.

I get up and look at the coach and ask him who he was and wher in the world he came from. He dose not understand my agitation.

I look back at the athlete. He has been waiting way too long for his card by now. And so I give him a red card. I call him to me and explain the situation. I tell him his dive was perfect and we would review the case and he would have the chance to protest the judgement.

When we had a break, all the judges where reviewing the rules with the result that there is no such rule for dynamic and since we did not state the necessity to state the official coach in the briefing before the competition we all decided to turn the red card into a white.

I very much welcomed that decision and went to tell the athlete myself.

But I did use the protest as a joker to cover my own doubt as we where told on the judge course and that might have destroyed a part of the fun of it. 30s is not much time to make a decision some times and it is quite easy to get mixed up.

I hope with more experiance I will not come to such a situation again. But when in doubt, I might do the same.

What do you think?