Observing
The best seat in the house!
BY MARK MORAN
You’re sitting in the stands about to
watch the start of the finals. The black team is huddled at the left side of the field, and a light-green team is scattered throughout the right side of the field warming up their throws. Just then, you notice four people in orange jerseys standing together in the center of the field, and you watch them all pump their fists in unison and shout, “Observers Rule!”
WHAT ARE OBSERVERS?
As most of you will already know, Ultimate does not use referees. So then, what are Observers? Observers are game officials that help facilitate one or more aspects of Ultimate competition. For the vast majority of Ultimate play, players are the only officials, taking on responsibility for all aspects of the game. In some settings, especially at the highest levels of our sport, Observers are used to help manage aspects of the game that players are less able to easily manage, from keeping score or tracking time limits to helping quickly resolve player disputes and dealing with conduct issues. An important distinction between the
role of Observers in Ultimate and officials in many other sports is that the primary
responsibility for making almost all calls during a game of Ultimate remains with the players. This hybrid approach to officiating, where players officiate with the assistance of Observers, delivers the best of both self-officiated and third- party officiated competition, where player responsibility, integrity, and fair play can be showcased in a fast-paced, exciting environment. The primary difference between
Observers and Referees is that Observers shall not make active foul and violation calls of a subjective nature, while Referees are empowered to make any call authorized in the rules, bylaws, officiating guide, or any set of tournament ground rules. Observers
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are allowed to resolve disputes on foul and violation calls if requested to do so by the players or event organizers, and may actively resolve conduct issues. Observers make active calls on objective matters in the rules, most commonly being boundary decisions, such as whether a catch was in- or out-of- bounds, or whether the receiver caught the disc in the end zone. Observers have the responsibility to
uphold the Spirit of the Game to the players on the field. While Observers can provide a neutral perspective for dispute resolution or calls of an objective nature, the responsibility for the integrity of Ultimate and the Spirit of the Game remains with the players.
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Observer, Art Hawkins of Vancouver, watches the line.
PHOTO BY: BRIAN BURKE
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