Inspecting the head in singles.

[Brian]

I always get picked for 3, its not for my close up eyesight!!!!a so I always measure first than last can't stand this wasting time looking at the head, always amazed that when you always measure some have said that they would have given the shot the other way without measuring!

With the difference in coloured woods near impossible to see

[edinburghump]

One of the most frustrating things as an umpire is when you have seen all the players looking closely at a head (so you know its close), you move over to the end of that rink ready for the last bowl to come to rest and the inevitable call......only to find the thirds take another 2-3 mins walking round the head examining it again and again before finally calling you on.

Either its that close it needs a measure or it is far enough away they can decide it - no point dancing around it. Just make that call for "Umpire!"

[Surfer]

Morning Edinburghump

Couldn't agree more when you see a three circling the head like a headless chicken I don't know what he thinks it will achieve he is going to have too measure the bowls it wont miraculous move and give him shot,
I can well understand an Umpire getting irritated it is wasting his time and the teams time I think Umpires deserve a medal for the work that they do

[Jean]

I wish we had asked our Skip to come up to the head yesterday, been playing in the county triples won two games the first day, were playing the last game yesterday which would have taken us through to the county finals,
holding two at the seventeenth end and our skip came up with a heavy bowl and gave them away we lost, the number three said to me should we ask her to come the other way but after two bowls I thought she wouldn't fire her last wood with such weight

Wrong decision on my part been blaming myself all day.

[edinburghump]

Originally Posted by Surfer

Morning Edinburghump

Couldn't agree more when you see a three circling the head like a headless chicken I don't know what he thinks it will achieve he is going to have too measure the bowls it wont miraculous move and give him shot,
I can well understand an Umpire getting irritated it is wasting his time and the teams time I think Umpires deserve a medal for the work that they do

I am normally very happy just to have my work acknowledged. It can be annoying running around (often having to eat on the go) for up to 12 hours only to be mentioned after the coach drivers or not at all!

Originally Posted by Jean

I wish we had asked our Skip to come up to the head yesterday, been playing in the county triples won two games the first day, were playing the last game yesterday which would have taken us through to the county finals,
holding two at the seventeenth end and our skip came up with a heavy bowl and gave them away we lost, the number three said to me should we ask her to come the other way but after two bowls I thought she wouldn't fire her last wood with such weight

Wrong decision on my part been blaming myself all day.

Any time there is any dubiety as to what shot should be played I would always bring the skip to the head and discuss any danger and benefits of any shot.

At the end of the day though, it was your skip that made the wrong decision not you so don't worry about it.

[foxyone2]

Originally Posted by edinburghump

I am normally very happy just to have my work acknowledged. It can be annoying running around (often having to eat on the go) for up to 12 hours only to be mentioned after the coach drivers or not at all!

I know what you mean about a lack of appreciation for the umpires of our game. They are unpaid, in fact it costs them money and time to qualify, the same applies to coaches.
If you really want to suffer try refereeing under-age football matches, some of the parents are positively barbaric. Some of their cherished little darlings are not much better. Sad to say the mother's are the worst, I think the overly protective motherly instinct kicks in and all hell breaks loose. The language would even make a 'Dockie' blush.
At least once a week a junior player or a parent finishes up getting banned and/or prosecuted for assault. I can only remember a few bowlers and umpires getting similar treatment, in most of these cases the transgressors were old enough to know better.

[edinburghump]

I know - football at junior level is way worse than anything we have to put up with. I blame the professional game for it, you get 20 players barracking the ref for every incident with jostling and pushing not unheard off. If I were in charge, I would rewrite the rules so that only the captains can come with in a set distance (say 3m) of the ref to protest a decision and any breaches are punishable by a card. It would soon stop and eventually feed down to the lower leagues that such behaviour is unacceptable.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by edinburghump

I am normally very happy just to have my work acknowledged. It can be annoying running around (often having to eat on the go) for up to 12 hours only to be mentioned after the coach drivers or not at all!


Any time there is any dubiety as to what shot should be played I would always bring the skip to the head and discuss any danger and benefits of any shot.

At the end of the day though, it was your skip that made the wrong decision not you so don't worry about it.

I had a phone call from our number two last night and she has told me that our Skip has said the front end was out bowled and that she is not sure if she is going to enter any county competitions next year,
Both of us are wondering if she is trying to drop us should wait and see what she is going to do or sort out a team for next year,
Last year we lost in the final to go thought to lemington on an extra end and this year after four games so we are not a bad combination,
Do we wait and see or sort out next years team ? ? ?

I count the number of ends I leave a Skip holding to try and judge how I have played in a game .

[foxyone2]

Originally Posted by Jean

I had a phone call from our number two last night and she has told me that our Skip has said the front end was out bowled and that she is not sure if she is going to enter any county competitions next year,
Both of us are wondering if she is trying to drop us should wait and see what she is going to do or sort out a team for next year,
Last year we lost in the final to go thought to lemington on an extra end and this year after four games so we are not a bad combination,
Do we wait and see or sort out next years team ? ? ?

I count the number of ends I leave a Skip holding to try and judge how I have played in a game .

If she has definitely passed such a remark I wouldn't worry about it. Form a new rink and enter without her. You need compatibility and harmony within a rink. This is not helped when a rink member criticises the rink's or an individual's performance to 'outsiders'.

[edinburghump]

Originally Posted by Jean

I had a phone call from our number two last night and she has told me that our Skip has said the front end was out bowled and that she is not sure if she is going to enter any county competitions next year,
Both of us are wondering if she is trying to drop us should wait and see what she is going to do or sort out a team for next year,
Last year we lost in the final to go thought to lemington on an extra end and this year after four games so we are not a bad combination,
Do we wait and see or sort out next years team ? ? ?

I count the number of ends I leave a Skip holding to try and judge how I have played in a game .

Originally Posted by foxyone2

If she has definitely passed such a remark I wouldn't worry about it. Form a new rink and enter without her. You need compatibility and harmony within a rink. This is not helped when a rink member criticises the rink's or an individual's performance to 'outsiders'.

I would suggest a conversation with the said skip but I would definitely be considering a new rink as Foxy suggests.

Harmony , IMHO, is more important than individual skill in a rink. 4 players of a reasonable standard playing as a team will beat 4 outstanding individuals who can't get on with each other most times.