I have seen some fairly appalling refereeing decisions in the past month or so at some major events – people not being allowed to see targets before shooting, general rudeness and even a shooter told he couldn’t shoot because he didnt have the right kind of safety glasses. Is this kind of thing commonplace?
DON BRUNT replies: Thankfully, no it’s not. Most referees are a dedicated hard-working bunch of people who give up their time in return for meagre pay and invariably lousy weather. There is a hardcore of ‘professional refs’ who follow the circuit through the summer months and on the whole they are exceptionally good when it comes to making decisions. A referee needs to enforce the rules, but a good one knows when to be sensible about how they interpret them because above all else they are there to ensure that every shooter has the same fair chance of performing to the best of their ability as everyone else. However, there are a very, very small minority of refs who enjoy the ‘power’ a little too much on occasion and get carried away a little. If you see a decision that is patently wrong (and that doesn’t mean when they didn’t give your mate a kill when he missed!) then make sure you report it to the shoot organiser/jury and if it’s a major infringement then don’t be afraid to go to the CPSA. However, with the high standards of the majority of refs that shouldn’t be something you need to do very often.