Nigel,
I respect and appreciate your observations. I believe you are quite correct that there are so many situations that are hard to call, that require a judgment to be made, and that this will inevitably result in someone’s kid, coach, and parent thinking they were screwed. I have seen some pretty ugly moments and agree that officials may need to start enforcing behavior policies and start ejecting people.
I will never go to the table to discuss judgments like "stalling", "locking hands", "out of bounds" etc... I have told several parents, “it is what the official saw, we can’t argue it.” When I do approach the table it is always after the match and I try very hard to let the official know that I just want an explanation so that I can explain to kids how to approach certain match situations. I want to be able to say to my kid, "You have to let go of that arm bar, get your points, and then try to turn him again." I want to understand the rule. It just seemed to me in these situations that I described in my posting that there may have been a contradiction in how a rule was applied. But maybe I am mistaken.
I know that it can get “pretty old” listening to people gripe. I apologize if you interpreted my posting in that way. You guys deserve our respect and you have mine. Thanks.
