December 8th was the day all VEX IQ teams and team members came to participate in one of the important competitions for this VEX IQ season: TAIVEX IQ Rapid Relay. Competed by 35 teams, the 11 awards were the goal for everyone of the participants. Behind the competition are all the event organizers and volunteers that support the event, and I am one of them.
This time, I volunteered as the Head Referee for the competition, and it was my first time. Before this day, I have volunteered as a scorekeeper referee for multiple times. The first experience was during the VEX Worlds volunteer, and the next was during VEX Taiwan Open National Championship and much more.
One thing I've learned from all those volunteer experiences was that being the Head Referee wasn't an easy task at all. The head referee is in charge of training the scorekeeper referees and is required to make decisive decisions when there is a violation or argument. Moreover, they have to understand the rules of the game very well, to the point that any question from the teams can be answered.
Even though I have always wanted to stand in the position as the head referee, when I received the volunteer invitation from the event partner, I felt more anxiety than excitement. I was afraid that I might be too weak on decisions and not have a clear enough stance when dealing with arguments.
Before the day of the competition, I spent quite a bit of time reviewing all the rules written on the game manual and specifically noted all the possible violations a team may encounter. I was really happy that I did research before hand that I was able to come to conclusion quickly during the competition.
Since head referees were also responsible for the Drivers Meeting, which was a meeting where the head referee talk about some violation possibilities to help students avoid these actions, I also constructed some notes for the important rules and the meeting process on the previous day.
I also took the official VEX IQ Head Referee test and got my certificate beforehand. It was a four hour course that tested us the rules in the game manual to make sure head referees are all well-prepared for making decisions based on the game manual.
On the competition day, I was really excited to meet all other volunteers as well as teams from different places. I felt excitement as well as a bit of agitation, but I was well-prepared and was ready for ruling this competition!
First, I suggested to gather all scorekeeper volunteers for a meeting before robot inspections starts. This is because it is very important to make sure everyone knew what their responsibilities were and understand the game rules as well as possible violations. This meeting was just like a drivers meeting but with referees, and I was glad we had this meeting since there was a lot of questions asked during it.
After making sure everyone has a certain amount of understanding regarding the game rule, it was time to prepare for the actual driver meeting with all team members and coaches. I considered it as the biggest challenge yet the part of the competition I was looking forward to the most. I discussed the plan for the meeting with the other head referee, and decided that she will translate the points I mentioned while I talk in Manderin, so we can make sure everyone understands the rule.
The competition was split into morning and afternoon, and there was practice matches, qualification matches, and the finals matches that the teams will play. I started to get the hang of ruling as well as the schedule as time goes by. Much more, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and was even hoping that the competition can continue just a little longer.
The whole competition ended with the award ceremony and the group photo of all the participants. It was really a exciting day. Meeting every one of my friends that came to volunteer was especially amazing. I had a really fun time chatting with everyone during the competition. I will definitely come and help for the next time as well.
