I may be an okish ref, but I'm a PRO alt ref.
Now, I know. Some people think being alt is a slap in the face. "I was *only* selected as alt". But to hell with that - there is a SKILL to being an alt. And it's not just about sitting on your arse.
Your main job is dealing with the official review paperwork. Never seen it before? You can find it in the WFTDA Statsbook.
I'm not going to tell you how to fill out every field (I mean, 'Team' should be self explanatory, right?), but here are some of my hard won TOP TIPS:
Before the game starts, fill in your name in the 'Tracked
By' section, and the date. Trust me - you're going to want to have this
done up front, cause otherwise you will forget. The teams should be
pre-filled by the HNSO, but if not make sure you note their colour too -
sometimes it's hard to remember which team is which!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU FILL IN THE PAPERWORK IN PENCIL. Means you can quickly sketch the notes and correct mistakes.
For the Length of review -- you can only fill this in once the review has ended. And I guarantee that when you look up to see how long the review has been, it'll be showing the lineup time instead. If you have a fitbit, or other watch/smart watch that has a timer on
it, note the time already elapsed (the scoreboard peeps will always be
faster than you) and start your timer. That way you will have the exact
time with no panic because the scoreboard people are super slick. You
don't need to do this for ORs used as team timeouts - they last 1 minute!
Try to be clear and concise. Basically you want something like:"Green would like cut issued to black 17 (jammer). Cut green blocker 71." Short and to the point (like me!).
TALK TO THE PENALTY BOX PEOPLE. You're hanging out with them any way, and I guarantee they're interested in what is happening. It's *totally fine* to tell the PBM/PBTs what a review was called for and what the outcome was. Make sure you don't obviously do something like say a skater in the box is being ejected...before they've been told. And be mindful of how you word things (be professional!). But there's no harm in letting the PBM/PBTs know that the black team wanted a cut called on the green jammer, but no refs saw a cut so they didn't have the review upheld.
If you're called up, be very honest about your limitations. Chances are (particularly at a tournament) you're stepping into a well gelled crew. Don't be a hero. If you're not the greatest front OPR, your other OPRs need to know. It's best that you slip in as seamlessly as possible. It's not about you - it's about what's best for the crew.
Finally, be polite, be professional, and act as part of the crew. You're not just an alt. You're *the* alt!
I've probably missed stuff but these are the key things for me!
