I don't know if one can really make an accurate statement about observers until they have played a game against a team who blatantly takes advantage of the rules. Being from Seppo-land, I have had the pleasure of taking part in few of these games at a local level, all the way to the UPA nationals.
To put it mildly, it is not fun. When there is a game that you've been preparing for for an entire year, and to have that game ripped from you, it hurts. You call for observers next time. When the observers are there, you do feel a bit more powerless as to the outcome of the disputes, but when people are being complete assholes, this is a good thing. The rules of ultimate are quite vague, and although they are to be interpreted in the 'sprit of the game,' this does not always happen. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing here in the U.K. because of the high spirit and personal responsibility of the competition. I feel that there is no current need for observers, but that the door should not be shut on the idea, because you never know what bad apples will arise. I think that the ability to be given a 'straight red' should exist. However, I do not believe in a 'yellow' because this leaves the room for the allowance of un-spirited or dangerous play without immediate reprimand. I whole-heartedly believe that there should be line-judges for all semi and final matches in the tour. If the lines-judge does not have a clear angle on the play, they can leave the decision in the hands of the player. As Alex stated just earlier, I too am very tired of the 'send it back' mentality. This is not good spirit, I often find this a cop-out. Good spirit is a quick and concise discussion with an absolute outcome. Robert Alpen Clapham __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pootle.near.me.uk/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp
