“Referee’s camera causes trouble for John Brzenk” >>>

“Referee’s camera causes trouble for John Brzenk” # Armwrestling # Armpower.net

We usually don’t publicize anonymous letters, but this one was interesting enough to make an exception. One of WAF referees writes here about camera use

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For some time now a hot topic on Internet pages and forums has been refereeing with use of a camera. As most of you know, that idea has occurred to PAL a few years ago. For the first time that system has been used in Kremlin in 2005, during the John Brzenk - Taras Ivakin match. The use of camera has caused some trouble for John Brzenka record number of fouls for raising his elbow. Why was thatwe leave that for the end of this text.

The
following years have witnessed the development of camera usage during bouts. In 2009 at the Las Vegas tournament (Vendetta in Vegas), HD cameras have been used, along with a high quality monitor. This allowed for a much more comfortable referee work. No contestant could argue with referee decisions, because they knew how the system works and what to expect.

The most recent tournament where cameras were used was the one in Gdynia, the World Armwrestling Championship. Cameras were used during the finals, the last 2 days of the event. There have been many comments on camera work killing the spirit of the competition. Why is that?

I have pondered that question for the last month, and one answer presents itself. The world of armwrestling will not like that answer. Its not a simple answer, but its the best one. That answer istraining, Ladies and Gentlemen! Training your technique. If the rules say that you cant lift your elbow during a bout, than thats what you shouldnt do. Look at footballeven a slight brush with the opposing teams player means a foul. In snookera brush of the wrong ballthats a foul. In basketballone toe outside of the court line, while holding the ballfoul. These are the rules. Footballers, snooker players, basketball playersthey all train hard to avoid any mistakes. Our sport is no different in that aspect. Train to learn not to raise your elbow, not to move it sideways. A bigger or softer pad will be of no help here. Its up to you, dear contestants, whether a fight will be concluded in a fair, sporting manner, or spoiled by fouls caused by faulty training and technique.


Anonymous WAF Referee