Being a paintball referee is a thankless job. All you get to do is run around the field, occasionally get pelted (accidentally or otherwise) with paintballs and then call players out who don't think they got hit. Refs, though, are what make many games as fun as they are. With good refs you don't have to worry about the other team cheating and you don't have to constantly call paint checks - a good ref can be the difference between an average day on the field and a really fun game. Plus, with many walk-on fields, the refs are the ones who organize the teams, decide which games you play and make sure everybody stays safe.
Paintball refs are generally low-paid and under-appreciated. They really do make a difference, so the next time you're on the field, take a minute and thank the ref. You won't regret it.
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Some of our team, TYRANNY were refs at the PSP Phoenix event. We had recently been certified, and had never been to Phoenix before, so we thought it was an opportunity to see what was on “the other side”. We learned a lot from being refs. One of the most important things was REFS DO SEE EVERYTHING. Not to put anyone’s ability down, but if you cheat, the ref DO see it. You may have one ref that just couldn’t get to you because something else whas going on right in front of him, and that call ended the game. But they do see everything. Another thing we realized, the refs do not single you out from game to game. We used to think that if we questioned a call,…. the refs were “after” us the next game. Believe me, you are just bodies. We were thanked by quite a few teams for our reffing, even if that team was knocked out of pre-lims. Over all our experience with reffing was educational, hard work, with alot of knowlege gained. We’d do it again. As a matter of fact, some of the team is reffing in Chicago.
as a ref i can say it is very thankless job. Dont get me wrong i love doing it and would do it everyday if the field i worked at was open 7 days. I just wish walk on / rec players would relize that when there is only one or two of us out there we can not be everywhere at one time. Plus even if we dont see the person breaking a rule we do listen and keep an eye out for it in the next games
This is a great post. I ref a lot at the field where I go to and we are not appreciated at all. For a job where you don’t get to do much, and don’t get paid, a little gratitude is the least to ask for. Without us refs around, paintball games would be unorganized and no fun. And please, don’t give the refs attitude. It common sense not to insult the people who are in control.
I just started refing this month. I did it mainly because I really can’t afford to play every weekend…says the wife lol. But I just enjoy being around paintball, playing or not. I would recomend every new player who wants to get into paintball to go to their local field and ask to ref 1 weekend a month. Its a great way to learn lots and understand the behind the sceen aspect of paintball.