Stickler

Twice in league playoffs I was criticized for calls that were deemed minor, or too petty for league (and there may have been two more, but that feedback didn't get back to me). All the calls shared a common theme--how and where the disc is put into play. Somewhere along the line, this is the area of the rules that I became most precise about, so it leads to calls on infractions that are slight, but they are infractions. The calls were all made on experienced players, and in my mind, they should be called because the purpose of league is teach new players the rules. And that means the experienced players should know them. I don't make the calls to gain an advantage--it's to play by the rules (or maybe it IS just the ones I want to enforce--it's not like I make delay of game calls, which would be pretty easy in league). THe only regret I have on some of them is that I recognized the infraction, thought about it for a bit and then called it, rather than following my instinct and calling it immediately.

Those pet peeves include:
When a disc goes out of bounds, the disc is ground checked in with the pivot foot next to the line (commonly thought of as on the line, but that's out of bounds). Twice I called travels on veteran players when they were somewhere between 8" and 2 feet off the line. The first was deemed petty, the second the excuse was the crowd on the sideline. I agree to an extent on the first one. And the second, well, then the crowd needs to move, not the player.

However!

The reason I make that call, even if it's only 6 inches is that from my perspective as a thrower, and distance off the sideline is a relief, even a couple of inches, improving throwing angles and making the marker's job more difficult. It's possible I'm just not a good enough thrower, so I need all the room I can get. Or maybe other people don't have the hangups I do. But if I feel like that 6" or 8" will help me, and I don't take it, why should someone else?

Next is the need for a ground check. The ground check says "I am putting the disc into play/establishing my pivot foot here". The 11th edition was updated to define the 3 states of the disc and clarify that if the disc moves from where position is gained, it must be ground checked. The ground check also prevents/minimizes the offensive player from using any of that momentum on the throw which he or she would not otherwise have. I have a smaller pet peeve for those that ground check whenever they pick up a disc, but that's pretty minor (but also unnecessary as a disc laying on the playing field proper is "in play" and not "live"). Related, the location of the pivot when gaining possession of a stopped in bounds disc is either overlooked, or unclear. The rules state "When there is a definitive spot for putting the disc into play, the part of the body in contact with that spot is the pivot," which means the pivot should be at the spot the disc is picked up from. This may seem minor (and I've only called this travel once, on someone taking the disc laying on the short half of the field behind the midfield line for an opportunity for a two-point play), but that initial change of 6-10" can make the well positioned, legitimately stationed marker less so.

Another call (which wasn't actually a call, since I wasn't actually on the field, but I did tell them what the rule was) was someone calling for a brick after they stopped a sliding disc. Nope. Need to call the brick before touching. Or just catch the pull and start your offense.

The last issue is one in which I get frustrated with my teammates, but it annoys me so much I let the other team know when they are boofing it as well: waiting for a defensive check to start play after a brick. Why does this happen? How did it become so ingrained in everyone? If the defense chose not to mark the thrower, he couldn't start play? This one aggravates me a great deal since it's not uncommon to turn the advantageousness of the brick into a disadvantage because of an in position, and ready defense. Of course the advantage is that so many people assume that the brick is a defensive check that nobody does anything until it happens, so there I am in position for a throw (or to make one) and there's no action. Grrr.