Big Boss Flamingo: How To Be Head NSO

Sexy flamingo costume!  Yeah!

This won’t be a definitive post, because this only happened to me before Christmas.  Plus although I know all the positions and have experience in all but the Scoreboard, there weren’t really any other nominees for the job!   So just the basics, but very good basics nonetheless :)

As usual I found myself chucked in the deep end when DRR entered the 2015 British Championships, and also decided to have a two-game event made of a UKRDA sanctioned game against Bedfordshire Rebellion and then a crazy Hunger Games themed charity game where the audience paid to help or hinder a team (making them skate the jam backwards, having a race between the jammers to get extra points, freeing penalised skaters from the box early etc.)  It was a fantastic event and we raised £225 from the charity game.

And my first public event as HNSO? ...

In the end it went fine!  I was way more stressed during the run-up than on the actual day, and a lot of that came simply because I knew on the day that I was prepared.  I’ve seen HNSOing done really badly, and experienced first hand the stress it can bring to a game day, and was determined not to do that to my crew.  I’d thought it through, made checklists, done everything I could think of.  After a certain point the game begins and what happens happens.  The success is all in the prep work.  Here’s what I learned and how to do it.

    1.  Find your crew

Start doing this AS SOON as you know the event date.  Diaries fill up fast, particularly on the weekends.

Our team is quite small right now, so there are rarely many people spare to NSO.  The team you are playing should be fielding you some NSOs as well, so find out who their HNSO or Captain is and start a dialogue.  Rebellion brought several NSOs with them, which was great.  

If you’re still short, get networking!  We had friends from Nottingham Roller Derby and the Birmingham Blitz Dames turn up to help.  Make a point of asking for their team's game schedule, so you can try and repay the favour.  If your team are visiting somewhere for a casual scrim, go along as a guest NSO (they love that!) and become FB friends with their HNSO  There’s also an NSO/Referee Recruitment Page on Facebook where you can advertise your event and ask for applicants, although direct contact always works better.  Make sure to include all the important details in your post.

    2.  Assign the positions

To run a fully staffed game of roller derby, you will need:

•        1 Jam Timer
•        1 Penalty Tracker, 1 Inside Whiteboard, 1 Penalty Wrangler
•        1 Penalty Box Manager, 2 Penalty Box Timers
•        2 Scorekeepers
•        1 Scoreboard Operator
•        2 Lineup Trackers
•        2 Alts/Track Fixers

I try not to refer to the Fixers as TrackRats – it’s a dead simple job but as soon as the tape holding the track down catches in a skate, suddenly they’re the most important people in the room!

Add the Refs and NSOs to their own Officials Facebook group, with all the game details (date, time, location, Official Meeting time, facilities available) and use this to find out what they can do.  All the NSOs applying should be able to tell you which positions they have experience with and are comfortable performing during a game.  The hardcore ones may even have CVs listing their roles in previous games!  Use this info to work out who should be go where, and make a chart showing this available on the FB page ideally at least fortnight before the game.  And tell them whether to wear grey or pink.

If you absolutely cannot get a full crew, you need to start pulling positions.  First to go are the Alts (Jam Timer and Inside Track Penalty crew can do it, helped by the Alt Ref if there is one.)  Next pull the Penalty Wrangler – if the other two know their stuff they’ll be able to manage.  Next you have two options.  If you don’t need stats after the game, pull one or both Lineup Trackers.  If you do, you need to amalgamate the penalty box to just two Timers – this only really works if they are very comfortable with paperwork and can communicate effectively in the case of simultaneous jammers in the box. 

After this point… you’re kind of screwed :P  But if you nailed Step 1, this should never happen.

      3.  Do the paperwork

OH MY GOSH PLEASE DO THE PAPERWORK.  The HNSOing disaster I was talking about had our crew scrambling to sort out forms that weren’t even up to date, there were bits missing, and what we were given certainly did not have the rosters on them.  Especially at an event with more than one game, this is a nightmare.  But very easily solved:

• Download the WFTDA Statsbook.  This is an Excel document available online that contains paperwork for all the NSO positions, plus a couple of extra bits you won’t need.
•  Read it through.  There are some instruction pages, and an IGRF page (which in my opinion is the hardest one, just because the team, refs and NSO rosters all need to go on it). 
• Populate it.  The two team captains should be able to send you a roster of who will be playing, or at least who is on the team (it’s easier to cross people out than write them in!).  The Statsbook is clever, and as you fill in the IGRF form with the skater numbers it will populate the paperwork that needs them.
• Print out what you need.  Remember each game will have two periods, and also that some positions will have one NSO (Penalty Tracker) while others will have two (Scorekeepers).  Work through it slowly and in order and it all makes a lot of sense.
• Don’t forget to also print out 2 Expulsion forms (one for each team) and two Official Review forms (one for each team) and your populated IGRF form, which will need signing by various people after the game.  These should be kept centre track during the game for use by the referees.
• Package it up.  Buy some clear folders and label them Game 1 and Game 2.  Guard them with your life.

         4.  Kit Check

     

We have a dedicated NSO box.  In it there needs to be:

• Enough clipboards for all the NSOs doing paperwork, plus 1 for the ref paperwork I just mentioned.
• Inside Whiteboard + chalk/pens
• 2 small whiteboards for the Penalty Wrangler and Penalty Box Manager + pens
• Stopwatches + spares       Whistles + spares
• Lots of pens or (I prefer these) mechanical pencils. 
• Big letters for the Penalty Box (2 J's and 4 B's)
• Track tape and scissors for your fixer, and anything else that needs sticking. There's always something that will need sticking, you'll see.
• Official Snacks.  A tub of Celebrations always goes down well!  Water is also good, and a non-sugary alternative is often appreciated.

 You will also need a laptop and projector for the scoreboard, a projector screen if you can get one (if not, just use the wall) and ANY AND ALL CABLES ANYBODY HAS.  Seriously, the cable you bring is never the right cable.  Bring all the cables.  And triple check the scoreboard programme has been downloaded onto the laptop beforehand.  WFTDA recommend the Carolina scoreboard.

      5.  On the Day

When the track is being set out, make sure all the kit is in the right places, and that the Period 1 paperwork is on clipboards and on the right chairs.  All you have to do with this is collect it in during the half time interval and replace it with the Period 2 paperwork.

So you’ve all turned up on time, and you’re having your Officials meeting.  Usually the Head Ref will say a few words first, then you corral your NSOs for a little talk.  This can be as formal or as chill as you feel is appropriate.

• Identify yourself.
• Do a register to make sure they’re all there.
• Run through the chart to make sure everyone knows their positions and is happy doing them.  If someone isn’t sure, refer them first to the leader of their team (e.g. if a Penalty Box Timer has forgotten how to do paperwork, their Box Manager or fellow Timer should go over it with them).  It means you don’t have to teach four people at once and are free to deal with genuine emergencies.
• Remind them about NSO Etiquette – phones off, be impartial, cover or remove your NSO Tshirt if you want to mingle during half time or watch a later game you’re not part of, be in your positions 10mins before each period starts.
• Get the Lineup Trackers to check that the teams match the rosters you have.  If not, you adjust the paperwork and Whiteboard before the game starts.
• Disperse them!  After this point they’re on their own and should pretty much look after themselves.   Check in with them at half time for technical questions and morale boosting.

6.  After the game:

• Collect up your Period 2 paperwork.
• Get your IGRF form signed by both Team Captains and the Head Ref (who will probably want to look over all the paperwork first).
• Thank everyone publicly in person if you can catch them, and formally (use the Facebook page before you delete it) for coming and doing all the things!
• Have a well deserved drink at the after-party!
• Copy the paperwork into the Statsbook  (it explains how) and send it plus a scan of your signed IGRF form, to the relevant sanctioning body (UKRDA or WFTDA).  You have two weeks to do this.  Team captains may also ask for a copy so they can look at the stats. 

You did it!

There may be other bits, like forms for sanctioning games, but at the moment I don't have to deal with those so that'll be a less interesting post for another time.