Had the recert exam two weeks ago and last weekend had the recert class to complete my 2014 requirements to maintain my 7. The online exam was different. Since it was open book, it seemed like it was going to be easy. It was not. Many well worked questions that focused on the advice to referees more so than the laws of the game.
I got an 87, which means that 13 of them were wrong. When I looked over the correct answers (something I appreciated in this online exam), I had to admit that some of them were right, I just didn't read the question as carefully as I should have. However, there were two that I totally disagreed with. I won't go into the specifics, but I made a note to ask my instructor at the recert clinic to see what they thought.
When I went to the recert clinic, it was somewhat of a madhouse. Since they didn't offer many recent clinics in the fall for 7s and above, this one seemed to be packed. There was no chance to ask specific questions at the end because we had to be out of the location we were in. I am going to have to email my point of contact and see what they say about the questions.
Still, I guess I am ok for 2014.
Now on to what shocked me the most about the recert clinic. It does not appear that there are many rule changes. There are, instead, clarifications mostly. Especially to the offside law. Which we know what that means, more confusion, because some of us will read it one way and others will read it another way. Still, nothing has changed, just clarifying language.
The interesting thing about the recert class was the time spent on social media. They made a big deal about not posting anything related to upcoming matches to Facebook, Twitter, etc. They even gave an example of two referees that got into hot water when they did such a thing and used it as a word of caution. They did not ban it outright, just more of a strong suggestion to not use social media to give specifics of assignments or comments about players, etc.
This boils down to common sense, but then again, I do post a lot of what happens on the field here as well. However, I feel like I do not personally identify anyone except myself. I wonder what they would say about what I have done up to now and if it crosses the line as to their barriers with social media. If I get an answer, I will let everyone know (or I will just stop posting, and by my silence, you will know the answer).
I will leave you with one comment the instructors had about posting on social media. They had a phrase in there that said "Silence is hard to misconstrue." I would have to agree with that.
