LNV Pro-B (Men) – Cambrai v Orange (LBM042)

Saturday 14 November 2009, 8.30pm at Gymnase Jean-Marie Vanpoulle, Cambrai

Referees: MacIntyre, Grant (SCO) & Rachard, Patrick (FRA)

Spectators: 576

Result: 0-3

21-25 (32 mins)
12-25 (37 mins)
22-25 (26 mins)

Total: 55-75 (95 mins)

Once again it was an early start to get to Glasgow Airport for the 0925 flight to Paris CDG but I had company this time in the form of my colleague Brian McDougall whom I collected en route to the airport. Our flight was on time and we were greeted by Patrick Rachard on arrival in Paris. Patrick took us for lunch in Colombes and then we embarked on a whistle stop tour of Paris by car as Brian had never been there before – Brian was to see a lot of Paris over the weekend…

We returned to the airport where Brian and I checked into the Ibis hotel before meeting up with Mamdouh Baklouti who was going to referee with Brian in Paris that evening. Patrick and I departed on the 155km drive to Cambrai and we arrived very early which meant that we had time for a coffee in the town before watching some of a football match that was taking place at the ground next to the sports hall. We found out later that it was a match between Cambrai and Le Touquet in the French 5th Division – the score was 2-1 to Cambrai when we left but the final score was 3-3 with Le Touquet grabbing an equaliser in the 95th minute!

Patrick and I made our way to the sports hall where we met the President of the Club and other Club officials, the line-judges, the scorer and the players/coaches of both teams. The Orange players were particularly interested in why I’d travelled over to France for the match but seemed to be re-assured when Patrick pointed out that I was an International Referee and that the matches I’d been given in the LNV were to help me practice at a higher level.

The first set was very close and it took a few points to get a feel for the game but I felt that I settled into it quicker than I did in Beauvais a few weeks ago because I knew what to expect this time. The play was very fast with many combinations and lots of back court attacks but the players were technically very good which meant there were very few faults. The set was eventually won by Orange 25-21 as Cambrai made a couple of errors at crucial times.

Set two was exactly the same as the first set with nothing between the teams until Cambrai were forced into a change when their influential Croatian captain Ratko Peris was injured and had to be carried off the court. This upset Cambrai’s rhythm and Orange went on to win the set easily 25-12. Again, there was very little for me to do although I did give one invasion decision against Cambrai towards the end of the set which was disputed.

After the 10 minute break between sets 2 and 3, Cambrai came out stronger and led the third set all the way to the second Technical Time Out. As the Orange players became more frustrated, their discipline began to falter but I was able to deal with this using eye contact and a quiet toot on my whistle. We then had the most disputed decision of the match when Patrick called the ball out as it had hit a rope that was hanging from the roof – I must admit that I didn’t see the rope move but I had no reason to doubt Patrick so despite the protest of the Cambrai captain and the inevitable boos from the home crowd, the decision stood. Orange gradually fought their way back into the set and they went on to win the match as Cambrai made a succession of errors.

With the post match administration complete, we enjoyed a beer with the line-judges and some of the Club officials and the players. Patrick and I headed to the local Buffalo Grill where we chatted about the game – Patrick made several observations, most of which were ‘procedural’. This was re-assuring as there were a couple of borderline decisions on handling, a couple of which I gave and a couple that I’d let go but since Patrick didn’t mention them, I assumed that in general I had got the ‘technical’ decisions correct.

The main thing I need to work on is the timing of my decision making/signals as Patrick told me that I was going too quick – I need to slow down and look to all of the officials so that I develop a routine that gives me time to make a decision on those occasions when I’m not exactly sure. If I continue the way I currently make decisions, it shows when I’m not sure because there is a delay that isn’t there at other times. I also need to look at my line-judges and 2nd official on every point, I tended not to look at the line-judges for the really easy calls. I need to be careful of setters invading into the opponent’s court to retrieve the ball and whistle this as a fault, Patrick felt there was one that I didn’t give when I should have done so. I need to tighten up my ‘in’ signal – I need to point to the centre of the 3m line, I was pointing somewhere between the 3m and centre lines. Finally, I need to be more ‘firm’ with my decisions – the players need to know that when I give a signal there is no room for it to be queried. With the analysis complete, we enjoyed our dinner before heading back to Paris. I was surprised that we were back at the hotel before Brian and Mamdouh, they had gone to do some sightseeing in Paris!

Brian and I met for breakfast on Sunday morning, left our luggage at the airport and headed into Paris on the train. I took Brian on a walking tour of Paris and we ended up at Sacre Coeur where the views of the city were stunning. We headed back to the airport, had a bite to eat and caught our flight back to Glasgow. I made it home just after 11pm and was asleep about 15 minutes later!

To conclude, I learned a lot this weekend and I have some areas that I need to work on before I go back to France in a few weeks time – I know that Patrick will be looking for an instant improvement, I’m going to do my best to make the necessary adjustments.

Grant MacIntyre