About the baseball refereeing with Marek Vičar
The article was originally published in 2/2021 Triple Play magazine. You can order the magazine (Czech language only) by supporting our project at Patreon.
Despite being a fundamental part of each sport, their performance is often overlooked, or in the worse case, they are only mentioned when a questionable, emotionally packed decisions come in play. Yet the referees are likely the only people who can tell you how difficult it is to referee the top games. We decided to interview Marek Vičar, one of the long serving referees of Czech baseball, who shared his experience from the field with us.
Thirty one year old referee started with the baseball as a player of Draci Brno. After finishing his playing days he, however, decided to remain with the baseball. After a time where he tried out coaching, Marek decided to commit himself fully into refereeing.
„I enjoyed coaching, but I never saw myself as someone who would one day lead the national team, or who could move forward in the position. On the other hand, as a referee, I had a goal to be in Extraliga, then I wanted to referee European Championship, then Championship Cup, World Championship, and so on,“ he admitted.
The experienced referee, who was awarded Czech Extraliga Referee of the Year multiple times, managed to fulfill all the goals he set for himself. But that does not mean, he has nothing else to strive for.
„My next goal is Los Angeles Olympics, where, I hope, baseball makes its return. It seems far fetched, but so was World Championship in 2011.“
Despite baseball being an amateur sport in Czech Republic, and referees spending their free time on the job, Czech sport can produce a lot of good referees. We only need to mention Zděnek Židek, who was promoted to High A MiLB category and who is currently the only European referee in the competition. There are also Jiří Kroupa and Vladimír Richter, who were part of European Championship this year, or Miroslav Kaigl, who refereed U23 World Championship in Mexico. What does Marek think of current referee situation in Czech Republic, however?
„I would divide the current referee situation into two parts. First, we can, as Referee Committee, produce referees who are part of the top European and world tournaments and they referee the key games there. So there is enough quality, however, we lack in quantity and sufficient number of referees, so it sometimes happens that we are unable to fill some of the local games and these need to be refereed by the clubs themselves. Attracting new referees is one of the priorities of Referee Committee, however, this is a difficult task.“
Recently, there was a number of Czech referees who decided to retire and it will up to the new generation to pick up the torch. But what was the reason for their retirement?
„I think it’s logical that referees, who did the job for example for over twenty years, retire. They want to have time for other things as well. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find new people to fill their place and so we are in the situation in which we are.“
In baseball, like in many other sports, referees remain an underrated part of the game. It is perhaps understandable that many would rather help their team to a victory as players. Despite introducing online streams to Extraliga, where fans can scrutinize close calls frame by frame, the referees currently do not have this technology available on the field and so they are left with split second decisions to make. The fact that their every decisions can be nitpicked to the smallest of the details by whoever with an internet connection, may contribute to a smaller number of people willing to give refereeing a shot.
„Referees will never be looked at as the most positive people in the world. There will always be someone, who will judge you for any little thing,“ admits Vičar. „Each close call has a half of people convinced that you made a bad call. Furthermore, there is increased media pressure on the referees and that’s thanks to online streams. From the fans point of view, this is great, however, from the referee’s point of view, this is not so. Suddenly, anyone, with even a marginal grasp of the rules or game mechanics can become an expert on social media and try to make fools from the referees. I think that many potential referees notice this and unfortunately they decide it is not worth it to them.“
Despite fans disagreeing with their decisions at times, Extraliga referees have to go through an extensive training and referee a substantial number of the game in lower leagues, before they can be in Czech’s top league, even if the decreased number of the referees currently speeds up this process. How can one become Extraliga referee, however?
„Usually people start in the regional youth competitions. The teams themselves decide who will referee in these games. Afterwards, the referee is allowed to take part in U18 and U21 Extraliga, that is under Referee Committee jurisdiction, who decide who will be promoted. The so-called Road to Extraliga took at least five years in the past, but it’s realistically shorter these days.“
Speeding up the process is a bandage to a problem, which does not really have a quick solution, but it, too, comes with a price.
„We have a license system, based on the number of refereed games and on how long is the referee part of the league, which defines which leagues they can participate in. All would work well, if there was enough of us, which it is not, so it sometimes happen that some of the referees will take part in the games, where they would normally not be able to be.“
The lack of people also brought changes to a number of games one has to take part in, Marek Vičar admitted when asked about whether referees are primarily picked for the games close to their homes.
„It used to be like that. Referees more or less refereed the games close to where they lived, but now, with smaller numbers, which in some regions means we have only two referees on three regions, there is no other way than to sent them sometimes more than 150 kilometers away. This is a large financial strain for the association, but unfortunately there is currently no other way.“
Prolonged traveling contributes to an increased time commitment of the referees and puts a lot of pressure on their readiness. Referee Committee, however, helps the referees to increase the quality of their craft via annual trainings so that all of them are ready for the upcoming season.
„Referee Committee organizes a training in the regions before the start of the season. Unfortunately, it had to be cancelled in the past two years due to pandemic. We have a virtual training, where, under the guide of the only Czech professional referee, the participants learn the proper technique with two referees on the field and this year it will be focused on the rules. I would like to invite everyone, who would like to learn something about baseball rules.“
As Marek further explains, the off-season is not a time to rest either.
„We also have an off-season training once in two weeks. There we train work on the home plate and game management.“
Finishing the interview, we asked Marek, what he finds the most enjoyable about refereeing, which leagues he prefers and how he himself sees the quality of Czech Baseball.
„In general referees like the game just like the rest, be it players, coaches, or fans. I think for the most, me included, it is an experience to be part of the game as such. I like to say that I am the fan with the best seats in the house.“
„I like to referee Czech Extraliga, that is, in my opinion, of high quality. I enjoy the situations where pitching decides the game with bases loaded in the ninth inning and there is just no way you can make a bad call. On the other hand, if there’s time, I don’t mind refereeing eleven years old, where parents, at time, can make a much denser atmosphere than in Czech series.“
Despite all the issues, Czech Republic can produce quality referees, even if their number is currently in decline. They are, however, instrumental for the future of the sports in the same way a wide fan and player base is. We can only hope this trend will be reversed in the future and there will be more, who can represent the country not only at bat, or on the mound, but also behind the bases. If you want to know more about the success and future plans of Czech referees, you can follow them at UmpiresBaseballCzech.
