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I shoot ultimate frisbee.
At Beach Worlds in Dubai in March, I was able to set a result right by showing a photo.
At Worlds, there are no refs. The players make their own calls.
We score by catching a pass in an American football style endzone.
On this play, a receiver was headed directly toward the back endzone line. Big dive, great catch with a spray of sand. The defender called the receiver out. The receiver had no idea where he was and his momentum carried him off the field.
It wasn't even close to being out of bounds. The player's first point of contact was about 6' in from the back line.
I told the guys that I had the shot. At Worlds, players are encouraged to ask to see a photo if someone has something that's definitive. I had been so far from their field that they didn't know I was there.
The defender was eager to see the shot even though it could only cut against him. He was surprised, but I told him that from his angle it directly behind the receiver it would be very difficult to know what was going on.
The defender's team was a little confused (we had language issues, but the defender involved in the play spoke English), but glad to have had the correct result.
In the US, we're not to show photos to influence a call. I very much prefer it this way. We have some ref-like officials in the US, and they will ask me off the record about a close call they might have made. If they missed the call, I'll claim focus, uncertainty, etc. If they got the call, I'll show them. I don't want them worrying about a blown call when they're in the middle of a game. All those discussions are off the record - small sport and the same officials work College Nationals, Club Nationals, etc.
There's a very strong tradition of good-natured heckling in the sport. I really have to go mute when I'm shooting. If I know the players really well (e.g. teammates from reunion tourneys, league, etc.), I might heckle while shooting but only if no one else is around. One I couldn't resist was when my league teammate made a great catch (at Nationals) going over backwards in a flip and coming up with on his knees holding the disc up. Perhaps the best catch I've seen him make in the 10 years I've seen him play. We were on a far corner field away from HQ and the press, so I screamed, "Boring!"
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