Download - Unsporting Conduct
UNSPORTING CONDUCTUNSPORTING CONDUCT
François Grossi, L2, France
Judge Conference GP Lyon
November 2nd 2012
IntroductionIntroduction
● Preserve integrity of your tournament
● Anybody can act unsportive
● Focus on USC Minor, Major and Aggressive behavior
● Why I chose to talk about that : it's hard to detect
● Goal : set common ground to know how to deal with
● Beware : USC can be verbal or non verbal
Not fair play vs UnsportingNot fair play vs Unsporting
● Unfair to you may not be unfair to the rules
● « Legal tricks » : dealing with derived informa-tion
● → In doubt : Head judge interpretation
● Example : The Missed Trigger IPG rules
Golden rulesGolden rules
● Unsporting conduct disrupts the tournament
● Deal with the situation...● THEN assess the penalty● The player must correct his/her be-
havior
I/ The infractions themselvesI/ The infractions themselves
● Minor : « excessively vulgar or profane » language used
● Fishing for penalties
● Leaving Excessive trash
● Argument with judges
● Anger or excessive joy
ExampleExample
● Players shout excessively during deck registra-tion at limited PTQ events
● At what time do you intervene ?
● How much noise is acceptable ?
● Perception of disruption ? ?
USC Major : definitionUSC Major : definition
● Fails to follow a direct and specific instruction
Warning : different than TE-Failure to follow...
● Insults a « protected » class (religion, gender...)
● Aggressive behaviour not directed at another person or property
● Argument with the HJ after being asked to stop
● Spectator who doesn't leave the play area after being asked to
USC : Aggressive behaviorUSC : Aggressive behavior
● Threats of aggression
● Direct aggression
● WARNING : Verbal or not verbal
● Threats against a judge
● Tears a card from another player
ExamplesExamples
● Player calls : « Judge ». Judge is coming.
Then « Can I have a judge of my country answe-ring my call ? »
Examples (2)Examples (2)
● Player calls : « Judge ». Judge is coming.
Then « I'm sorry can I have a Level 2 judge answering my call ? »
Examples (3)Examples (3)
● A player is disappointed of his results (3-3 drop despite he earned 3 byes at a local GPT).
● After his drop he claims that his sealed pool was horrible take one mythic rare and tears it. What do you do ?
Examples (4)Examples (4)
● A player gets a GL for USC Major. After the ru-ling he comes to you and claims « My op-ponent did the same thing and he got no pe-nalty ! ». What do you do ?
Additional remarksAdditional remarks
● The TO may ask the player to leave the area even if he is not DQ
● Care to not escalate the situation
● Ignorance is no excuse for this infraction
● Odd cases : instruct the player to stop. If he doesn't then you may penalize with USC - Major
Dealing with the conflict Dealing with the conflict (GL&DQ)(GL&DQ)
● Identify the root causes : gap between expectations and outcomes
● Show empathy but don't tell you're sorry → mitigate the conflict
● Immediate intervention : cut off the communication between players. « Tell me what happened ». You are now the listener. → Active and reflective listening
● Same process than an investigation
Active and reflective listeningActive and reflective listening
● Listen to both players and tell them before you will do this
● Active listening : eye contact, direct and follow up question. Do not show disbelief (his truth)
● Reflective listening : rephrase what he says in your own word.
● Aim : reduce the conflict, establish some respect and authority for you, then you can explain your ruling and they listen to you
DiplomacyDiplomacy
● Embarassing situation. You may want to deliver the penalty first to the player who committed the act
● Struggle between time management and conflict resolution. Too quick : they are still angry (at you), too slow : the entire tournament is de-layed and worse, they may come to see and empower the drama.
● « This is my final ruling, I am open to discus-sion » (From th HJ it is a powerful tool)
ConclusionConclusion
● Not so common, but leads to awkward situations
● Remember the golden rules :
● To recognize : does it disrupt the tournament (not necessarily individuals) ?
● To handle : resolve the conflict before any penal-ty
● Take care of missteps : you have to stay above the conflict, focus only on the behavior
● You must not fall into USC yourself !