BOUNCE PASS A WASH OUT

I was the assigned referee in a boys’ varsity high school basketball game. I just watched the girls’ varsity game before the boys, the benches were cleared and table reset for the boys’ game. We did our pregame routine. With my eyes on my partner, I confirmed we were ready to go and I tossed the jump ball. About two minutes into the game, a couple of players kept shrugging their shoulders at me, as if to say, something’s wrong. At one of the dead-ball moments before administering a throw-in, I noticed the issue. Can you guess? We started the game with the girls’ ball! I immediately got a boys’ ball from the home bench, proclaimed my error to the coaches and continued with the game. The score was tied at the time, so evidently neither team gained too much of an advantage!

— David Doerflein

The officiating crew was just about to begin a high school girls’ varsity volleyball match. The stands were full of raucous fans and the gym manager had positioned himself at the main gym entrance. The national anthem was completed and the teams were beckoned onto the court from the endlines. R2 checked the lineups and I took one final swig of water before the R2 gave the court back to me. Just as she did, my water bottle slipped off the stand. Water spilled everywhere. I thought, “Oh boy, this is going to be a long night.” The gym manager got a mop and bucket and worked to mop it up. We eventually proceeded without further delay, but I changed water bottles after that match.

— Sue Doty