On Saturday morning I did a very brave thing. I took a photo of Sophie and her teammates on the netball court. It was a beautiful morning, the girls had just played very well, and even though the final score was a draw, they were thrilled to not have suffered a humiliating defeat like they did in the previous week's match. Fortunately the umpire's back was turned, so she did not witness a succession of mobile phones whipped out to take advantage of a rare opportunity. I think we got away with the photo session only because this formidable head umpire was soundly scolding a junior umpire for failing to enforce one of the many rules of this complicated sport.
The head umpire can be seen in the photo above. She is the one dressed in the white jacket and pants. Every Saturday morning she stalks the ten netball courts in her domain, scrutinizing each one for violations. No one is immune. Parents, players, coaches, junior umpires---all are potential targets of her fearsome gaze. We cower and cringe as she walks by, only daring to breathe a sigh of relief when she has moved on to the next court. I have seen a young girl crying as she was forced to remove her leggings on a cold winter's day. Netball is played outdoors, in the winter and spring, in all kinds of weather. Leggings are permitted under the regulation netball skirts only if they completely cover the legs. Unfortunately for this poor girl, her leggings did not quite reach her ankles.
The first time I showed up at netball, I was blissfully ignorant of the myriad rules and regulations surrounding this sport. I did have some idea that it was more restrictive than basketball. Sophie had told me that only two designated girls per team, for example, are allowed to shoot the ball, and that no physical contact is allowed. This has worked quite well for Sophie. She has found netball to be much less intimidating than basketball, and she has grown to love the sport. That's all good, but what she failed to tell me was that cameras are not permitted within a ten mile radius of the netball court.
Determined to capture a few moments of my daughter's new-found sport, I brought along my camera with its nice long lens and had a wonderful time taking shots of Sophie warming up, throwing the ball, and shooting it. All was well until the umpire caught sight of me. She marched over, looked me up and down, and as I wilted under her glare, I heard the ominous words, 'Photography is not permitted. Please come with me.' I didn't know what was happening. Was I going to be arrested? Would my camera be confiscated?
She then proceeded to accompany me and my camera, in front of all of the parents watching on the sidelines, to the netball head office, the place presumably where all of the violations are recorded and catalogued. I followed meekly, highly annoyed at my cheeks for turning bright red. 'This lady has been found taking photos on the netball courts,' the umpire informed the office workers. 'I will leave her in your hands.'
All that happened was that I was handed a stack of paperwork to complete. I asked if instead I could delete the photos from my camera, and with a quick glance to make sure the head umpire wasn't lurking around the corner, the office worker gave me permission to skip the paperwork. 'Just make sure you don't do it again,' she advised. I went from the office directly to my car, where I put the camera away before re-joining Sophie's team. The parents from the team were sympathetic, even apologetic. 'Don't bother deleting the photos,' one of them insisted. Another parent laughed about the 'Gestapo on the netball courts' and then suggested that the head umpire should be renamed Cruella after the character from 101 Dalmations.
In the end, I deleted all the photos that contained faces from the opposing team, but kept a few that featured Sophie. One mum told me that at least I hadn't had my physical description belted out over the loudspeaker. At a recent game in which her older daughter played, a brother had been taking photos. Within a few minutes came the following announcement for everyone to hear: 'Will the young man wearing a green hoodie and blue track pants taking photos with the long telephoto lens please report immediately to the head office.'
In case you are interested, the letters stand for the six positions: Center (Sophie's favorite position), Wing Defense, Goal Attack, Goal Shooter, Goal Defense, Goal Keeper.
The moral, or take-away advice from today's post: It's a good idea to always check first before taking photos at a sporting venue, or in any public place for that matter.
Somehow unlimited authority in a very limited sphere brings out the tyrant in some. I had a whole day ruined at Niagara Falls this spring due to a female Canadian police officer who almost fined me. I spent the rest of the day thinking of things I wish I had the guts to say to her. I'm sure these photos will always bring back a laugh!
Posted by: whits end mom | 09/24/2013 at 01:24 PM
I am sorry to hear about your whole ruined day in Niagara Falls. We had a terrible episode at the border near there when we were first married--a border officer whose power had completely gone to his head. I wasn't able to make a border crossing without lots of stress for years after that day. Even now I hate to cross borders, which is kind of funny given how often we have done so since then.
Posted by: Christie | 09/27/2013 at 08:06 PM