I believe your formal complaint is lodged...

"Could you please write a memo..."

These are words I didn't think I'd ever hear after leaving the cubicle world.

This weekend was the National Championship Qualifier, being held at NWFC. Since I'm a good host, I drag my nocturnal self out of bed at 8am, and open up the club. Cadet Men's Sabre...no big deal, I've done this before. The fencers are fine, there's about the usual level of tempo questioning and the typical answers. Tournament runs smoothly, the fencers don't really want to be there, just need to get the number of qualifiers done.

And then, once I've moved on to a different event, there's suddenly an uproar. One of the parents of a non-qualifying fencer is "filing a formal complaint" against the Division. Why? Because apparently there are anomalies with the strip used to run the sabre tournament. This is un-expletive-believable.

First, I'm a referee. I'm good at it, clear, unbiased, friendly, and unlike many won't lazily parse actions if I believe the fencers are "beneath me." You paid your money, you deserve to be treated like everybody else.

Second, we've got a certified armorer in the house. If there's something that looks strange, I call L and get a caffeine break. What's not to love?

At no point during this whole tournament, or the events run on the previous day, did anything bizarre come up on this strip. Every time an athlete asked to test, the equipment performed properly. Even an elite athlete (but let's not be too kind here) is prone to thinking they hit when they didn't; the game is that fast. Of course, if this had become a concern during the actual running of the event, it should have been brought to our attention immediately, and we could have performed diagnostics, but why should I deviate from standard procedure if the circumstances are completely and utterly ordinary?

Ah, because it's Johnny Superstar Athlete, who's the proud son of Mrs. Entitled Bitch III.

Accountability is the first thing that we should teach athletes; if they are not accountable for their actions, how can they effectively control their environment? If their every mistake can be rationalized, how can they submit to a process of continuous improvement?

Parents are not protecting their child by letting them fail and then having a temper tantrum. In the case that the young Mr Athlete, Esq is in need of an advocate, they should do it immediately. If there is an injustice, you fight it immediately, not only after a losing outcome. I've asked fencers to refuse to fence because of a rule violation, and never lost a bout committee appeal.

So now, I'm writing a memo in which I talk about doing my job. So is L, who's done due diligence with her multimeter.

In short, I very much hope this woman files her complaint. The extraction process from where it's currently lodged will be quite painful.