‘Ref! Could You Help Me?’—Building a Positive Climate by Referees during Floorball Competitions in Youth Sport

Wiesław Firek, Katarzyna Płoszaj, Paweł Gąsior and Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko
Additional contact information
Wiesław Firek: Faculty of Physical Education, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, 00-968 Warsaw, Poland
Katarzyna Płoszaj: Faculty of Physical Education, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, 00-968 Warsaw, Poland
Paweł Gąsior: Department of Physical Education and Sport, Podhale State College of Applied Sciences in Nowy Targ, ul. Kokoszków 71, 34-400 Nowy Targ, Poland
Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko: Faculty of Physical Culture Sciences, Eugeniusz Piasecki University of Physical Education in Poznań, 61-871 Poznań, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: In creating a positive climate in sport for children and youth, the role of adults is of key importance as their behavior and attitudes determine the experiences and multilateral development of young players. Relatively recently, the importance of the referee in creating a supportive sporting environment has begun to be emphasized. This concerns, in particular, team sports in which the referees interact with players many times and influence the course of the game. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of the referee–players’ interactions during youth floorball matches in terms of building a positive climate and responsiveness to the players’ needs. Another aim of the study was to examine whether the referee’s qualifications and players’ gender affect the quality of their interactions with the players. The study was conducted among 21 referees officiating matches for girls and boys aged 12–18. Naturalistic and structured observation methods were used in the study. The observation was conducted using a wireless intercom that allows listening to verbal messages directed to the players. Furthermore, the referee’s work was recorded using a camera. The results of the statistical tests did not show any significant differences in the assessment of referees between the groups distinguished in terms of the referees’ license and players’ gender in both examined dimensions. The observations showed that the average rating of building a positive climate by referees during a sporting event measured on a seven-point scale was ‘poor’ (2.81 pts). The referees were assessed significantly higher on the second dimension (responsiveness to the players’ needs), although an overall rating of 3.81 pts means a medium level of interaction quality. The results indicate areas in which referees can improve. They lead to the following conclusions: (i) the contents of training for floorball referees should include problems of pedagogy and developmental psychology; (ii) referees should be equipped with appropriate competencies for building a positive climate during matches and monitoring the players’ needs; (iii) referees appointed to officiate children and youth games should be characterized by appropriate predispositions.

Keywords: educational practice; floorball; youth sport; referee; positive climate; situation monitoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/2/979/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/2/979/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:2:p:979-:d:725818

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().