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Wilt Chamberlain is best known by sports fans as one of the most dominant basketball players of all time. To people less familiar with sports and basketball specifically the name Wilt Chamberlain might have a familiar sound because of his much publicized personal life. What many people do not realize is that before basketball became the focus of his life the first sport that Wilt fell in love with was track and field.
Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936 and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he had eight brothers and sisters that all came from the same parents of father William and mother Olivia. As a youth growing up in eastern Pennsylvania Wilt famously stated that his first reaction to the game of basketball was that he considered it to be "a game for sissies." The sport that the young Wilt Chamberlain was exponentially more passionate about was track and field.
Before even reaching high school age the freakishly athletic Wilt Chamberlain is reported to have high jumped 6'6" which is a mark that would win most high school varsity track meets. Around the same time Wilt was also putting up ridiculously impressive broad jump numbers that are understood to be as far as 22 feet. For comparison purposes almost all high school track athletes can not reach 22 feet in a running long jump and Wit is reported to have reached that length from a stationary standing broad jump position. The high jumping and broad jumping talents are perhaps to be expected considering what the public now knows about his success on the basketball court, however the track and field prowess that Wilt showed was not confined to jumping events.
Thanks to the long strides and powerful running style that Chamberlain employed he was a miraculous middle distance runner as his preteen times of 49 seconds in the 440 yard race (once around a standard track) and under two minutes in the 880 yard distance (twice around a standard track) are exceptional numbers for even a college athlete. Chamberlain excelled at every aspect of track and field including running, jumping, and throwing. He is reported to have tossed a shot put over 53 feet in his youth.
Chamberlain matured very quickly and continued to grow at a rapid pace. At the age of 10 the young man was already 6' tall and when he started high school he was an astounding 6'11". As a 7'2" college freshmen playing basketball at the University of Kansas (commonly referred to as KU) the 240 pound Chamberlain could reach 9'6" into the air just standing flat footed (no tip toes).
Wilt took up his first love of track and field at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas while also playing basketball there. The 7'2" goliath ran a sub 11 second 100 yard dash and also threw the shot put 56 feet. Despite competing and excelling in both sprinting and throwing his best events were not surprisingly the jumping events as Chamberlain triple jumped in excess of 50 feet and successfully won the Big 8 Conference high jumping competition three years in a row. In the world of track and field it is an extraordinarily rare athlete that can compete at the highest level in the shortest sprints, all the jumping events, and the throwing events. This dynamic collection of talents is so rare in fact that Wilt might be the only man ever to possess this unique skill set.
The dry bout (a bout fenced without electrical scoring equipment) represents a significant challenge for the referee and judges: how do you both fairly and accurately assess the results of the fencing so that the better fencer in the bout wins? The answer is a mix of several factors, including organization with well defined responsibilities, training, and the ability to recognize fencing actions and hits. This series of articles examines the referee's role in the bout.
In the not so distant past, referees were called Directors or Presidents of the Jury. Both of these titles capture what the referee does in ways different than the modern title of referee. Director implies that the official directs and controls the operation of the contest, an organizational role with clear responsibilities. President of the Jury acknowledges the role of the referee as part of a voting body that recognizes the actions, interprets them, and sees the hits. These two roles are critical to what the referee does and to the efficient, accurate, and fair conduct of the bout.
When we think about the role of the referee, it is vital to understand that the bout is about the fencers, not the officials. The referee and judges create a structure for determining who wins, but that structure should never obscure or diminish the actual combat between two fencers. The officials facilitate, not dominate.
The referee in the dry bout manages a team of 5 people, himself as referee, and four judges. Two judges stationed behind the fencer on the referee's left watch the target of the fencer on the right to observe whether a hit arrives. Two judges stationed behind the fencer on the referee's right watch the target of the fencer on the left to observe whether a hit arrives. The referee watches both fencers' targets for hits, and determines which fencer has the right of way (in foil or sabre) or which fencer arrives first on target (in epee).
To do this effectively the referee must move with the action so that the two fencers remain centered in front of him or her. Ideally the referee should be as far from the strip as practical - 10 feet is a good starting point. This distance allows the referee to easily see movement on the part of both fencers, key to establishing priority of actions. The reality in many clubs and venues is that as many strips as possible are packed into as small a space as possible, with the result that referees work within 3 feet of the strip edge. Not only is this unsafe, but it virtually ensures that the referee's calls often will be influenced by whichever fencer moves in the restricted field of view.
Two other officials complete the set of officials for a strip, although the functions of one or both are often subsumed into the job of the referee. A timekeeper runs the clock of fencing time used between the commands "fence" and "halt." A score keeper maintains the score sheet, recording touches awarded and any warnings or penalties. If at all possible, these two positions should be staffed, as the added burden detracts from the referee's ability to manage the activity on the strip.
The referee thus has a responsible job. A good referee with competent judges creates the conditions that allow good fencing with the fencers being satisfied that they have had a fair chance to win. Bad officiating unfortunately creates the opposite, bad fencing and frustrated fencers. inotomo Every referee has a moral obligation to continually work to better understand the job and to give the fencers the bout they deserve.
