A multimodal reflection on the authority of the badminton umpire

Abstract

This practitioner reflection describes the multimodal evolution of the role of the umpire as she/he increases in level and rank. The umpire begins by counting the points, making simple decisions — in, out, let, fault — and learns to master the most common announcements. Umpiring skills are integrated progressively, including the management of the court, the players, the coaches, and the level of pressure. The pressure increases as the levels of play and competition increase, up to international level where the umpire deals with professional players who fight to qualify for major competitions such as the Olympic Games or the World Championships. The notion of authority is analysed in the sense of ‘being authoritative’ as opposed to being authoritarian. This means that the umpire will have acquired trust and respect from those involved in the sport, including fellow technical officials, assessors and, more importantly, the players and coaches. The analysis identifies the multimodal signifiers of the authority of the umpire. These include gestures which show fairness and transparency towards all players, good eye contact with players and other technical officials and acknowledging the gestures reserved for the umpire, those for the service judge and gestures used by line judges. It also discusses how those privy to the ‘insider’ knowledge of the game recognise these signifiers.