Officiating

chs1971 said:
We're supposed to be at varsity games 90 minutes before kickoff. The dozen leagues I've worked in all start at 7:00. So we are there by 5:30. Out of the locker room 10-ish.

Drive time averages an hour each way? Frequently it's more.

That's 6 1/2 hours.

I enjoy the time spent with the crew. If I didn't I would be done in a heartbeat.
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I should have prefaced I'm in South Carolina. Refs don't arrive until 6:30. Kick off is 7:30 pm. I normally get them back in the dressing room as soon as the game is done (as mentioned anywhere between 10 and 1030 pm). So 4 hours in South Carolina. Again, should've prefaced that, my bad.

MOST of our crews have a half hour drive time coming to and a half hour going home. RARELY do we ever get anyone who comes from an hour away.

Based on what I'm reading here my school is extremely blessed haha.
 
scbuckeye99 said:
I should have prefaced I'm in South Carolina. Refs don't arrive until 6:30. Kick off is 7:30 pm. I normally get them back in the dressing room as soon as the game is done (as mentioned anywhere between 10 and 1030 pm). So 4 hours in South Carolina. Again, should've prefaced that, my bad.

MOST of our crews have a half hour drive time coming to and a half hour going home. RARELY do we ever get anyone who comes from an hour away.

Based on what I'm reading here my school is extremely blessed haha.
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Everybody's situation is a little different.

I am in one of the more rural areas of Ohio and we likely travel farther than officials who live in one of the three big urban areas.
 
scbuckeye99 said:
Where are football officials working 6-8 hours on a Friday night? I greet and chaperone our officials every varsity game and normally they show up at 6:30 pm for a 7:30 pm kick off and are off the field by 10 pm most nights. Never any later than 10:30 pm even with OT.

4 hours max is all I've ever witnessed.
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Well the gold book says to arrive 90 mins before kickoff… so your officials begin the day by not following what’s asked. Sounds like some great officials.

90 min pregame…. Roughly 3 hour game. Roughly 30 min post game/shower etc. that’s 5 hours. Basic travel on average per game 45 mins 1 way.

6.5 hours most Fridays.

Only a fool would give up Fridays for about 10 bucks an hour once you add in fuel and food. I don’t care how much you love the game
 
SportsFan79,
Read the post made by scbuckeye99 immediately after the initial post where he admits that he is an admin/staff person in South Carolina where their regulations are different.
 
hammer89 said:
no mileage allotment in Ohio.
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Interestingly my baseball and softball association is going to be getting one starting in I think 2025. It’s something like a flat game fee or a game fee $5 less than the flat one plus $1 per mile over some amount depending on distance and then whichever is greater. Don’t recall in this moment but that was viewed as a way to have less folks block travel limits and get them to go a bit further. Our footprint has conferences with a 30 mile max trip and a 90 mile one so some places this could be very lucrative. I’m looking forward to seeing how it works and laud the conferences thinking outside the box to help solve some issues.
 
umpire16 said:
Interestingly my baseball and softball association is going to be getting one starting in I think 2025. It’s something like a flat game fee or a game fee $5 less than the flat one plus $1 per mile over some amount depending on distance and then whichever is greater. Don’t recall in this moment but that was viewed as a way to have less folks block travel limits and get them to go a bit further. Our footprint has conferences with a 30 mile max trip and a 90 mile one so some places this could be very lucrative. I’m looking forward to seeing how it works and laud the conferences thinking outside the box to help solve some issues.
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I’m all for any creative solutions!
 
You don’t need mileage. You need better flat rates overall but again clown mentality holds the rates down. Which is a huge reason folks will not get involved.
 
chs1971 said:
Your solution?
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I got a few.
1st we need to under stand this isn’t gonna fix itself in 1-3 or maybe 5 to 10 years. The problems that exist were mainly caused by the older officials still holding down positions in boards throughout the state. It’s been an old boys network for forever. Games weren’t given out to guys who eventually walked away and now guys can’t move anymore it’s caught up. Take this year,
I saw Larry McCoy on a game in Toronto, Oh. One of the main guys from WV and the NFHS rules committee doing a D7 game while multiple crews in that area sat at home. That’s a scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours if I ever saw one. Old boys club type BS

Rates need to rise on under varsity about 50% of what they are now. You aren’t attracting younger guys with “love of game”. That craps expired. If rates are raised some of the old guys would stick around and mold younger officials because let’s face it. You got to bring in 50 to find 10 decent ones.

Last thing, everyone sees where everyone is going
Weekly. When I got in I was advised by older officials not to disclose games. I’ve grown to learn that’s a bunch of BS and an easy way to see who is getting screwed weekly.
 
SportsFan79 said:
I got a few.
1st we need to under stand this isn’t gonna fix itself in 1-3 or maybe 5 to 10 years. The problems that exist were mainly caused by the older officials still holding down positions in boards throughout the state. It’s been an old boys network for forever. Games weren’t given out to guys who eventually walked away and now guys can’t move anymore it’s caught up. Take this year,
I saw Larry McCoy on a game in Toronto, Oh. One of the main guys from WV and the NFHS rules committee doing a D7 game while multiple crews in that area sat at home. That’s a scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours if I ever saw one. Old boys club type BS

Rates need to rise on under varsity about 50% of what they are now. You aren’t attracting younger guys with “love of game”. That craps expired. If rates are raised some of the old guys would stick around and mold younger officials because let’s face it. You got to bring in 50 to find 10 decent ones.

Last thing, everyone sees where everyone is going
Weekly. When I got in I was advised by older officials not to disclose games. I’ve grown to learn that’s a bunch of BS and an easy way to see who is getting screwed weekly.
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“Multiple crews sat at home”

Is this a regional issue? In central Ohio there aren’t enough crews to work every Friday night varsity game and some games have moved to Thursdays to compensate.
 
hammer89 said:
“Multiple crews sat at home”

Is this a regional issue? In central Ohio there aren’t enough crews to work every Friday night varsity game and some games have moved to Thursdays to compensate.
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I live in the panhandle of 3 states. Multiple weeks crews on the board in my area were sitting at home while out of state crews with Ohio cards worked. Obviously this is an assigners issue which is a gigantic part of the old boys club.
 
SportsFan79 said:
Numbers will never go back up until the old regimes realize it’s time to raise the rates to something that brings in new people.

80-100 for a 6-8 hour Varisty Friday Night is embarrassing.
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Are you including travel time in that 6-8 hour?
 
SportsFan79 said:
I got a few.
1st we need to under stand this isn’t gonna fix itself in 1-3 or maybe 5 to 10 years. The problems that exist were mainly caused by the older officials still holding down positions in boards throughout the state. It’s been an old boys network for forever. Games weren’t given out to guys who eventually walked away and now guys can’t move anymore it’s caught up. Take this year,
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In this part of the state all varsity games are assigned by league commissioners or assigners. Sub-varsity is a mix of AD's, league assigners, and FB officials association assigners, and there are not enough officials to fill all the games.
SportsFan79 said:
I saw Larry McCoy on a game in Toronto, Oh. One of the main guys from WV and the NFHS rules committee doing a D7 game while multiple crews in that area sat at home. That’s a scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours if I ever saw one. Old boys club type BS
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Your complaint is that a crew from WV worked a game in Ohio? OK. There is never a Friday in our 1/4 of the state with multiple crews sitting at home.

SportsFan79 said:
Rates need to rise on under varsity about 50% of what they are now. You aren’t attracting younger guys with “love of game”. That craps expired. If rates are raised some of the old guys would stick around and mold younger officials because let’s face it. You got to bring in 50 to find 10 decent ones.
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I agree, what's your solution?
SportsFan79 said:
Last thing, everyone sees where everyone is going
Weekly. When I got in I was advised by older officials not to disclose games. I’ve grown to learn that’s a bunch of BS and an easy way to see who is getting screwed weekly.
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I've never heard of keeping assignments a secret. Guys talk about their games all the time.
 
SportsFan79 said:
I live in the panhandle of 3 states. Multiple weeks crews on the board in my area were sitting at home while out of state crews with Ohio cards worked. Obviously this is an assigners issue which is a gigantic part of the old boys club.
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Ohio doesn't have a "panhandle."

WV has two.
 
chs1971 said:
In this part of the state all varsity games are assigned by league commissioners or assigners. Sub-varsity is a mix of AD's, league assigners, and FB officials association assigners, and there are not enough officials to fill all the games.

Your complaint is that a crew from WV worked a game in Ohio? OK. There is never a Friday in our 1/4 of the state with multiple crews sitting at home.


I agree, what's your solution?

I've never heard of keeping assignments a secret. Guys talk about their games all the time.
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Raise the pay 50% is a massive solution to attract new blood.

Absolutely most keep quiet about games.

And yes, if we are struggling to get and retain officials. Why on earth would crews from 2 hours away in a different state be given games while crews sit at home in the area. It’s Moronic.
 
chs1971 said:
Ohio doesn't have a "panhandle."

WV has two.
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I’m also an independent contractor. At no point will I work for the Varisty rates as they are. I have in the past, then Realized I’d be an idiot to keep doing it.

I make 4-500 a week through football season working peewee and sub Varisty. We act like schools can’t pay officials while non-profit peewee teams and leagues are paying 100-200 dollars for max 4 hours work.

Anyone 55 an older is a huge part of the officiating problem across the country.
 
SportsFan79 said:
C’mon, you know where I’m talking about. Don’t split hairs. Live in the “Tri-state area”. How’s that
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I'll bet most people in NW Ohio don't even know WV has a panhandle.

A friend of mine is from St. Clairsville, another from Flushing.

Nothing is less helpful than "Tri-state area."

Is that the Ohio-Michigan-Indiana corner or the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana corner? Maybe near Ironton in the Ohio-Kentucky-West Virginia region?
 
SportsFan79 said:
I’m also an independent contractor. At no point will I work for the Varisty rates as they are. I have in the past, then Realized I’d be an idiot to keep doing it.

I make 4-500 a week through football season working peewee and sub Varisty. We act like schools can’t pay officials while non-profit peewee teams and leagues are paying 100-200 dollars for max 4 hours work.

Anyone 55 an older is a huge part of the officiating problem across the country.
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Sometimes I shake my head in wonder when I get home very late on Friday nights. But I enjoy spending time with my crew and enjoy the games

Schools absolutely can afford to pay more.

Pee wee is where the money is, but has the worst adults.
 
SportsFan79 said:
I live in the panhandle of 3 states. Multiple weeks crews on the board in my area were sitting at home while out of state crews with Ohio cards worked. Obviously this is an assigners issue which is a gigantic part of the old boys club.
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Where a person lives is irrelevant.

If they possess a license, they are eligible to work. This would be no different than an assigner hiring a crew from Columbus or Cincinnati to work a MAC game.

Please do not interpret this as a claim that at times politics does not play a part. It happens in every aspect of life. That said, sometimes, the problem is in the mirror.

For many, that's tough to admit.
 
OHSAA or whoever is in charge of recruiting (not too familiar with this) should be sending information/recruitment flyers to High Schools to pass to their senior athletes. Most of the athletes aren't moving on to play at the next level but may still want to be involved somehow. I don't recall anyone ever asking me to think about becoming an official while still HS/college aged. Granted this was 30+ years ago, but I and probably some of my teammates would have at least listened. I wasn't approached about officiating until I was in my 30's and working tables at wrestling meets/tournaments, but by then I was already attached to a school as a volunteer and didn't really have the time.

Also, I'm sure some schools would let an official or representative come into the school for a 30 min to hour long sell and Q&A session for interested students. I worked for the YMCA and many times I asked and was permitted time / space for similar talks about volunteering and other teen programs. May get a bunch of kids who just want out of class, but if you can get a couple of solid commits, I think it'd be worth the time.
 
slider632 said:
OHSAA or whoever is in charge of recruiting (not too familiar with this) should be sending information/recruitment flyers to High Schools to pass to their senior athletes. Most of the athletes aren't moving on to play at the next level but may still want to be involved somehow.
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I tell high school kids graduating all the time that if they still love the sport they played then they should either officiating or volunteer as a coach. I wish more people would push it to younger kids
 
Again what young kid would want to work with most of the older folks in the room. That absolutely run an old boys club?? And that’s an across the state issue
 
AllSports12 said:
Please elaborate
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In my area those folks are the ones screaming. “Don’t do it for the money”. “ I do this to hang with buddies”. “Id do this stuff for free” when rates get discussed.
It’s a huge issue considering the NFHS is promoting making money to get younger guys.
 
chs1971 said:
Sometimes I shake my head in wonder when I get home very late on Friday nights. But I enjoy spending time with my crew and enjoy the games

Schools absolutely can afford to pay more.

Pee wee is where the money is, but has the worst adults.
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I can tell you are an outstanding Ofiicial by your knowledge.

I’m also telling you younger kids would rather wear head set In there room gaming with buddies than hanging out in person.

so we are flawed off the bat talking about hanging out with friends.
 
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