Quote:
Originally posted by Forksref
When I worked in school administration, I made sure that the officials had all of the above plus I'd make sure they got a sandwich or sub to take with them after the game. That school still adheres to that policy. Officials love to work there. I think each school should assign someone, student or otherwise to make sure the officials are taken care of. Wouldn't take much effort to get it done. And it goes a long way.
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May I jump up onto my soapbox for about 30 seconds, please, and just briefly touch on the subject of...
Taking Care of a Mixed-Gender Crew of Referees
When a crew includes one male and one female (I haven't done any 3-whistle yet) ref, there needs to be a place where they can go for pre-game and half-time, preferably in neither team's locker room, and preferably where they both can still have access to all their stuff. I've only been to one school here in Portland that really takes the needs of mixed gender crews into account. Usually, I get the gym teacher's office which will have a window or two, which is in the dressing room of one of the teams (who often have a male coach), and my partner can't come in there (remember, I do mostly girls' ball). There will sometimes be another room where we can go together, but I can't get at my stuff. Or he can't get at his stuff. Or both.
A particular very nice school in the Portland area, in a very up-scale neighborhood is in the process of building a brand new building with an impressive new gym with all the amenities -- except that when I asked the basketball coach (who happens to be a friend of mine) about new facilities for the refs, he just looked at me blankly and said, "Like what?" WOW!! Their current provision is a single room with about 5 tons of various broken pieces of equipment, two or three old chairs, several lockers that don't close properly, a shower and urinal that don't work. Oh, yeah, and the old furnace. And their brand new, multi-million dollar school building isn't going to have any ref facilities at all. Oh, well, at least they treat both men and women refs equally bad.
Thanks for my 30 seconds. I'll quit now.