[JRutledge]

Sorry I am not very knowledgable about how to give you a link. So I wanted opinions about what you think about this article. This article was written in the Chicago Sun Times on the date listed below.

What do you think.


System for refs has major flaws
April 16, 2001

BY TAYLOR BELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

There is a crisis in officiating. Some sports are losing young, promising officials because they aren't given an opportunity to gain experience at the highest levels. Other sports are desperately looking for qualified officials to work at all levels.

No wonder. The system is flawed. Some assignment chairmen exert more power than Alan Greenspan. They operate an ol' boys network. To get on the A list, an official must curry their favor by paying fees to attend their golf outings or barbecues or summer camps.

It is a difficult, time-consuming job. Assignment chairmen receive about 25 calls a day. They must find officials to work freshman B to sophomore to varsity. But they are well compensated. Some earn $25,000 to $30,000 annually. And that doesn't include fees from golf outings.

"The system is unfair," said one certified official who is retiring after only five years. "If you have done your work and put in the time, why do you have to play politics? If you are good enough to work in one league, why aren't you good enough to work in another?"

Some officials can work games in the West Suburban, East Suburban Catholic and Catholic League but can't get assignments in the DuPage Valley, Central Suburban or SICA. And vice-versa.

One well-heeled assignment chairman was voted out by conference coaches but retained by the league's athletic directors.

The president of one officials' association in the Chicago area could get games in one conference but not in another.

Some officials are blackballed by assignment chairmen because they dare to question the system.

On average, it takes four to five years for good officials to be certified. But many chairmen give choice assignments to their friends or veteran officials while an estimated 15 to 20 percent of good, young officials drop out because they aren't given an opportunity to progress.

Rather than play politics, many officials prefer to work girls basketball games rather than boys because there is less stress, they can work longer and the pay is the same, $45 to $50 for one varsity game.

"The system needs to be reformed," another official said. "You should advance on your merits, not on how many barbecues and golf outings you attend.

"Some guys get into officiating because they like to work with kids and feel they can make a difference. But after a while they become discouraged because of roadblocks thrown up in front of them."

That isn't all. Many young officials quit because school administrators don't police their sports programs.

"There are too many Bob Knight wannabes at the lower levels," one ex-official said. "They have a win-at-all-costs attitude. They abuse young officials, who quit because they don't believe they need to take such abuse."

So what is the Illinois High School Association doing? The IHSA regulates officials. They give tests and award certification. They even mandate that officials must attend certified summer camps (for a fee of $95 to $300 for three or four days) to brush up on their mechanics.

The IHSA has worked hard to recruit and train more officials. It has developed a power rating to assign officials to postseason tournaments and is determined to meet the demand for more officials in all sports. A year ago, it registered 11,200 officials. The current total is 13,790. Its goal is 17,000.

But the task of assigning officials to regular-season contests is left to the schools, which hire independent contractors to make assignments. And IHSA assistant executive director Dave Gannaway, who supervises officials in the state, is concerned the system isn't working right.

"We have made a big jump but we can't go backward," Gannaway said. "Will some of these policies negatively affect the retention of officials? I would be interested to find out more about who is making these requirements. Ultimately, the schools are the ones that hire officials, not the assigners who have been empowered to do it. The schools should be policing the situation."

And the sooner, the better.