Quote:
Originally posted by Ref Ump Welsch
I guess I want to ask this of the folks from Virginia: Did the number of officials grow when the girls season moved to coincide with the boys?
This I want to ask of the Michigan folks: Are the number of officials that work both seasons, as opposed to one of the season proportionally high or what? I'm still having a little trouble grasping the shortage issue here.
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Ref Ump, I'll let those guys address your questions but I'll point out what I've gathered from conversations with officials from both states.
It's not that there are fewer officials. It's that there are more games to cover during the same period of time that need to be officiated. Let's say that a local association had 50 games on a given night with a staff 125 officials, 100 of whom are working. But now you add 50 more games. You either have to:
1- add more officials if you want to continue playing on the same that you have in the past,
2- play doubleheaders on the same nights,
3- play games on different nights.
In either 2 or 3, the existing staff is going to work more games during a week. The logistics of working out scheduling and assigning is the nightmare. Games will be covered. But it's the headaches of working everything out that's facing these folks.