On our local IAABO board, the "first" year official is considered a "probationary" member, which simply means that he, or she, has passed the written test before the season began, usually after attending about a dozen rules clinics. Once they pass the written test, they attend several mechanics clinics, after which they are eligible to accept subvarsity assignments, middle school, freshman, or junior varsity games. Toward the end of the season, they must pass a floor exam, after which they become full members of our local board, which is signified by the new member receiving his, or her, patch at our final board meeting of the season.
I agree with those who posted that an unpatched official can be a very good official, especially those who may have had previous experience outside our IAABO organization. I also agree that a patched official can be a very poor official, especially if he, or she, doesn't take advantage of camps, clinics, colleague critiques, etc.
Fans in our area seem to recognize the meaning of the patch. As is our custom, varsity officials must observe about three periods of the junior varsity game, that usually precedes our varsity game. We often hear fans reacting to a "bad" call by a "probationary" member, that the official "doesn't have a patch".
