[Cajun Reff]

I am glad someone else started this thread, we had a major situation recently in our association and we are still seeing the fall out.

Our association is consistently the best or second best in the state based on playoff assignments and coach's ratings cards. So we take pride in what we do, but with any big group there will always be problems.

In the regular season in LA, boys and girls usually play district games on the same nights (Tuesday and Fridays.) The girls playoffs always start a week before the boys regular season ends to make sure that the best reffs will be available for both the girls playoffs and the boys district games. A few weeks ago the girl's state HS playoffs kicked off on a Thursday night and our association was requested by coaches to be neutral crews for 21 first round games. We work the playoffs in 3 man crews so this was an opportunity for 63 officials to get a playoff assignment. Our assignment secretary made the calls and discovered he had 6 crew chiefs that were not available on that Thursday for the girls.

4 of the crew chiefs were working college games that night and 2 had personal schedule conflicts (NONE illness related). Now keep in mind we know well in advance when the playoffs start and certain reffs know they are crew chiefs and at least two other reffs are counting on them for the opportunity to work a playoff game. So the assignment secretary had to turn down 6 assignments and 12 other officials stayed home.

For round two (the next Monday) of the girls playoffs the assignment secretary received his neutral crew requests and assigned crews based on those who worked round one. So 6 crew chief level reffs got held out of round two of the girls playoff assignments. Of course they raised holy hell about this because working round one and round two meant none of them would get a chance to work the LA Girls Final Four.

These six chiefs decided to recruit other officials and create a new association. In LHSAA bylaws, to have a charter for a new association, you must have a minimum of 8 LHSAA member schools sign a contract to use your association. At last report, it is rumored they have the 8 schools and approximately 20+ officials pledged to join them.

This situation brings up several key issues:
1) 8 LHSAA member schools is good for Freshmen, JV and Varsity assignments only. This is not enough game work for 20+ officials and there is no junior high assignments for the younger reffs to get floor time and make money.
2) of the 20+ officials that pledged to join the new Association, approximately 8 of them work college games so the schedule conflicts will still remain and intensify
3) The LHSAA Asst Commissioner responsible for officials is livid that this group of officials has broken off and it is highly unlikely that he will give them Boys or Girls Final Four playoff assignments in the near term. Any younger reff in this association is basically screwed out of a chance to call the Final Four
4) If any member school is unsatisfied with the new association and chooses to break their contract (which is very common) and go back to the Lafayette Association, the new association wont have enough member schools, will be disbanded by the LHSAA and all of those reffs will be without an officiating job.

I was contacted by the assignment secretary for our association and he asked me where I stood on all of this. I am basically neutral and have close friends on both sides. However I told my secretary that I am loyal to the association I started with and it sounds like I just moved up at least 6 places on the totem pole.