[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

It will get to the point, Jeff, where only those with the time and money to attend multiple camps will get full schedules. Is that what high school sports is about?

If you assign a conference, the assignor can require you to do anything they want you to do. Now, that might eliminate good people if the requirements are too high and that is something the schools will have to decide if those are acceptable.

Originally Posted by RichMSN

One of the advantages of states that assign exclusively through officials' associations in that none of this stuff seems to happen within those groups and since the groups are run by officials, they have no interest in gouging each other.

I do not work in a state like that and I have never paid $300 to attend a HS camp. The most I have paid is $150 and it is not a requirement to attend or else. It is required that you are seen by the assignor(s) if you want to work for them. But after you get hired I do not know of any assignor that still makes you go. I go every year because I want to be evaluated and get better. And the instructors are college officials and many have worked D1 so I feel it is a good start before going to my other camps.

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Why should a HS camp ever cost $300? First of all, the campers are working games that would normally pay officials a certain amount. So not only do camp organizers get camp fees from each camper, they also get all the game fees the working officials would've gotten. The clinicians -- some are quite good, and some are HS officials who have been fast tracked for reasons (gender, race) other than ability who I wouldn't want to work a regular season game with and are people I personally wouldn't hire at a level higher than JV.

You never know the arrangement for the camp. The Camp Organizer has to pay insurance, clinicians to be there and spend their time. They might pay for food and drinks and sometimes pay other people to do everything from take money or other things to assist in making sure people are in attendance or making the schedule. There are a lot of things that go into running a camp that has nothing to do getting paid and might not make money for the organizer after all is said and done. I have no idea what you get for that $300 and whether you are getting jobbed or not.

Originally Posted by RichMSN

As a three-sport official, I never understand why basketball has this "camp" mentality and why it's trickled down. I work as much HS baseball as I want, my football crew works every Friday night, and not once has an assignor insisted that we go to a "camp." If you look at the state bulletin, 95% or more of the "education opportunities" are 3-person basketball camps, all of which cost way too much money for a HS camp. Seems nobody is willing to just run these to give back to the game, like the local association does every fall/winter for football and basketball.

I also work three sports and basketball is very different. Basketball in my opinion is one of the hardest sports to work. You do not have positions that you can coast in different part of the games or the entire game. And basketball is an indoor sport where you can play multiple games in a day over a short period of time. You cannot do that in other sports. But I have had to deal with other situations where if you do not attend certain "camps" in my other sports, you will not work games. You might not work any games, but the requirement is still there. And the expense can be more than $300 in those cases and I had no opportunity to prove myself good or bad on the field to do so.

Peace