[JRutledge]

The part that stinks for me or would seem to stink is that you have to go to every single meeting to get games. You have to cater to every request from your association to simply officiate. I belong to Official's Associations that have everything you suggest, but they do not get into the business of assigning games or get your paid (liability issues are apart of this). All of them have forms of training and "rubbing elbows" with more experienced officials. You just do not have to answer to any organization for the most part. We have assignors or ADs of schools schedule games. Those are the only people you might have to answer to. Well some associations do get games from ADs and give it to their membership, but that applies to outside the Chicago area. But the big schools or most Class AA conferences have assignors for their conferences. And getting paid is usually never a problem. Schools either have a voucher system, you get paid on the spot with cash or a check or the assignor pays you himself (very rare). If schools have problems getting paid, the word gets around and officials will not work for those schools.

I guess I look at it this way. I belong to one of the best associations in the country. One of my associations have former and current officials have experience in the NFL, NBA, Major Leagues, Arena Football, XFL (when it was going of course), D1 Football, Basketball and Baseball and several other pro leagues that I could mention. The attitude around here is that you rub elbows with some great officials and going to associations will only benefit you in the long run. Those that attend want to get better and those that do not, well they do not get better in many ways either. But it is never required to officiate. If that was the case, many college officials would never get games at the HS levels. Many of them are attending functions or training that is far more advanced then what a HS Association can do for you.

But I guess that is my opinion.