[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

It ain't that easy. It depends on # of games to be covered plus availability on that particular night. We might also have to match partners depending on the game. We don't want 2 fairly inexperienced guys on a big game and we don't want new officials taking varsity games they aren't ready for yet either.

While I have no doubt that you put some thought (probably a LOT of thought) into these considerations, the actual switching of assignments takes less than 5 minutes if you use the Arbiter or something similar. Yes, I'm sure you'd rather not have to do it, but it's just not that hard to do, is it?

and they then come back to me to say they've accepted another game that they thought was better than the game I gave them...you can take it to the bank I will remember that. Their next game from me will be only when I absolutely have to use them.

I have so much respect for you, I hope you know that; but it's a little sad to me that you feel this way. As an assignor, I know that I would want to have good officials working my games. But I hope that I would also want those officials to progress as far as their abilities would take them. And in order to do that, you have to make yourself available to take a higher level game.

There is a D3 assignor outside my local area, who I get no games from, but I occasionally work with some of his officials. He has progressed in his own officiating career about as far as possible. But he punishes officials who turn back his D3 game for a D2 game. Do you suppose he got as far as he did without an assignor or two helping him out, rather than holding him back? Yet, he says, "If you turn back my game for a D2 game, forget about the postseason". His guys hate him.

And I can tell you that most assignors feel the same way. We treat officials the way thery treat us. Fair's fair.

I don't know most assignors. But I can tell you that none of my assignors (including my D2 assignor) feels that way. I have been very fortunate, I guess, to have assignors who have operated with the understanding that the higher level game gets the higher priority.