[Rich]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Here, in my little corner of the Constitution State, officials are required to observe the game before, or after, their game to rate all the officials at the site. Usually the subvarsity game is before the varsity game, almost all of the time for public high schools, with some exceptions for Holiday Tournaments. Varsity officials are expected to get to the site for the tipoff of the subvarsity game, and observe until the intermission between the third and fourth period, when they retreat to the locker room to dress, and conduct a pregame. Subvarsity officials are expected to stay, at least, until halftime of the varsity game.

As a varsity official I don't mind this procedure. Watching the subvarsity game, usually with my partner, I get to wind down from my work day, and commute, and get my mind geared toward basketball.

However, the prep schools around here usually schedule the two games in reverse order. I have a prep school game today, and I'm not looking forward to watching the second game. I'll be tired, I'll want to get home (to watch Cops), and I'm going to be stuck watching a subvarsity game, a prep school game, on a Saturday, and worse, a girls prep school game.

We arrive about an hour before the tip, when the JV game is in the third quarter, usually. I may watch a few minutes of that game once a week or so. I'd rather be in the locker room doing some stretching and leisurely dressing for the reason I'm there - working my game.