Assigning Software Poll
 

This is a long post with a poll involved and I thank you in advance for your patience.

MTD, Jr., and I belong to two umpiring associations that use Arbiter for its H.S. baseball and softball schedules and a third multi-sport association that uses Arbiter to assign H.S. basketball, baseball, and softball schedules. One of the umpiring associations and the multi-sport association assigns the entire season at one time for the appropriate sport, BUT the second umpiring association assigns its games one week at a time.

Example of one week assigning: At 12:00amEDT, Friday, April 08, 2011, the games for the week starting at 12:00amEDT, Monday, April 18, 2011, and ending at 11:59pmEDT, Sunday, April 24, 2011, are posted and the umpire has until 11:59pmEDT, Sunday, April 10, 2011, to either accept or reject the assignments.

While it is not written into OhioHSAA and MichiganHSAA officiating contracts, it is an unwritten part of the contract that when a game, no matter what the sport is, the originally assigned officials are given the right of first refusal for the rescheduled game. BUT, not the association that assigns but the week. When a game is rescheduled there is not guarantee that the original umpires will be given the the rescheduled game. In fact in the fours years that this association has used Arbitor I have never been assigned the rescheduled date and no of no official who has either.

As one could expect there is a growing number of umpires who are not happy about this situation. The assinger takes the position that it is too difficult and time consuming to make sure the original umpires are given the reschuled games. Remember he is payed a double game fee each day, seven days a week, for the entire high school season, which amounts to quite amount of walking around money if you get my drift, to assign the games.

There is also a growing number of umpires that feel the entire season should be scheduled at once. This would make it easier for umpires to schdule their lives.

This is the first poll that I have conducted so please forgive any mistakes I make. If your association uses an web based assigning program, what is it? Please comment as to whether your assigner assigns the whole season at one time or a week or two at a time. Please state your likes and dislikes. And most importantly do you get first right of refusal on a reschedule game.

MTD, Sr.

Both conferences I belong to assign the whole season at the beginning.

I only have worked for one person in baseball that uses Arbiter at all for assigning. I do not get many games from him so it is only a few games we are talking about. The other games are assigned by email or paper contract. The main assignor he assigned all the games by paper contract (through a website availability system). I think he tries to give you the reschedule, but he has so many games I think he moves people around when appropriate. The problem with baseball is the season is so volatile that it is hard to give everyone a chance for the first right of refusal when the reschedule is likely to be on a day that umpire is working already. The state has no say over how regular season games are assigned anyway, so the policy of how this is handled is by each school, conference or assignor.

Peace

I work for two conference assigners/commissioners who both use Arbiter. One officials association I belong to doesn't use any assigning software at all, they use their website to assign and post games. I personally like Arbiter.

Everyone who assigns me games, including AD's that I get games from directly, assign the entire season at one time. I like it that way, although I really don't like having to take assignments a year or more in advance. A few months prior to the start of the season works best for me. I currently have a few basketball dates assigned in 2013; I don't know what I'll be doing in 2013, I may not even be officiating anymore.

As far as rescheduling of rainouts, sometimes they are offered back to the original crew, sometimes they aren't. It doesn't really matter to me because I get as many or more games than I would ever want to work each season even without getting the reschedules. When I work high school doubleheaders three nights in a row and the fourth is rained out, I usually enjoy the night off.

One association I work for uses Zebraware. That assignor does his best to have games assigned 2 weeks in advance sometimes 1 month.

Another association just posts games on its website and you just pick which ones you want or let the assigner know when you can work. This one happens at the beginning of the season.

I really don't have a preference but like knowing when I have games well in advance. Zebraware is nice as it has contact info for all the officials as well as allowing importing your schedule to Outlook.

Both groups I work for use Arbiter - it has been great for me as an umpire, but I have no idea how it works for the assignor side of things. I used to work for the same group as JRutledge where it was all email based, which I never had issues with, but after using Arbiter I much prefer it.

My grandfather used to assign HS basketball all via paper contract until a few years ago. If I remember correctly, there was no email communication. After the contract was signed, it was all phone-based. I'm sure a lot of people hated it, but it worked for him :)

I can see where it would be advantageous to know an entire season schedule if significant travel is involved. I am quite happy with 3-4 weeks at a time. I can block out dates I can't work ahead of time and I have no expectation that I will get a rescheduled game, usually do if I am not blocked out and sometimes it is with same partner and sometimes not. Sometimes I get rescheduled games I was not assigned to originally on dates I was not blocked out. I can only assume the original umpire(s) were blocked out. Sometimes I do get the same game a day later when rescheduled.

I don't work for 3 associations though and I think it unreasonable for those that do to be upset because they don't sync.

I've only worked for one association and the games have always been scheduled on a weekly basis. It used to be done at the weekly meeting but now is done online. They never cared about giving you the makeup game and that is fine with me. It all evens out in the long run.

I personally like the weekly basis. I don't know what the hell I'll be doing in June in February. But I will know two weeks ahead of time most likely.

That is the problem with the association that assigns weekly, it does not even out in the long run.

MTD, Sr.

Our games are assigned season-by-season through Arbiter, with extra games (due to rescheduling and turn-backs) being assigned on Sunday nights. I've never been offered the make-up game of a rain-out, but I know I can call on almost any day I don't have a game and pick one up.

Personally, I see no reason to offer the game to the original officials. The delay in assigning it to them, then having them decline it, only to give it to someone else is a waste. If the umpire doesn't already have a game, it's not difficult to pick one up.

I want to bite my tongue, but I'm interested. What language did you code the software? How long did it take? Does it simply have the assignor place people where he wants, or does it automatically do it as well? If automatic, what types of algorithms did you use?

I'm interested from a programming stance. I find it difficult to code a way for the software to place umpires where they're needed, based on availability, accessibility (travel limits, etc), and ability.

Please don't let me feed the trolls.

Me thinks you already fed the troll. I bet he does his ciphering with his trusty crayola though........

You and I see this differently. If the assignor is using Arbiter, he has the officials' availability right in front of him. It's very easy to set a one day deadline for an official to accept or decline a change within Arbiter.

The point you must be missing is this: What's the difference between the assignor giving the games to someone else (he has to wait to see if *those* officials accept or decline the game, as well) or trying the original officials first. (If they aren't available, they should have the day blocked within Arbiter, anyway.)

Good point, Rich, and it's true. Using Arbiter, the assignor should know if the original officials are available. While it's conceivable to do such, it's also difficult to check officials for dozens of games that are likely rained out at the same time. If it's one or two games due to a cancellation, I could see checking; but I don't expect my assignor to check every official's availability the day after a rain that postpones every game in the area.

What if the official already has a game scheduled, but it's a lower-level game (whether by class or grade level)? Do you pull the official off the previously-assigned game to give him an opportunity at the "better" game?

I don't know the answer to that one -- it's a choice the assignor has to make. I know the last time I worked with a single assignor (12 years ago), I'd pick up a lower level game for him if he was having trouble covering and by the time that day rolled around, he usually moved me into a varsity game elsewhere.

I know that my schedule is pretty full now -- if I get an email from one of the assignors of a top conference here and I'm already booked, I simply tell that assignor that I'm already booked. To me, a game is a game and I don't get off one to work another -- it's one of the points of friction I used to have with my college assignor who couldn't understand that I'd rather work the HS game 20 minutes from home than take a vacation day from my day job, drive 2+ hours to work a college DH, and also find a sub (and annoy the HS assignor) for my HS game. It's one of the main reasons I decided to stop working college baseball a few years ago.

So I guess I'd say if I was an assignor using Arbiter that I'd offer the game to the originally scheduled umpire only if that umpire is not assigned and has not blocked the date. If I wanted to move an umpire off a JV game to a rescheduled varsity game, I would, but I'd leave that at my discretion.

Around here, the rescheduled games are usually the responsibility of the school and they simply call/email and ask if we're available.