I'd rather make $60 each 3-person. So would a lot of other officials.

First Louisiana now Mississippi
 

There are a few three person games in Connecticut. Not many, but a few, usually between top notch, big-city schools. My little coroner of Connecticut is more suburban, or rural, so I can't tell you what the three person fees are.

First Louisiana now Mississippi
 

The conference I assign is rural. 348 games, all 3-person. This is the first season games are assigned with 3 officials. I let crews bring a third last year and split 2 checks if they wished. A surprising number chose to do so, even though it cost each official $20.

I did have a few officials ask why we didn't raise the fees and work 2-person. Every one of those cared more about the money than the work.

AZ is all 2-man. We get $65 +$10 travel in Phx metro area. Very rarely are there double headers (only at the smallest of the independent schools). I think sub varsity gets $45+45+10 for JV-Frosh double header w/travel. Every once in a while varsity will fill in (no show). We get to school around 5:30 for 7:00 game. More and more of the sub varsity guys are just in it for the money these days. Don't even want to move up because they make less per night. I have a problem with that when they don't even try to do a good job, but it sure makes everyone appreciate us more for the varsity game.

Amen. My local board committed this year to finally going all 3-p for varsity. They took a $10 cut per game ($85-$75) and the 2-p JV officials are also going to eat a $10 cut ($55-$45) to help subsidize the increased varsity cost on the schools.

I'm all for it and I think most folks in the room agreed. But there was a subtle grumble from the cadre of permanent JV officials.


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I've argued for a long time that this should happen. Those who improve will work varsity. Those who are happy working lower level ball (here that means closer to home) shouldn't get paid close to what V officials get paid.

Now that's the right way to do it. When NV shifted to 3-person, the Varsity crew split the previous two-person fee. The frosh and JV fees were not changed. That meant that the Varsity game fee was only about $5 more than the JV/frosh fee. It didn't make sense then and doesn't now.
People in NV still do better taking the frosh/JV double-header over a single Varsity game.

Just for comparison, in North Dakota, our fees are:

Class A Basketball (18 min halves): Varsity $73.50 - Soph/JV $40.50
Class B Basketball (8 min quarters): Varsity $71.50 -Soph/JV $40.50
Freshman: $35
7th-8th Grade: $30

NDHSAA is working to narrow the gap from Varsity to Soph/JV games.

**Rates are the same whether it is 2 or 3 person crews. Nearly all varsity games are 3 person crews.

**Mileage: Our state pays the state rate of $.575 per mile for the driver. Any roundtrip over 100 miles includes $.05 per mile for the riders.

I don't know anyone who expects that, but teachers only get paid for 9 months. That pay is just spread out over 12 months.

We had a fee increase in our area in Missouri in the last year or so. Our game fees are based on the length of the quarters being played:

6 min = $40
7 min = $50
8 min = $60

The majority of nights are JV/V doubleheaders where you make $110 or $120 depending on if the JV teams play 8-minute quarters or 7-minute quarters.

We get a $15 fee added on to any single game played (Usually a varsity-only night when they don't have a JV team), so it's $75 for a single varsity game.

We meet partners and ride together the vast majority of the time. The driver gets round-trip miles at 40 cents/mile.

I don't have many complaints about our fees. The only thing I don't like is that we make a half-game fee for working half a game. We could work a half JV game and make $25, whereas if we just didn't work the game at all and got the $15 single game fee, we would only be making $10 less. So in a sense, we are working that JV half for $10. I feel like we should do something like knock $10 off the game fee if you only play a half.

WTF?!?!?:confused:

I've been in this referee business for quite some time, and I don't recall EVER being scheduled to only work half a game.

Am I alone in this?

Montana
 

When I lived in Montana the smaller schools would hire three officials; two varsity officials and a JV official (usually a newbie)...each varsity official would work a half of the JV game with the third, and the JV official would watch and learn during the varsity game.

It was actually a great experience for all parties...

From A Retired Teacher ...
 

Here in Connecticut, teachers are only paid for about 185 (depends on school district) days, about 181 days with students, the other days are staff development days (mandatory to maintain certification).

Fifteen paid sick days (the students are constantly sneezing, and coughing, all over the teachers).

A few very specific personal days (closing on house, funeral, birth of child, marriage, adopt child, graduation, etc.)

No pay for "snow days".

No paid vacation days. No paid summer vacation. No paid winter vacation. No paid spring vacation.

No paid holidays.

No time-and-a-half overtime.

I don't blame the jv guys for grumbling; why should they subsidize the varsity guys?. I work a lot of varsity but still work some lower level stuff too and I wouldn't work a 2 person HS jv game for $45. You work harder doing a 2 person sophomore boys game than you do working a 3 person boys varsity game.

It's not about the time or effort.

If you want the checks, work the varsity level.

At one time I missed the extra money I'd make working a Frosh/JV DH. However, I take pride in being a varsity official, so the extra money doesn't mean anything to me. Not to mention that fewer schools even have Frosh teams anymore.

By the way, in no way am I saying those officials that work sub-varsity games are "beneath" me and other varsity officials. If they are happy doing that, then great. We need good officials at those games too. But at least have some pride in what you do, and do your best for the players, coaches, schools, etc. I can't stand officials with the "meh, whatever" attitude.