To the Virginia officials ...

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by RedAndWhiteRef

My "regular" job is one that schedules week-to-week (hey, I'm only 23!). I have a relatively consistent schedule, but sometimes I have to work the odd shift that I'm not expecting because that's just how it is. So every week is a constant sweat between "can I work my job?" or "can I accept my games/what dates do I block on Arbiter this week?"

For football I got my assignments at least two weeks in advance. For baseball I got damn near my entire schedule before the season even started. Is basketball honestly that much more difficult? I'm not an assignor, so I really don't know.

Is there a difference in the way those sports are "organized" in your area?

The farther out an assigner assigns, the more work s/he'll have to do twice (schedule changes /turnbacks).

The closer in an assigner assigns, the greater risk the the officials he wants will be busy.

Where the "sweet spot" is depends on the assigner and how many other assigners are working in the same area. For example, I think the three closest high schools to my house have three different boys assigners and three different girls assigners. The two closest colleges have different assigners. So I could work for eight different people and not travel more than about 4 miles each way.

In other areas, someone might work for only one assigner the entire season.

[johnny d]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

Our football schedules are generally not assigned. Schools contact directly with crews and usually do it as soon as they contract the games. That means it often starts 4-5 years out. Our crew already has three games scheduled for 2020.

This is just stupid. Your entire crew could be dead in 2020. There is no way anyone can reasonably be expected to make a commitment to a particular day 4+ years in advance, especially for something as trivial as officiating a high school sporting event.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by johnny d

This is just stupid. Your entire crew could be dead in 2020. There is no way anyone can reasonably be expected to make a commitment to a particular day 4+ years in advance, especially for something as trivial as officiating a high school sporting event.

And yet it sounds like they are.

My problem with some officials is this -- they know they have a conflict well in advance but wait till the last minute to address it. Surely those college officials knew they had a game on Thursday before they contacted me on Monday.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Rich

And yet it sounds like they are.

My problem with some officials is this -- they know they have a conflict well in advance but wait till the last minute to address it. Surely those college officials knew they had a game on Thursday before they contacted me on Monday.

Unless they received a last minute assignment which happens to me at least once a year.

But I've never known college assignors to keep a HS crew together as a college crew. Of course, the concept of permanent crews is totally foreign around these parts

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[Rich]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Unless they received a last minute assignment which happens to me at least once a year.

But I've never known college assignors to keep a HS crew together as a college crew. Of course, the concept of permanent crews is totally foreign around these parts

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I've not been a part of college basketball, but I did work college baseball the last 10 years. I'd simply tell my college assigner that I was already working. Then again, I didn't live for working college games, so I get that's probably just me.

I have other college officials -- they always find subs for themselves and offer those names to me when turning back dates. Around here, that's the polite thing to do. Especially if you wish to keep getting assignments.

Frankly, if I assign a college official 8 dates and they end up turning back 6 of them, I'm just better off not using that person at all. It's nothing personal, really.