The One Time, And Only Time, It's Good To Wear A Black Belt ...

[BillyMac]

Almost everybody on this Forum subscribes to the idea that it's unprofessional for a basketball official to wear a black belt. IAABO (International) agrees, and stipulates that beltless slacks shall be worn, a change that started last season.

My local board passed a constitutional amendment last season allowing those who wanted to wear a belt, a very small minority, the option of doing so.

Last night my partner ripped the zipper of his beltless slacks while getting dressed for our varsity game. Safety pins didn't do the trick. Striped shirt worn untucked covered the broken zipper, but didn't look good.

My partner was a thirty-eight waist. One of the junior varsity officials was a thirty-four waist, the other a forty-two waist. My partner tried on the forty-two waist but, of course, the pants were way too big and kept on falling down. But the forty-two waist pants were belted pants, so my partner simply tightened up the belt, and away we went.

Sometimes a black belt comes in handy. Not often, but sometimes. And if you ever need a tourniquet in the middle of a game ...

[BryanV21]

Sounds like a good reminder to always have a spare pair of pants, a spare shirt, etc, in your bag.

[UNIgiantslayers]

Chuck Norris disagrees.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by UNIgiantslayers

Chuck Norris disagrees.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BryanV21

Sounds like a good reminder to always have a spare pair of pants, a spare shirt, etc, in your bag.

Great advice, as is the advice to always keep packed bag in the trunk of your car, just in case ...

But I just don't have the room in my bag, or the time to keep up with laundry, to have multiple sets of uniforms available, at all times.

I do my own laundry, and like Sheldon Cooper, Saturday night is laundry night, and I just don't have the time to do it other nights, especially since I'm out most nights working games.

Someday this will come back to bite me in the ass, but I'm willing to take a chance.

[BryanV21]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Great advice, as is the advice to always keep packed bag in the trunk of your car, just in case ...

But I just don't have the room in my bag, or the time to keep up with laundry, to have multiple sets of uniforms available, at all times.

I do my own laundry, and like Sheldon Cooper, Saturday night is laundry night, and I just don't have the time to do it other nights, especially since I'm out most nights working games.

Someday this will come back to bite me in the ass, but I'm willing to take a chance.

You do your laundry on Saturday nights? Ha... loser

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BryanV21

You do your laundry on Saturday nights? Ha... loser

I always do it after attending the Saturday afternoon vigil mass, followed by an evening watching Doc Martin with my cat, Callie.

Ha! Now who's the loser. Wait? I'm being told ... Not exciting? Better things to do on a Saturday night? Never mind.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by BryanV21

Sounds like a good reminder to always have a spare pair of pants, a spare shirt, etc, in your bag.

Agreed. I have a spare everything in my bag. Only used em a couple of times.

Once last yr, our electronic clock operator (ECO) forgot his court shoes, and used mine.

[Mark Padgett]

I used to keep a staple gun in my bag for situations like this.

[bob jenkins]

This has nothing to do with "laundry" or "room in your bag."

Put a spare uniform in your car at the beginning of the season and leave it there until the end of the season.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Put a spare uniform in your car at the beginning of the season and leave it there until the end of the season.

Great advice, same advice we get from our assignment commissioner every season, but I can't afford to take a full set of "stuff" (including expensive items like a shoes, pants, and a bag) out of commission for an entire season. It's benefit versus risk, and I'm prepared to take a calculated risk at not having extra "stuff" available on the very slight chance that I'll need something, my partner may need something, a colleague may need something, or a site might need need an official. But, like I stated earlier, someday this logic may come back to bite me in the ass, and I'm prepared to get a lot of deserved "I told you so".

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Great advice, same advice we get from our assignment commissioner every season, but I can't afford to take a full set of "stuff" (including expensive items like a shoes, pants, and a bag) out of commission for an entire season.

Expensive stuff? You likely don't need extra shoes. I have only ever had one pair of shoes fail and I could manage with them until the game was over.

Unless you're planning on covering for the day you forget to pack a bag entirely, you really need just pants, shirt, and a whistle....the things that show and can have trouble (mostly pants). Everything else is nice to have assuming you don't arrive naked. A simple $10 duffel from target is a good enough bag.

[mrroberts]

38 and 42 waist??? Sounds like the partners need to watch their figure a bit better😳

[BillyMac]

I very recently retired from working Catholic middle school games. After more than a half a century of "wear and tear" athletic activities, I have developed patellofemoral pain syndrome in both knees, and osteoarthritis, and a bone spur, in my right ankle. I finally realized that I need rest between assignments and, at my age, can no longer work games every night. Rest between games, elastic flexibility exercises, inserts in my day job work shoes, expensive stability running shoes, lots of aspirin, and knee braces, will, hopefully, extend my high school officiating career a few more years.

With no more Catholic middle school games, I now find myself with a lot of extra "stuff", as well as a decreased laundry load. Maybe I'll pack a complete spare bag and leave it in the trunk of my car for the season. Maybe I can "save the day" for myself, a colleague, or fill in a last minute "emergency" assignment without stopping off at home.



After officiating for thirty-five years, I'm starting to see something at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, it isn't light.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by mrroberts

38 and 42 waist??? Sounds like the partners need to watch their figure a bit better.

Hey. I'm a thirty-eight. I'm just little short for my weight.