Well that was fun
 

First, I was a little surprised to get the assignment late Wednesday for the JV double header. That suggested someone was taken out of the game (or removed themselves) and that was confirmed when my partner showed as he got the assignment then as well.

We get on the floor and as I am having the coaches double check the book the home coach says "Hope you are ready" then added that he had requested two who "Knew how to handle and intense game and were confident." I figured it was a BS line and he was trying to smooze...nope, he was dead on.

There were only about 300 in attendance but for the secondary gym that made it full. And they were loud from the opening tip as the schools are long time rivals. This was at an old school so between the bench and the court there had to be a good two inches. We had told the coaches we understood that if they stood they would be on the court, just "watch out and work with us". At least we tried.

It started getting rough right away so we started calling everything trying to get them to settle down and just play. Between the first and second I told my partner that I had warned white 21 to leave the other team alone and he said "I was about to tell you the same thing." Right after the start of the second my partner calls a foul and as I am getting ready to toss the ball to the shooter white 21 starts jawing at him. I see my partner coming in as I drop the ball. I give him the stop sign as I grab my whistle...whack, white 21.

A few trips down the floor later my partner calls a travel on white and as I turn to go down the court the home coach is about 6 feet on the door, stomping his foot and yelling "How can he make that call"...whack.

Early in the third period I am at lead (opposite) as we are getting ready to come out of a time out when all of a sudden about 20 kids from the stands make a dash for the floor. I immediately hit my whistle and manage to move the players away from the sideline. One of the kids leaving comes out on the floor but there was a local LEO standing there. I pointed to the kid and told the officer "He's done. Get him out." After a couple of minutes the police and school officials have everything under control and we resume play.

The game stayed close all the way and the visiting team hit a three at the buzzer to send in to OT. On the second trip down the court for the visiting team I call a foul on white and point to the shooter. As I turn to report I hear my partner hit his whistle four or five times. I spin around to see blue 23 (who was going to be the shooter) put his hand in the chest of a player on white and shove him back a few feet. White 1 immediately retaliates with a two-handed shove that almost sends blue 23 to the floor. My partner and I are both hitting our whistles and get between them...both coaches are on the floor in the blink of an eye and we manage to stop things quickly (nobody left the bench for either team).

Coaches get their guys in front of their bench and my partner and I make sure we have the two numbers correct. I report everything and we get the replacements for the ejected players. As my partner administers the free-throws for the initial foul I explain what will happen to both coaches...they nod and we finish without further incident. Lucking white missed their three at the buzzer and we avoided a second OT.

Just another night in the gym. :eek: :D

IMO,

If they had enough fore-thought to hand pick officials to handle this matchup, they should have had enough sense to add a 3rd. Maybe not the norm, but the situation as you describe it wasn't normal. A good 3rd may have made a noticeable difference. Maybe a good after action comment to AD or assigner.

I have found that just adding a third doesn't help unless all 3 are well versed in 3 man. Without the proper training there is a negative return on investment for having a third official.

Which is good reason to start 3 man at lower levels (large school JV, for example).

Completely agree. Most nights, a JV 2-man is harder to work than a V level 3-man. Our assignor brings in a lot of 2-man crews for the JV game, brand new crew for the Varsity game. I'd rather have 3, work both games and take a little less pay for both games

Rough Numbers:

JV Game - 2 officials at $55
V Game - 3 Officials at $65
Total - $305

or

3 officials working JV and V game at $100.

Many won't see it as a little less.

300 is a pretty good crowd for a lot of games! :)

I'll suggest that you let your partner handle it when he is the one being jawed at.

I just drove 160 miles roundtrip last night for $50. I'm not in this for the bucks.

But it's ridiculous, nonetheless. $50 was at the low end here in 2002 when I moved here. Yes, we're 3-person now instead of 2-person, but there are parts of this state that pay $85/person (3-person) and places that still pay $50 as part of a negotiated reduction that allowed for 3-person 7-8 years ago that still hasn't been adjusted. And yet this year we're playing 18 minute halves instead of 8 minute quarters and there was *still* no adjustment to these fees in most places.

The example above means that the officials would be making $35 each to work the JV game. I don't like it, cause there's absolutely no skin in the game for the schools.

When I started assigning a HS conference, I allowed crews to bring 3 and have them split 2 checks -- this was last season. I knew we were going full-time 3-person this year (and we didn't cut fees at all), and I told the officials that it would be a one year cut...and they could always choose to work 2-person since that's what the schools paid for. About 40% of the games were worked with 3 officials last year. 100% this year and I can't imagine going back.

So you actually lost money on the night. That is not cool. You might not be in it for the money but it shouldn't cost you to do it.

"How can he make that call? It's easy, coach. He puts his hand up while he blows his whistle. Then he gives the travel signal. Then he indicates which team will get the ball by pointing in the direction that team is going. Do I need to go on, or did you learn how calls are made now?" :p

I took the game as a favor to an assigner. Where I am, we have no central assigners so I'm free to work games far away or close to home as I see fit.

Today I saw video from a game pitting the #1 and #2 girls teams in our small school division on a 94-foot floor. They hired 2-person crews. These days, in this state, that's outrageous.

Then again, it's one of those facilities that puts on events and usually assumes the responsibility of paying for the officials and they sent around an email earlier this season asking for crews. They paid $55 (below market in the area) and only hired 2-person for all games.

I took this to mean white 21 was jawing at the shooter, not his partner.

Most places pay more for each official in 2-man than 3-man. I believe that the pay should be the same. The third official is being added because the game needs more coverage, not the same amount of officiating split three ways.

Well that was fun
 

Exactly. I couldn't agree more.

The conference I assign paid $60 each for 2 last year and $60 each for 3 this year.