Wisconsin Assigning Challenges (First Hand Observations)

[crosscountry55]

Those that know me on the forum know that I just completed a move from Virginia to Wisconsin. I am respectfully making the rounds with various conference commissioners, introducing myself, getting court time where able, etc.

Before I moved many on this forum often discussed the variety of assigning systems in different states and areas. As part of this, and with Rich's input, we often talked about Wisconsin's long-term assigning and contracting system.

So now I'm here. When in Rome, you do as the Romans do, so I'm making the best of it. But I must say, I've already noticed a fair amount of disunity. That is to say, there are tons of associations that more or less compete with each other for credibility. Some have assigners, some don't. Some assigners assign for two schools, and some assign for twenty. Some conferences have more than one assigner, i.e. the conference can't agree on a common assigner so the schools choose "their guy." And then of course there's the fact that WIAA requires schools to individually contract games with officials---on paper by snail mail---which forces schedules and assignments to be made months and sometimes years in advance, often outside of Arbiter on a pen-and-paper basis. As a move-in, with the exception of a few metro conferences that are breaking free of long-term assignments and permanent crews, the best I can hope for this year is to be a spot-fill for openings that come up.

It is what it is. But it makes me appreciate so much more the places in America in which assigners and associations work together to fill the games on a more rational real-time basis....with a wide variety of partners....all using Arbiter so that archaic double-bookings do not occur.

I love my home state, but golly gee do we ever assign basketball officials chaotically. It could (and should) be so much better.