Game arrival time
 

Informal poll: how early are you expected to be in the locker room for your varsity and/or college assignments?

For me, it's an hour for varsity, 75 minutes for D3 Women.

Wondering what the expectation is in other areas.

45 minutes at the very very earliest on a weeknight.

Should be more like an hour if no conflict with work.

Is that for HS or college?

For my high school association: 30 minutes
College: Depends on the conference....latest is 60 minutes prior

My standard is an hour for any level of varsity or college unless otherwise stated.

Lower level games can be 30 minutes if started early enough like a 4:30 game.

Peace

Have now officiated in six different states and the standard has always been 60 minutes for varsity. For sub-varsity HS games, pretty much 30 minutes is what I always remember being the mark. Of course one is always encouraged to shoot for a little earlier (~45 min) if possible, but work conflicts are understood and frankly if you're pushing 15 minutes from time to time no one cares as long as you keep your partner informed and get the game in.

For MS games, 20-30 minutes.

For weekend youth/AAU games, my personal standard is proportional to the paltry game fees I earn, meaning usually about 5-10 minutes. And even then, if I have the first slot in the morning, sometimes the gym is still locked when I arrive. :rolleyes:

If it is any contest that does not involve a regular uniform, that is pretty much the standard as long as you are ready to go before game time (usually games without a locker room). No one hardly gets excited about an AAU game like that.

Peace

When In Rome ...
 

For our high school varsity games, we are encouraged to be there at the beginning of the preceding junior varsity game, and expected to be there no later than the beginning of the second period of the preceding junior varsity game. In either case, varsity officials head to the locker room at the end of the third period of the preceding junior varsity game.

If it's just a single varsity game: 60 minutes prior to scheduled tipoff. If I'm doing non-varsity or a JV/Varsity doubleheader, 30 minutes prior to first game.

Since I'm paranoid about being late for stuff, I'm usually 10-15 minutes earlier than that. Also, I really don't like feeling rushed before a game... I like to have some time to mentally get away from all the other life distractions and focus on the task at hand.

For driveway games it's 5 minutes. :D

Varsity 1 hour before scheduled tip time; JV/ Fresh 30 mins; Middle School 30 mins; recreational leagues (0 to 5 minutes)--these games usually feature a kid or coach running into the gym lugging gym bags and fumbling with score sheets 10 seconds before tip off.

Back in the day, for both women's and men's college it used to be 1:30 before the start time for Div. III and below and 2:00 before the start time for Div. I. Regarding Div. I games there is a protocol that each league that must be followed including a pregame with the Scorer and Timers.

The NHFS Officials Manual has always said 1:00 before the start time. Using that as a guide line I would like to be at the game site before the start of JV when I had a VAR game and I would either stay in the dressing room or at least be in the dressing room by the end of the third quarter.

I would always be at the game site 1:00 before the start time for JV games and at between 0:45 and 1:00 before the start time for FR and JrHS games. As I have gotten older it is important that I arrive 1:00 before a game because of the time it takes to put on my knee brace and to stretch out. It is hell getting old, LOL! And just think of poor MTD, Jr., he has to carry both figuratively and literally, LOL!

My preference has always been to arrive at the game site at the earliest time required. I wanted to allow for travel delays as well as to not be rushed in getting ready in the dressing room.

MTD, Sr.

HS.

I meant to say "very latest" rather than "very earliest."

In this area, it's not absolutely required but it's expected that the varsity officials will arrive 1:30 early and watch the first half of the preceding JV game, offering feedback/comments at halftime to the JV officials. Does it always happen? No, but most of the time, most of the guys are there for at least a quarter and usually the whole half. No set time for sub-varsity, just be out there dressed 15 mins prior to tip. So practically, unless you show up dressed (discouraged, at least for the main conferences), 30 mins is the defacto arrival time.

In my experience/observation: no Varsity ref hung around the locker room to give ''advice''/'feedback'' to JV Fresh refs after the game was over. Those JV Fresh refs are high-tailing it out of there after their games--getting home and out of the snow--heck man it's dinner time right after games are done. When I do varsity I do not offer such 'advice' and when I do JV Fresh games I do not solicit such 'advice' from the other crew. In fact, I have not seen anyone do --nor would I expect anyone to attempt to do such. What kind of advice feedback is typically given? Is it necessary to do such?

And for wreck league, it's have your shoes tied, whistle on, and shirt tail hanging out when the buzzer ends to signal the end of the warmup period and start the game.

Before I started working primarily varsity games, I always asked for feedback (mainly on positioning/mechanics, occasionally I asked about judgement calls if I think they might've seen the play in question) from any varsity refs that were in the locker room after my game ended. I figured it was always good to get an independent evaluation from a more experienced official, although of course there were some bits of "advice" that were ignored/quickly discarded.

I may or may not have stayed for the varsity game, depending on the relevant factors (time of day, weather conditions, driving time to get home, if my significant other was waiting for me, etc).

Now that I'm primarily working the JV/V doubleheaders, I don't usually have the opportunity to provide any feedback, but if the situation arises where I'm able to do so AND the official in question asks for it, I'm happy to do so. I got help from vets when I was a rookie, I should be willing to do the same for other rookies.

When I was a "prelim official" I would stay and watch the varsity officials and ask them questions about their games. It was routine. I had no where to be that night and made sure I had nothing to do. Now before we can enter the floor for the varsity game, the prelim officials are gone out of the building. That used to be a right or passage of sorts that you would do so that you could learn some basic information and how to officiated. Those days seem over or the attitude is that they do not need any advice, but complain if they are not working varsity ball right now. I also tend to not just give advice unless I am asked or I know the official rather well. When I was early in my career I was seeking advice all the time. I wanted to get better and see what the big dogs were doing. I do not know how you get better without seeing what is expected at the level you wish to one day work and then have access to the guys that are doing those games on a regular. A lot of things I learned was just watching and seeing how they handled coaches and communicated with their partners. But it is rare anymore I see that has a veteran from the younger guys.

Peace

I, too, tend to answer questions rather than provide unsolicited feedback. And I do my best to keep any answers to questions two-sided; I think groups of officials get more out of a conversation than a tutoring session. And heck, sometimes a junior official will say something that I hadn't thought about. I'm never too old to get better and wiser.

Where I've officiated there's often not much time after a JV game to talk because the varsity crew has to get on the floor. So we usually watch the first half, then meet with the sub-varsity crew and start changing at halftime. Let the JV crew handle their own mid-game business first. Remember, they're doing a game, not a clinic. But if there's time and we get the "so, anything you guys saw?" question, then I'm usually ready with a simple pointer, maybe two at the most. I don't want to cause paralysis by analysis at halftime; that's not the time or place.

Every once in a while I get an email from the early crew later that night or the next day. Then I might provide much more substantial feedback. I also promptly tell assigners about the engaged and inquisitive official because such qualities are too exciting to keep to myself.

Not after the game was over, but rather halftime of the JV game. It actually works fairly well, more often than not. The JV game generally starts at 6:00 pm (sometimes at 5:30 if no 4:30 fresh game). So the varsity crew would get there at 6, watch the 1st half, go to the locker room at halftime of the JV game, make some comments/suggestions, then the JV guys head back out and the varsity guys either watch a little of the 3rd qtr before changing or just stay in the locker room to get ready.

Some JV guys, especially those being mentored or wanting to move up, will stay for a half of the varsity game or the whole game - and they're generally welcomed into the locker room at half of that game too - but that's only if they want to do so, it's not expected.

90 minutes is standard in my state for HS and college. The expectation for HS is to be there at the beginning of the JV in case of no-shows or injured JV refs.

90 minutes for a HS game? :eek:

That's longer than the game itself.

Varsity games I shoot for an hour.

In Ontario, high school games often tip off at 315 or 330.. So 15 minutes is often all that can be expected.

College.. 60 minutes.

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Varsity games i try to make it 60 minutes before but in reality its closer to 30-45 minutes. College - 90 minutes.

I was thinking the same thing.....that is really an unreasonable expectation unless they're paying a lot more than we're getting. IF they want me there for the JV game, they're paying me for the JV game too.