Moving to RI

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Rich

I'm thankful I can work with as many assigners as I want here.

I can work for lots of assigners, many middle schools, AAU, recreation leagues, travel leagues, mens leagues, church and synagogue leagues, summer leagues, and in theory, college, junior college, Olympics, NBA, etc.

If I want to work scholastic games, I have to work for one assigner.

I've had four scholastic (high school) assigners over the past thirty-seven years, two short term, two long term. All of them have been professional, fair, and have shown great integrity.

Lucky? You bet I am. I realize that it could have been different.

Our local IAABO board assigner works for us. We pay him. He has a one year contract. If he screws up, he, and his $32,025.00 salary, might be gone the next year. And, as we've seen after retirements, and death, there's no shortage of applicants for the job when we make a change.

Would I prefer to pick my scholastic assigner from multiple choices? Sure, I guess, but if it ain't broke, no need to fix it (until it's broke, and needs fixing).

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by Rich

I've never been fond of areas where a single assigner could see to it that I couldn't work games.

When I lived in TN, my baseball assigner coached middle school hoops. For an official, he was a complete ass as a coach. I ejected him.

On the way off the floor, he threatened my baseball assignments.

I contacted the state office the next day. I contacted the association officers, as well. Not sure what kind of conversation there was, but I had a great schedule that next spring....and then moved out of state.

I'm thankful I can work with as many assigners as I want here.

That’s the type of system that’s in place in many of the southeastern states. Associations control the assignments, you can only be a member of one association, and if you piss off that assigner, goodbye to your schedule.

Even in South Carolina where the SCHSL controls all the varsity assignments, if you piss off your district director he can tell the state to stop giving you games.

I wish we had more of a “college system” that’s in place in much of the Midwest. Difference here is that schools aren’t members of “conferences” that hire assigners; they’re assigned to a classification (1A through 5A in South Carolina) and a region within that classification by the state office. Schools aren’t free to pick and choose what conference they play in.

[Rich]

I am a conference assigner for 23 schools.

I only hire varsity officials, but I do so for all sports.

This probably seems weird to the rest of the country, but our schools hire all the lower level stuff, unless they've cut deals with people that do assigning.

[Player989random]

Originally Posted by SC Official

That’s the type of system that’s in place in many of the southeastern states. Associations control the assignments, you can only be a member of one association, and if you piss off that assigner, goodbye to your schedule.

Even in South Carolina where the SCHSL controls all the varsity assignments, if you piss off your district director he can tell the state to stop giving you games.

Same in VA, man. I did football, had a falling out with the commissioner, and low and behold I'm done doing football in my part of the state. Not that I miss it.

Basketball suffers from that as well. My two neighboring associations fight for control of county contracts, and it appears schools can pick which association they want for each sport. You get caught working for a rival, goodbye schedule.

[RefRich]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Nobody is willing to poke the bear.

We've had a few border skirmishes over schools, but not over members.

We did recently have one of our local boards separate into two local boards. It was a large, very rural area, members believed that, in terms of mileage, the original geographic area was too large.

Connecticut has been 100% IAABO for about ten years. If you want to officiate high school basketball in Connecticut, you have to belong to IAABO.

Unless of course, you want to start your own independent officiating group. Nobody's stopping anybody from doing that. Knock yourself out.

They should hope the Lacrosse officials in PA don't decide to move to RI.

[Raymond]

I work for 2 different HS assignors. One controls a large association, the other a small one. Both work me whenever I'm open. Both of them dislike the old 'good ole boy' standard of "you can only work for me and no one else".

The one who has the smaller association only warns that he will not seek additional contracts without firm commitments of availability from those of us working out of town.

We are independent contractors. Work me when I'm available, that's the purpose Arbiter and other assigning software. Commissioners get 8% of our game fees, so we officials are paying them, not the other way around.

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