The Old Fashioned Way ...
 

We have about 6 assignors for our area, it was mostly the smaller and charter schools that were left out. This is probably for two reasons.

1. Lower profile games which may make them theoretically easier to move
2. Our process is different from most as I understand it. We receive all of our games for the entire season from the draw on or about October 31st. Many of the smaller schools don't get their schedule in in time to be part of the process so the officials for these schools are assigned manually with what is left. All of the games and officials are ranked so the higher ranked games will be filled first till there is no qualified referees left.

Interesting. It certainly helps to have a degree of certainty as to who does what games, but how does your area deal with turnbacks, transfer officials, and dual-level officials (High School and College)? IMO, I might only know for sure what my availability is for the next month, unless there are set dates that I need to be present for (e.g. association/state meetings) or I cannot work on (e.g. the day before a final exam), and scheduling me for the entire season might lead to awkward situations in that regard. If the entire schedule is set in advance, then transfer officials might not have as much of a chance to get games compared to established officials, simply because the assigners have not seen them work, or may not know about them, other than through references from former associations.

Missed Christmas Parties ...
 

After being a Forum member for thirteen years, it is my understanding that some officials sign contracts anywhere from eighteen months, to twenty four months, in advance.

Rich is an assigner and official in one of those "18-24 month" states, I believe.

I don't get it, personally. Assigners are creating more work for themselves by giving games that far out because there certainly are a high number of turnbacks. It's unreasonable to expect an official to know what his/her availability will be on a specific date months/years in advance.

In my state there are many schools that probably don't even have their schedules finalized for the impending season. Getting varsity games 2-3 weeks out is the norm here, 1-2 weeks for subvarsity. I wouldn't want to get games much earlier than that; there are too many things that can change with respect to my availability.

When in Rome...

Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom Of Night …
 

Same here in my little corner of Connecticut.

Now.

Back in the Ancient Days before computers, the internet, email, and Arbiter, we were assigned games through "snail mail" delivered by the United States Postal Service. We mailed (not email) in our availability calendar (it was an actual physical calendar) in September/October, and received our assignments for the entire season a few weeks before the season began. Turnbacks, and reschedules, were handled by Ma Bell's land line telephones, some with rotary dials (Goggle it young'uns). Somehow, it worked. It worked for our assigner, and it worked for us. Hard to believe, but it's true.

Now I have to go out shopping for a new buggy whip.

https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=OIP.pNs...95&w=170&h=108

True, but he's sort of forced to do it that far out. If he doesn't, someone else will grab all the better officials and he'll be left with the leftovers. His schools will be unsatisfied with what he has and will find someone else.

That is one of the downsides of having multiple assignors in the same area. With just one, it doesn't matter how early the schools get their schedules out.

Right and I get that, but speaking from an official’s perspective I’d hate to have to commit to a Tuesday night in December months, if not years, in advance just to find out a few weeks before that I have to go on a business trip for my bill-paying job. Is the assigner really going to give me a hard time for giving that game back?

And I can only imagine how s*itty it would feel to be a transfer coming into a state like Wisconsin just to be told that games for the next two seasons are already given out and you’re basically just a fill-in.

Really it is the schools that ultimately force the assigners to schedule this way by making their game schedules so far in advance. Like I mentioned, in my state schools weren’t even thinking about 2018-19 basketball schedules until this past summer, and there are plenty that are still trying to get their last dates filled before practice starts.

It is easy whenever Friday is a premium date for all officials (at least on with boys games). Everybody works on Friday for the most part at all levels. Tuesday is another boys typical game night. If you work girls basketball, you likely get a combination with the other dates. If you are a college official, you likely will not working high school games on Saturday for the most part.

So yes you do know what you are doing here when that is the standard. My goal as an official early in my career was to work a varsity boys game every Tuesday and Friday during the week. I get it that it is different, but not hard to deal with when those are things that have been done since I was in high school which was in the 80s and 90s.

The games for the coming season I started to receive almost 14 months in advance in some cases.

Peace

$15.00 ...
 

Our local policy: Game Turn Back Due To Not Closing Date - Fine $15.00

You’re completely ignoring conflicts that come up in one’s personal life that can’t be foreseen from so far out. Officiating high school basketball is not most people’s first priority.

We’re supposed to lose a rating point each time it happens here. Not sure how strictly that’s actually enforced. But it’s not really comparable since we get games just a couple weeks out.

Counterproductive ...
 

Hopefully, most assigners realize that and act appropriately when their officials encounter such conflicts. To do otherwise could lead to a loss of officials who want to "work" for them.

We do not have this issue as you are making out to be. Again I know Fridays are a premium day to work basketball (and football). I tell people in my life, "I cannot do anything on Fridays and Saturdays until March." That pretty much holds up.

And everyone that has been doing this knows the days for their level during the week. I know Saturdays college assignors most of their staff to work (we get those months in advance as well). If you have a real conflict you either give back a game or you don't make yourself available. Most people that even have work issues know times and situations where they cannot work long before any game is assigned. They know that annual meeting or company trip they have to take. If it changes you address it when you know (assignors usually do not care if you did it the right way).

The funny thing I already know that basketball or officiating is not people's first priority. But what day are you going to all of a sudden know you will not work a couple weeks out? If there is a death you likely not know that until it happens. We know birthdays and anniversaries well in advance. I know people that know when their office Christmas Party is going to be held and do not work if need be that day. Our season starts around Thanksgiving, I know a year in advance how many games I am working after Thanksgiving or around Thanksgiving. I know when I am working after Christmas too. All big family events and if I do not want to take the chance I do not work.

This is about the culture of the area you work games. It is in our culture of this to get the games well in advance. If those do not want to work, they can not make themselves available. It is really that simple. But if you wait until a month out, you likely are not going to get any games on those days because the schedule was well finalized and made. At least that is the case at the varsity level.

Peace

That's simply not true. Most of us assign by crew. If one official turns a game back, the crew finds a replacement. If that person is good enough for the CREW (who has to work with him/her), that person's good enough for me. Unless I've been burned by that person and won't hire him/her, of course.

I have 350 games to assign. If I'm the only conference not assigning 15 months in advance, I am not getting ANY of the best crews.