Referee Shortage Discussion-- 127 unfilled varsity games

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by crosscountry55

I’m hearing more and more of a movement toward some states/locations working 3-p crews for JV. I always thought it was silly for officials to either have to learn 3-p by doing varsity games, or going to teaching camps just to get comfortable.

Freshman? Middle school?

What's the cutoff? At what level are three officials not needed to properly officiate the game?

At what level are three officials needed to get enough three person subvarsity games under their black belts to be ready for a three person varsity schedule?

I observed an official work his first State tournament games last year. He made it to the quarterfinals, where three person crews are mandatory. He looked great. After the game I asked him how many three person games he had worked previous to that night's game. None. That was his first. No scrimmages. No camps. No regular season games. None.

That's not the way to do business.