Rich's area - Is it time to drop the 3-man officiating crew?

[ODog]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

ODog, what is the situation like in MA when it comes to 3-person? I know that MA uses 3-person in the playoffs, that some varsity games are 2-person, and that the MIAA handbook addresses 3-person game fees by saying they should be no more than 85% of the 2-person fee. Are 3-person games between bigger schools, private school teams, or are they randomly spread across the board? Is it different in different boards (Board 27 doing more 3-person games than Board 54)?

Contrary to what BayStateRef said, there is plenty of 3-person in Mass., at least in my area. More than 60 percent of my games are 3-whistle. Maybe more than 70 percent. Some schools use exclusively three all season, while some only use it for 3-4 home games just as a primer in the event their teams make the tourney. But all schools play some 3-whistle games. Doesn't matter if it's large inner city boys programs or terrible small-school girls programs.

It's very prevalent in our area, and moreso every year. And all officials get the full fee. The 85-percent-fee thing went out the window by vote of our county ADs a few years ago. Two- or three-whistle, doesn't matter: You get $84.

But it does seem to depend on where you live in the state, as neighboring counties, some of whose teams play in the same leagues as our teams, don't pay for three officials as often and don't pay full fee when they do.