AAU Fees
 

Hoop Group blocked this guy earlier last week for calling them out on officials pay/rates. Is this the case in your area as well?

https://twitter.com/NoBlarges/status...64168249925632

I can also talk about this openly because I was also at this event but for a camp. They likely did not pay that to all the officials because there were two college camps going on at the same time. Many of the games were being officiated by college officials or college prospects who paid to be at the camp.

He or she is right about paying for parking, but I doubt that is on the actual tournament, but probably on the venue. I doubt they were giving up parking for officials. Even on one of the days I was there I had to park several blocks away in another parking garage to get to the event. ;)

But this is what AAU/Travel/Shoe company tournaments have become. These are money grabs for the events and the people involved and the officials are only a small piece of that puzzle. But the parents complain and they might in some cases have D1 officials working their games as well. ;)

I would have never worked this without being a camp and a chance to be seen by the right people. I worked the Nike Cup (or whatever it is called) at McCormick Place in Chicago, which also did not cover parking initially for the officials. They paid OK but not spectacular and had us working multiple, stop clock games in multiple makeshift courts over hard concrete. I say to officials, stop doing this shit. I did it because I did not know any better, but once you do, do better. And you get guys that often will do it only for the money or only work this level and have no footprint in the actual high school or college ball for the most part.

Peace

Same thing happens here for Nike & Hoop Group when there are overflow games that can't fit in the main facility. Main venue games are usually covered by college and NBA Grassroots camps. Overflow games are played at a convention center where thin, jigsaw puzzle courts are laid directly on concrete. No way you can work more than 2-3 games on that crap without injury or extended soreness.

Eventually off-season travel ball is going to collapse on itself b/c of the reasons laid out in this thread and the continuing shortage of officials. I went out to watch some of our local officials at the convention center (16 courts) Friday and the person who was responsible for the courts we weren't assigning was as actively recruiting our officials to cover his holes. Happens every year with greater frequency.