I have been lurking, and wondering if I should try reffing. I am fascinated by the discussions on this board.

I am wondering though, if I may ask an indellicate question, how much to refs get paid per game?

Jr. High?
Frosh?
JV?
Varsity?
JC/Comm Coll?
Major college ball?
Intermural/rec ball?

I take it you mostly have other jobs, and just do this on the side because you like to do it?

I am thinking when I retire maybe it would be a good gig to do a couple of times a week, get a few extra bucks, give me motivation to get back into shape, are their "old refs"?

It varies widely by area.

Call the local HS, or state association.

I may get slammed for this, but here goes. I won't address the money thing as that varies from place to place. But I would recommend that you don't get into reffing merely because of the money or because you're bored or because you want to get into shape. Do it because you love the game and you want to be a part of it. If you don't go into officiating with the goal to be as good a ref as you possibly can, you will be doing a disservice to the kids who you are working for. If you aren't already in shape, get in shape before you start - you're not going to be effective if you can't keep up from day 1. If you can't get into that kind of shape before you start, then don't go into officiating.

Just some ballpark figures:

junior high $20
freshman, jv $35-$40
varsity $50-$60
juco $85-$100
Division III $125-$150
Division I $500-$700, plus airfare,per diem, hotel expenses

how much do you want to work
 

I started back about 3-years ago after being away from officiating for almost 20-years. It took a while to build a HS schedule, 1st year 10 games; 2nd year went to 2-day camp met some assignment chairmen - did 110 HS games, mostly Frosh A/B; this year same number of dates but only 77 HS games, mostly Soph Prelims on Tue, Fri, Sat before the Var contests and some Var. Next year [04-05 season] have a small Varsity schedule already booked, with about a dozen or so Soph Prelims. This year will look to make $3000 from HS alone. Park/Rec Ball will add about another $1500.

Rates range from $25/game rec ball to $83/game varsity..for what it's worth
uniforms and shoes $150
whistles $10
warm up jacket $50
keeping in shape, having some fun, meeting some great people ...priceless...

Smitty I agree...
 

If you're thinking about getting into officiating for the money...DON'T! That is the wrong reason. As Smitty says, do it because you love the game, the kids, the atmosphere and so on. The money should be secondary.

I was unclear in my post, I am thinking of doing it because I like basketball, and think I may like officiating. I like mind challenges, which reffing seems to be, Kind of like a super high speed life size chess match.

I was just curious about the money.;

I run a couple of leagues for my church, volunteer. I have had great fun doing that, and reffin in that league. Obviously no formal training, but am proud of cleaning up the sportsmanship in my first year ("this league won't be hijacked by thugs, punks or whiners, so play nice or get lost" --kind of attitude. It works in church ball)

My "pregame" usually consists of the following:
"sorry the other guy (volunteer) who was supposed to ref didn't show up tonight, I'll be doing it by myself. As a result I can guarentee you 2 things; first-- I will miss some calls, and second, you calling my attention to the fact that I am missing calls will not help your situation."

Obviously what I am doing now has no relation to actual organized ball, but I am having enough fun to think maybe I could take up reffing as a hobby in my retirement years. And yes, I do know enough to realize that you would have to be insane to do it for the money.

These may seem low, and they are, and they're also in CDN$$$

Jr. High-18
Frosh-30
JV-30
Varsity-30
JC/Comm Coll-55
Major college ball-85
Intermural/rec ball 20-30(depending on league)

Around here it is
Frosh 30
Reserve 35
JV 40-50 depending on school
Varsity 50-85

Yeah, I'm older.
 

I started officiating at 45. I am now older than dirt.
mick 1947

In my association a retired guy can make a killing, because they're some of the few available for the early games.

Re: No you're not!!
 

I started officiating at 45. I am now older than dirt.
mick 1947 [/B][/QUOTE]No, you're not!
-Dirt 1943.

Re: Re: No you're not!!
 

No, you're not!
-Dirt 1943. [/B][/QUOTE]

Gee, you guys are OLD!
RecRef 1948

V 3 Person________________$55
Fr & Jv 2 Person__________$42
Rec Ball 95% 2 person_____$30-32 Youth, not sure about adult.

Middle schools are based on starting time.

Time____________2 Person_______1 Person

2-2:29pm__________$57____________$67

2:30-2:59__________52_____________62

3-3:59_____________45_____________57

4:00 and after_____35_____________47



[Edited by RecRef on Feb 20th, 2004 at 05:05 PM]

You guys get paid more for a middle school game than a varsity???????

I hope you gentlemen and ladies will forgive me for what looks like and probably is an obvious lack of humility but I answered the question regarding why most of us do it in this month's referee magazine. Check out the March issue on page44 and see what you think!

It is a matter of the time. Not many of us can get to a 2 or 2:30 game without taking a ton of leave. In my case it would also mean that I would have to use a private parking lot and that would eat up $12 of the total. So it is not a lot of money when you think of it.

Re: Re: Re: No you're not!!
 

Gee, you guys are OLD!
RecRef 1948 [/B][/QUOTE]

Geeze...1948, 1943, 1947...I feel like I'm watching reruns on the History Channel. Look! They're gonna demonstrate that new-fangled automatic transmission thingy again!

MS vs. HS
 

Another Reason you sometimes get paid more for MS is the good old "piggyback" some ADs love to do, in which they get you for 2 games (when your contract clearly states 1 game, and you liberally plan something afterwards that you will surely miss!). The good thing about this is that they usually add on around $10 for the trouble.

P.S. I have a different price range for some IM/rec Ball; I get about $6.75 an hour in Indiana. I know that there are some area Sportsplexes that pay closer to $15-20 per game. I'm just too lazy to drive over there!

BigGref
-1984

[Edited by BigGref on Feb 20th, 2004 at 11:25 PM]

Here in my part of Georgia:

Rec 15-20
MS/JV 30.50
3-man V 37.50
2-man V 44

Well, I'm definitely not in it for the money, but I have to admit, it's sometimes like getting paid to work out and learn at the same time.

As y'all know, I've been at this less than a month, and I probably wouldn't have done any games to this point if I didn't have a friend who's an assignor. He's given me 11 games to this point (and three more tomorrow) in the parochial middle school league he's in charge of. Usually guys in this league get scheduled to do three games in a row, so it's not at all a bad afternoon's work. Factor in that the one school I do games at is literally five minutes from my house and the other is about 15 minutes from my house, and it's very nice.

I got into this because I've been involved in lots of sports on lots of different levels (player, broadcaster, front-office guy) and thought this would be a different way to be involved, take on a new challenge, expand my horizons, and get away from the professional sports I've been around (and too close to) for years. The kids are where it's at.

So far I've almost made back the cost of (a) the class I took, (b) the uniform, and (c) the registration fees to the state association. Not quite, but almost. Pretty soon it'll be almost pure profit and I'll be looking for that condo on Maui. :)

Short answer: You won't get paid much, but don't worry about it. If you get the bug, keep doing it, and the money is secondary.

Just remember not to get your picture taken with LeBron James and you'll be okay. :)

Around here varies, depending on which conference:

Parochial Athletic League (5th-8th graders)-$18/game
Sub-varsity for the Metro Conference-$32.50/game or $55 for a doubleheader.
Sub-varsity for non-Metro conference-varies by school, but I've gotten $50-60 for a doubleheader.
Junior high games-approx. $25/game (depending on school of course)
City rec league-$22/game
YMCA kids league (last year)-$15/game (if certified by the state association) or $13/game (if not certified by the state)

I hear the guys that work Metro Conference varsity games here get $65/game. Don't know what they get for 2 games (boy/girl doubleheaders), but doubt they work both. We have so many refs around here that some go in and work the girls game then another pair come in to do the boys game.

IOWA
 

Most of our games our JV/V or G/B Varsity.
$70-75 Doubleheader

Jr. High Double - $40
Fresh/Soph Double - $45 - These are probably the games you earn your money the most. 7 min qtrs - lot of turnovers - games take about as long as double header Varsity.

Bottom line for me - it pays for my monthly motorcycle payment which will be paid off in April!!! I wouldn't be doing it 5 nights a week if I didn't enjoy it. Some nights more than others!!!!