Glasses

[M&M Guy]

This very subject was brought up at my conference meeting last night. When I first started officiating about 15 years ago, I was told to wear contacts because glasses didn't look as "athletic", and it helps avoid all the smart-aleck comments from the stands. But last night was one of the first times I'd heard a supervisor actually say there's no problem if you have to wear glasses. It's even ok to wear a neatly-trimmed mustache. These were all taboo 15 years ago. But I think people are starting to realize if you can referee, it really doesn't matter if you wear glasses vs. contacts. Maybe, subconsciously, wearing contacts helps with a first impression the first time you're at a new gym. But if the schools already know you, I don't think they care if you show up with or without glasses, as long as you call the game right.

On the flip side, I still wear contacts for the some of the other reasons mentioned - I have more peripheral vision than with glasses, and I don't have the problem of fogging and having to wipe them off when I sweat. So it seems like it has become a personal preference rather than a "requirement" for moving up.