organizing officials

[doghead]

Question: How are officials organized in your state? In Pennsylvania they are organized by groups called "chapters". Each chapter has their own governing board and rule interpreter. Often there seems to be some contention or competition among these various chapters as to which one is providing the "best" officials. All these chapters are affiliated and overseen by the state athletic association (P.I.A.A.). I was just wondering about other organizational structures in different states. Thanks.

[JRutledge]

In Illinois, we have associations. It is not required to belong to one, but it sure does help. Each association if very different and has different benefits and training expectations. I belong to one of the best associations in Football. We have several Big 10 Officials in Football just from our association. And many former NFL Officials were from this association too.

Now for Basketball I am about to join an association that had members that are NBA and NCAA D1 Officials.

Basically associations in Illinois are there to train and help recruit newer officials. Associations are not there to provide games for their members. Yes, you can get games being a member of some associations and certain conferences are mainly tied to certain associations, but it is very difficult to get all members to work for just one conference.

Basically my state seems to be a little different than others I have heard officials talk about on this board and other boards. We are truly independent contractors in Illinois. And I work for about 5 assignors and none of these assignors require me to be apart of any particular associations. Now they might want or recommend me and other officials to belong to an association, but it does not mean that if I belong to a particualar association, that I cannot work for many assignors that have no ties to associations that assignors might be members of.

Actually to get games, you have to attend camps that assignors go to. And if you are good enough or meet the individuals requirements (ranking, experiences, availibility, just to name a few), then you will be hired by them to do High School or College level games if asked.

Basically, associations are there to encourage comradery among officials through training and fellowship if you will. And in that, if you gain mentors and friends while becoming a better official, so be it.

Peace

[Dave Brost]

In Wisconsin, we have the same setup as in Illinois. Our Associations are there mostly for recruiting new officials, and developing them. A few conferences have ties to these associations, and actually require you to be a member to get games. But mostly, as Rut said, we are independent contractors.
Rut, what association in Basketball are you about to join? I am a Master level in Wisconsin, from Janesville. I have found that some commissioners and AD's are reluctant to give games because of the mileage involved. (Schools pay about $.30 per mile for one of the two officials). Thus, I am restricted, being so close to the Illinois border, in going south. I have been pondering getting a reciprocal license for Illinois, in order to possibly increase my number of games. I am a firm believer in the associations and camps, in order to be seen and known. Would be interested in knowing what associations are available in northern Illinois. Thanks for any help.

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by Dave Brost
In Wisconsin, we have the same setup as in Illinois. Our Associations are there mostly for recruiting new officials, and developing them. A few conferences have ties to these associations, and actually require you to be a member to get games. But mostly, as Rut said, we are independent contractors.
Rut, what association in Basketball are you about to join? I am a Master level in Wisconsin, from Janesville. I have found that some commissioners and AD's are reluctant to give games because of the mileage involved. (Schools pay about $.30 per mile for one of the two officials). Thus, I am restricted, being so close to the Illinois border, in going south. I have been pondering getting a reciprocal license for Illinois, in order to possibly increase my number of games. I am a firm believer in the associations and camps, in order to be seen and known. Would be interested in knowing what associations are available in northern Illinois. Thanks for any help.

Unfortunatly David, there are not any conferences or schools that pay by mileage that I am aware of. So if you want to do some travelling done here to do games, that will be a non factor. You would have more problems with your rating and your ability to have been seen by an assignor. It is not impossible to get games, but you might have go to a couple of camps to prove yourself if you want varsity. Or you could do some Freshman and JV games to show that you can officiate too.

How far is Janesville to the Illinois border? Because there is much basketball that you could do close to the state borders.

BTW, I almost forgot. I am thinking about joining the Metropolitian Officials Association. They are tied to the Chicago Public League. If you ever saw the show "Preps" on Fox Sports Network last year, most of the kids were in that League. Most of the Chicago Public League officials are members of the MOA, but not everyone is a member. And it is not necessarily required to do those games. It helps thought, mainly because the main assignors of the League attend those meetings.

Peace

[Dave Brost]

Rut-
Thanks for the info. Janesville is about 15 miles north of the Illinois border. My point about the mileage was not that I wanted to be paid for it, but in fact the opposite. I don't care about the mileage. The assignors do not want to have to pay someone for more miles if they can get someone closer. I sometimes drive 1-1/2 to 2 hours to a game, but those are conferences where they do not pay mileage, so the assignors are more willing to give those games. I do not mind driving, as I enjoy doing the games.

By going south into Illinois, I would be expanding my territory to a much wider region, within a shorter distance. Areas such as Rockford, Belvidere and Freeport are all less the 45 minutes away. I think just in this territory there is the chance for many games. However, actually obtianing them is another story. Thus, this is where the camps and associations come in to play.

Thanks for your help. Any more info you may have, you could E-mail me at [email protected]. Have a great year.

[Rick Vietti]

In Nevada we have associations that have contracts with the NIAA. Each sport has a commisioner who does the assigning for that particular sport. The commisioner works for the NIAA and works closely with the association. Assignments are handed out via one assignor and we get paid mileage for travel out of the area. This is all part of the contract with the schools and the NIAA. Officials do not have to go out and look for games nor can they.

I belong to 3 associations for football, basketball and softball and I pay dues for all three. That gives me the tests, rule books, and any clinics that are required. We are given assignments based on "Ability and Availability."

I feel that this system works well, because it allows officials to concentrate on improving their skills, instead of having to impress assignors or coaches or AD's. In basketball we are evaluated formally and that determines your movement up.

[rockyroad]

Way out here in Washington, we have local Associations...all games falling under the WIAA must be assigned by a local Association which is licensed through the WIAA...the only way to get HS games, then, is to join one of the Associations...our local group has an Assignor hired by our elected Board, and he assigns all games - everything from kid's and adult rec league through HS Varsity - including spring, summer, and fall ball...we have had problems in the past with unscrupulous assignors, but they are usually gotten rid of quickly...the Association also handles all training of the officials in that group...I like it, as I don't have to hustle games, and I don't have to worry that if I T a coach I'll never go back to that school again...there are some down sides to it, but the benefits are far greater...

[Richard Ogg]

Our local association (Northern California) signs a contract with several school leagues and city recreational departments. The association agrees to supply trained officials, and in turn channels the payments. We are legally independent contractors who can work anywhere, but the local games are booked through the association at this year's negotiated pay rates. Our association pays $5 extra per assignment date for mileage for games in the outskirts of the area.

The association's assignor will, if need be, find officials not a member of the association, but of course members get first shot at the games.

Obviously the association holds a number of meetings, training sessions, etc.

[Tim Roden]

In Colorado, we were all part of IAABO board 4 and each association was designated as an area.

In Texas we are known as chapters of TASO.

[dblref]

I belong to the Cardinal Basketball Officials Association (CBOA) in the Northern Virginia area. We are the largest association in the state with about 325 officials. All of our games, scholastic and recreation are assigned by CBOA. We have a separate "commissioner/assignor" for rec games and scholastic games. As far as I know, we cannot book games on our own. I like having the separate assignors because we can concentrate on developing our officiating skills and not have to worry about getting games. For rec games, we usually receive assignments 2-3 weeks at a time. Our association is revising the web site to allow officials to "click" on a specific game(s) and receive immediate notification that the game is yours. The site will be coded so that an applicant/newbie cannot be assigned to a varsity level game. For scholastic assignments, we usually receive a schedule twice a season showing game date, location, partner, position (referee/umpire), visiting team, etc. Our assignor (actually all CBOA officers) is elected and we have had the same lady assigning for 3-4 years and IMHO, she does an outstanding job of matching ability/game level. We basically have 3 levels of officials: JV, Swing, and Varsity. If I do a F/JV game, I can expect to be rated for at least 1 quarter by a varsity official. I can also ask to be rated for an entire game. These ratings are used to determine who is invited to what we call the Summer Evaluation Program. This is a summer league for varsity boys teams. It is almost impossible to advance without going through this program. Each varsity official also rates his/her partner. It is not unusual to have a Swing/Varsity official do a freshman game at 1 school and go to another school for the varsity game. As a JV official, we may do a F/JV DH or do a single game. We have about 85 high schools in this area.