injured official

[The New Guy]

I was working a two-man game the other day and with about four minutes to go in the final quarter, my partner ruptured his Achillies Tendon.

We got him settled with the trainer and I told the coaches that I would finish out the game by myself. I told them that I would stay table-side and go from foul line to foul line and do the best I could. They understood 100% and I didn't have any problems finishing out the game. It was a 20-point game, which made it easier.

The question I have is this ... if this was a close game would I have still had to do the same thing? Quite often in our league, the JV officials stick around for the varsity game (our assignor asks them to do that so they can learn as much as they can) Obviously if nobody else was around, I would have had to do it all alone. With the JV guys still haning around, would it have been alright to bring one of them in to help out?

Just wondering what you guys would have done or if this has happened to anyone out there. Hope your seasons are going well.

You'll also be happy to know that I took my partner to the hospital after the game and he's recovering well after his surgery. Done for the season, though.

[Ref Daddy]

If your question is between going solo or sdding a JV ref sitting in the stands ....thats very easy.

First one dressed gets in the game.

[bigdogrunnin]

Coaches can elect to suspend the game and complete it at a later date if they want, you can finish it alone, or you can get one of the other officials in the stands to get dressed and get on the floor. I like option three the best, but you have to do what you have to do when presented with odd circumstances.

I have called 2 Varsity Boys games solo in my career, 1-2 Varsity Girls, 10-20 Sub-varsity Boys, 20+ sub-varsity girls, and too many JH Boys and Girls games to count anymore. Don't like to do, don't like being in the middle of it, but you do the best you can and continue to work hard and try to get good position and angles. Sounds like you did just fine, and I am glad you partner is resting well. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

OH, and I will add, that when I do call by myself, my tolerance level for coaches and players goes to ZERO (They coach or the play . . . PERIOD.), and I always tell the kids, PLAY until you hear a whistle. If there is no whistle, play continues.

[The New Guy]

Thanks for the info, guys. This game was a no brainer since there were only a few minutes to go and it wasn't close. If it were close, it would have been a totally different story. Going solo isn't fun, but I agree ... there's zero tolerance for any BS when there's only one set of eyes.

Perhaps the moral of the story is that we should try and convince this league to go to three-man crews ... pretty much the only one in the area that still goes two-man.

[dave30]

Many times the JV guys are just as good as the varsity guys !

[Camron Rust]

A couple years ago, I and my partner showed up to work a game. Problem as that there were 2 games....and no other officials. So, we both worked solo. About 1/2 way through my 4th quarter, he finished his and joined me. I wish I had just finished by myself. He didn't necessarily do a bad job, it was just completely inconsistent with what I had been calling for the first 3.5 quarters. If it is that late in a game, I'm more inclined to finish alone that pick up a new partner unless I've worked several games with the partner and know how he's going to call the game.

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by bigdogrunnin

Coaches can elect to suspend the game and complete it at a later date if they want,

Is this true? Or is it solely the referee's decison?

Hope it's not too serious, Rich. Good luck.