Age a Discretion??
 

I have a friend of mine. He is probably in th top 20 officials in the state. He has gone to the state tourney's and has a DII Men's end of year tournament. He wants to move up to DI. He met with a league commisionor today who told him that he has all the tools and can work at the DI level. But, he is 49 years old. He was told that no DI conference will pick him up due to his age. He called me quite dejected. He was told that he probably won't be picked up because if he made it he would only have 5 years to give a conference, before he is to old.

Should age have a bearing on one's ability or not?

It shouldn't, but it does. They'll give him other reasons rather than telling him that point-blank though.

Good thing you've already been promoted all the way to the top, JR! :D

Yeah, right.....:D

It's just a fact of life that some of the criteria that they use to pick new staff might be kinda discriminatory and violate a few laws here and there. Which is kinda funny to me, because every time I see a big game on TV, it's officiated by some combination of the usual crew of old bad-bodies. :D

Anytime you are involved in an athletic event or activity, the age of all participants will factor in some way. It might not seem right, but it is right. It is a reality that the older you get the more your health is likely to break down. I am sure any D1 assignor wants someone that will be around for several years than someone that they might have for a year or two and then they will have to find another person to work. Now I worked at a camp that was in his mid-40s and I would have never known it by how much shape he was in and his young look. I am sure he has a chance to get hired, but his age might hinder him in the end. Maybe someone will look past his age if they factor other things into the equation like his athleticism. Is it unfair to use age? Is it unfair to sign players like Bonds and Clemens when they are in their 40s? There are always exceptions to this rule, but the fact the older you are, the less likely you will be around. I am sure that part of age is the biggest factor, not just someone's ability.

Peace

Tom Lopes has said that he didn't ref his first D1 game until he was 40 years old. He has since been to the Final Four. Having said that, I think that when you get much past 40, the window of opportunity is not open very far.

From what I have understood, being 40 years old or around 40 years old is when a lot of officials are hired at the D1 level. I have been told if you are around 47 that is usually the cut off.

Peace

Well buddy, you better git ready. Yer approaching the optimum.
Good luck with it!

I will probably stop trying long before I get to that age.

Peace

That ain't right, Rut.
Don't waste the youth, ... or are you gettin' married?

If I was getting married I would not let that stop me from pursuing my dream. I just do not know if I am going to spend the next 10 years trying to get to that level. Something would have to change drastically to make me do that. As time will tell, I will see when I cross that bridge.

Peace

One of the "side benefits" that schools get for treating officials as independent contractors is that they can legally discriminate, since they are not hiring officials, only contracting them.

Sad to see in this day and age. Officials should be judged by their work, not their age or ethnicity or other non-job-related characteristics.

I think age has a lot to do with people's work or ability. Just like weight is also a factor. And even race or ethnicity can help eliminate issues of bias just like where you might live. Considering that we are judged on all these things in some way, ability is very subjective. Also we are judged anyway in all types of jobs by factors that have nothing to do with our job directly. Why would we expect officiating to be any different?

Peace

Do you think if standards were set - able to run a certain distance and a certain time, agility type run, physical, weight standards, etc. like they do for other jobs that require physical activity, that an official who is blooming late in life can physically handle the job should be given the opportunity. I watch games on TV and see very over weight officials who have a hard time getting up and down the floor. Dick Bavetta is an official in the NBA who is past the primes of many officials stays quite in shape. I would like to beleive that physical ability should be addressed and at least physical test be done to evalute the physical capability of an official. IF he meets those standards, then age should not be an issue. Until then, it's just life.

Age is a factor. It is not "THE" factor as Bavetta shows. How many Dick Bavetta types are around? It is a factor in every aspect of sports. To think officials are completely immune to that would be not looking at the big picture. Also age is tied to ability when as you get older you cannot run as fast or it is harder to work more games and other factors that age brings. Age is a factor in whether Clemens and Farve play again.

Peace