Unexpected email

[BktBallRef]

Perhaps you guys who are accustomed to contact with the schools find it difficult to understand how smoothly things can work without a bunch of phone calls.

The assignor communicates with the ADs and schools. Officials do not.

I'm assigned a game, I'm there an hour prior. The schools know we will be there. They get a copy of the assignment sheet just like I do. They have no reason to wonder whether we'll be there.

Times, location, teams, and officials are listed on the assignment sheet. If there's a change, they notify the assignor. That's one person. They have his number, they know who to call. They don't have to look up names for 3 JV officials and 3 Varsity officials and try to get up with 6 different people. They make one call if there's a change.

If it's last minute, and I've already left my house for the game when the assignor gets the call, I get paid 1/2 a game fee. If I get to the school and it's been cancelled but they haven't notified the assignor, I get a full game fee. If it's cancelled after I arrive for any reason, it's a half game fee. If we start the game, we could a full fee, come hell or high water. So there's a financial incentive to communicate.

Any information the school needs about me for tax purposes, they get from the assignor. However, unless I make $600 through a school/school district, it's a moot point anyway.

There are no contracts. The NCHSAA tells the schools which booking agency they will use. The assignor is compensated quite handsomely for his duties. He gets $100 for the first team's schedule and $50 for each additional. So a high school with a BV/GV, BJV/GJV, and BFr/GFr would pay a booking fee of $350 for a season. If the school wants the booking agent to write the check, then they send him all game fees and he writes the checks. Schools pay an additional $100 for this service. Each official pays a booking fee of $65. Booking agents do just fine.

In fact, we all do.

[boiseball]

man, email is the way to go; you just send one email to partner, jv officials, school administrator and you are done, forget the phone thing; I loved the arbiter for that, easy to find and cut and paste emails; now I live in an area where we are supposed to drive to a central location to pick up a hard copy of our assignment (are you kidding me), luckily the assigner has been willing to email the stuff

[JRutledge]

I know I was not debating which is better, email or phone calls. I agree that email is the best way to go in most situations. The reality is not everyone uses email the same as they do with phones. I know I do not use email all the time and I work with a computer. As it relates to this conversation, not all ADs are in their office. When I do call a school, I usually want to speak to the Athletic Secretary. They have all the information anyway.

Peace

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by boiseball

man, email is the way to go; you just send one email to partner, jv officials, school administrator and you are done, forget the phone thing; I loved the arbiter for that, easy to find and cut and paste emails; now I live in an area where we are supposed to drive to a central location to pick up a hard copy of our assignment (are you kidding me), luckily the assigner has been willing to email the stuff

Ordinarily, email is fine. But the phone is a necessary evil when you have a 3pm cancellation for a 6pm doubleheader. You can't be certain that everyone involved will check their email within a three hour time span.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Ordinarily, email is fine. But the phone is a necessary evil when you have a 3pm cancellation for a 6pm doubleheader. You can't be certain that everyone involved will check their email within a three hour time span.

This is why you have a cell phone handy.

Peace

[JugglingReferee]

I couldn't imagine a system where the AD/coach deals directly with the officials. I've got experience in 3 sports and each of those three, across the province, uses the official <--> assignor <--> school model.

Weather is quite possibly more of a concern here than most places in the US. I've never had a lacrosse game cancelled or altered. I couldn't tell you when I've had a basketball game changed. (But it has happened; maybe 3-4 times in my career.) Football? Rarely as well. Game mgmt phones or e-mails our assignor, who tells us.

In fact, our football assignor has a Blackberry (I in fact live in the same city as RIMs offices), so he can forward e-mail info from whereever he is. We all know to keep an eye on e-mail if weather is very bad.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

I couldn't imagine a system where the AD/coach deals directly with the officials. I've got experience in 3 sports and each of those three, across the province, uses the official <--> assignor <--> school model.

Weather is quite possibly more of a concern here than most places in the US. I've never had a lacrosse game cancelled or altered. I couldn't tell you when I've had a basketball game changed. (But it has happened; maybe 3-4 times in my career.) Football? Rarely as well. Game mgmt phones or e-mails our assignor, who tells us.

In fact, our football assignor has a Blackberry (I in fact live in the same city as RIMs offices), so he can forward e-mail info from whereever he is. We all know to keep an eye on e-mail if weather is very bad.

I did not say I live in a model where I have to deal with ADs. In most of my games I deal almost entirely with assignors. And now more and more games are assigned completely online. I would still contact the ADs because I am the one responsible for getting to games. ADs also have access to our contact information through out state website and through our any assignor we work for. I worked the last two weeks of playoff games and our information was released to the schools (the state assigns all post-season games) and I had both ADs email or call me about details. If they did not contact me, I would have contacted them. There are things I want to know and I am responsible for I do not expect an assignor to be on top of or even know about.

Peace

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by boiseball

man, email is the way to go; you just send one email to partner, jv officials, school administrator and you are done, forget the phone thing; I loved the arbiter for that, easy to find and cut and paste emails; now I live in an area where we are supposed to drive to a central location to pick up a hard copy of our assignment (are you kidding me), luckily the assigner has been willing to email the stuff

Email doesn't work if your partner is a corrections officer or a construction worker.

Everything goes through our commissioner. He gets a handsome fee to take care of all the communications. If he or the school screws up we still get paid for the game.

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Perhaps you guys who are accustomed to contact with the schools find it difficult to understand how smoothly things can work without a bunch of phone calls.

No one is questioning which system is better. All I did was respond to nevada's original post where he said he totally disagrees with schools contacting officials. It's not a big deal and some of us do it regularly.

[MajorCord]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Each official pays a booking fee of $65. Booking agents do just fine.

In fact, we all do.

BBR, $65!!! Here in the Piedmont, we pay $75, and I heard it was going up to $100 next year. I thought it was the same acrose the state. Hmmm!

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by MajorCord

BBR, $65!!! Here in the Piedmont, we pay $75, and I heard it was going up to $100 next year. I thought it was the same acrose the state. Hmmm!

I do not have to pay my assignors anything.

Peace

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I do not have to pay my assignors anything.

Peace

You do (indirectly). The schools just take his cut out to pay him directly before you see your check. It all comes out the same. Either way, it will cost the school the same amount and the assignor will get paid the same and you'll get paid the same. Its just a matter of when along the transaction each person's piece is taken out.

[Adam]

JRut means he doesn't have an assigner.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

You do (indirectly). The schools just take his cut out to pay him directly before you see your check. It all comes out the same. Either way, it will cost the school the same amount and the assignor will get paid the same and you'll get paid the same. Its just a matter of when along the transaction each person's piece is taken out.

You can put it any way you like. I do not have to dig in my pocket and pay anyone to work a single game in any conference. Actually I am paid more money in the conferences that have assignors than the schools where the AD is the person that assigns the games. The fees with the conferences and the assignor are between the conference and the assignor. The officials do not play a direct part in that in any way. There is no association that is apart of the process and if someone wants to hire me, that is between me and the assignor. The assignors in my area can hire whomever they want to regardless of association or specific area. So I do not see this as I am paying anyone anything. And if I was, that would be a tax issue. I cannot claim any money that comes out of my check that goes to an assignor because I do not see it.

Peace

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

You can put it any way you like. I do not have to dig in my pocket and pay anyone to work a single game in any conference. Actually I am paid more money in the conferences that have assignors than the schools where the AD is the person that assigns the games. The fees with the conferences and the assignor are between the conference and the assignor. The officials do not play a direct part in that in any way. There is no association that is apart of the process and if someone wants to hire me, that is between me and the assignor. The assignors in my area can hire whomever they want to regardless of association or specific area. So I do not see this as I am paying anyone anything. And if I was, that would be a tax issue. I cannot claim any money that comes out of my check that goes to an assignor because I do not see it.

Peace

You may not dig into your pocket to pay them but the school just puts a little less in your pocket so that they can pay the assignor. Whoever does the assignments is going to get a piece of the pie (noone does it for free, not even the AD's). The fact that you might get paid more for conferences where assignors are utilized only says that those particular schools/conferences are willing to pay more to have someone else find the officials. The ones where the AD's handle it want to save a little money (or want more direct control) and pay you a little more and bypass having an assignor (and having to pay an assignor).