I had my goatee before I met wife and she would be pissed if I shaved it. It also makes me to look old enough to be possibly respectable - and without it I probably still look too young to be taken seriously. It is possible to be neatly-groomed and professional, and still have facial hair.

I also wear glasses. If I had to pick between wearing contacts, where something could happen at any second to cause me to be unable to see (even momentarily) and wearing the glasses, I would pick the eyeglasses. I've only ever heard one fan comment - "he already has glasses, so THAT'S not the problem" - but I don't know how coaches or the leaders of my association feel.

I'm not doing varisty yet, but I'm reasonably sure at this point that's a product of many things completely unrelated to my grooming habits (experience, skill, lack of attendance at association training camp, no field clinic yet). If it eventually keeps me out of varisty games, then so be it. I can live with it.

Davism for glasses remarks:

"Hey ref - want to borrow my glasses?"

"Why? They're not doing you any good."

I thought you had to have a blond beard in the "Live Free or Dye" state. :p

I don't work basketball but...

That's precisely why I wear contacts. I'd be up the creek if my glasses broke or fell off my face during a play. At least if I lose one contact, I can still see out of one eye. The only time I've ever had an issue with contacts is when I wrestled in school. The gym was extremely hot, which dried out my eyes and I blinked them right out while being pinned. :rolleyes:

I didn't wear "soft" contacts but the harder "semi-rigid" kind for a while, so your experience may be very different. But when I did, I found my eyes much more susceptible to dust and dirt and other things getting into them, and having lenses occasionally move out of place. I also blinked more, and teared up sometimes for no reason.

Whereas in my 2nd year of officiating have never come close to damaging my eyeglasses.

Ah, yes there is the difference. I've never worn hard contacts but my father made both for years. I know some people can't wear soft contacts but I can't see how anybody can wear hard contacts!

I'm also a klutz so anything I can do to reduce breaking things is a good thing. ;)

SOM44--Where do you live in NH?
 

I live in Salem, NH. How about you?

In the Portland area we don't have any regulations governing facial hair.

That said, I can't think of a single official that has much more than a mustache that does Varsity games. There are one or two that have sometimes had very thin goatees or similar...no full beards at all.

http://web.mac.com/arnold_zwicky/ArcticAmerican.jpg

:p

Wrong, I Think
 

http://web.mac.com/arnold_zwicky/ArcticAmerican.jpg

Penquins don't live in the Arctic. Most live in either the Antarctic, somewhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, or near the Equator.

I asked because I belong to several associations and some of them have no issues towards facial hair while others will restrict the level of ball you officiate if you have facial hair; no matter what ethnicity you are.

Ya... I said it.
 

I thought Penguins live in Pittsburgh. :o

And you spelled Antarctic properly.

Rita

rSOX34--I Live in Campton..

Maybe instead you should rock prescription goggles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar style.:p