Dressing to go to a game
 

We all wear similar uniforms to work the game. How do you dress before going to work a game?

I only work varsity games. I have a pretty standard dress for before hand -- khakis, dress shoes, button down shirt or nice sweater. Other officials here in Wisconsin will wear jeans and sweatshirts and pretty much anything. No "official" code here, but my football crew wears no jeans, etc. either. We feel we're being "evaluated" the second we arrive, so dressing nice helps.

Interested to see what others wear to the gym/field, etc.

Same casual attire for me, slacks, button down/polo shirt & dress shoes (even for weekend games).
Hopefully by "looking the part" upon arrival, participants will develop a professional perception about me.

My dress code is more or less the same. I go under the impression that we're evaluated from the moment we arrive at a game site, until the time we get in our car and leave, which includes attire, arrival time, and attitude (3 A's...maybe I'm onto something here).

Attire: If you're a parent or AD, would you be more impressed to see an official arrive in work attire (khaki pants, dress shirt, etc) or sweatpants and a t-shirt?
Arrival time: I try to arrive to my high school contests at least 1 hour before tipoff, 45 minutes at the latest...
Attitude: Do you think ADs or coaches care if you just had the worst day at work? They want to see that you're focused on the most important thing to them at the moment - the game they're about to play.

We're also being evaluated by our fellow officials, particularly if you've never worked with them before. I've worked with guys that show up in sweatpants. I've worked with guys that show up 15 minutes before game time, shake my hand, and ask if there's anything I want to go over before we start. No? Ok, let's get going then...

Nothing wrong with a little professionalism, and dress code is certainly 1 of the items on my checklist.

For Tournaments I wear the standard nice shirt,nice shoes, and a sports jacket. For a regular season game I wear a tie, dress pants,nice shoes and a jacket.. In my Assoc. of 300 refs I'm pretty much considered the best dressed, though I never made that list of best dressed people. :rolleyes:

Around these parts it doesn't seem to hurt people who dress however they want,but it definetly helped me by dressing the part of a professional.

Dressing nice can only help you as an official I am also a firm believer in having a luggage bag with wheels...not a gym bag you throw over your shoulder.

Do you use the same one for football as basketball? I do. Every year after my football season ends, it becomes a basketball bag and vice versa.

For the most part....Khakis or dress slacks....polo or button down oxford shirt & sweater...sometimes an association polo or sweater....dress loafers....BUT....when the weather's not the greatest....I'll adapt with sensible and practical wear to battle the elements! Most folks are happy we even get to game sites....regardless if we're in jeans....boots....sweater...1/4 zip fleece shirt (w/WIAA logo or association logo), etc.

Hey let's be practical and reasonable! Making good first impressions is the CODE....but "stupid" can also be read by folks too! ;)

PEACE!

Concur with above. First impressions mean a lot.

Our association's minimum dress code is business casual - No Jeans, no sneakers, no sandals, no sweat suits.

In my experience (sub-varsity) - those who do show up for a game in uniform or "dressed down" are the same one's who don't really look at this as a profession - i.e, how they look in their uniform, when they show up for a game (10/15 min early), don't care about pre-games, relaxed signals, don't hustle as much, etc.

How is this enforced? Depends on your Association.

Just my $.02.

I wear a nice pair of pants, a nice polo shirt (turtlenecks) at the very least, and dress shoes. Usually the shirts I wear have some type of logo with an association name on it or the shirt has the IHSA on them. This is what I wear for all varsity games where I know I can take a shower afterwards. There are some places that I cannot take a shower or the dressing room is a mess, so I might wear much more casual attire.

Lower level games I wear whatever is comfortable, because in many cases you cannot take a shower or they put in a place you might not have a lot of room.

Peace

I wear whatever I wore to work in the morning; sometimes a suit and tie but most times a little more casual. If I know I am going to a gym with no changing room or tight quarters, I might change into my pants ahead of time. I've done that rarely over the years.

Our association expects varsity officials to wear "business attire" like a button down shirt and sport coat. Most of our officals adhere to that policy. We also change back to our street clothers before leaving the gym, even if there is no shower available. I wonder if anyone has a policy on dress after the game?

I have a leather bag for my uniform, etc. With all of the inclement weather, I have seen people trying to wheel in their suitcases, but often they are dragging them through the slush. The bag works for me.

I usually dress 'business casual' to games. Some guys wear jeans to Saturday games, but I try to be consistent.

Me too. It helps that I wear business casual to work. But I'll change prior to leaving work on Fridays (we wear jeans at work on Fridays).

Down here in the great state of Mississippi there are zero high school gyms with showers and even a few JUCO schools without. For that reason, I go wearing something comfortable.

Dress To Impress ...
 

Over 28 years, the standards of my local board regarding dress have changed with the times. We went from a jacket and tie, to just a tie, to no tie, what can best described as "business casual". It was hard for me to give up the tie. I will occasionally wear a tie to a prep school game. Many of our officials wear a vest, or a sweater, with our IAABO board logo embroidered on the front. How you dress can impact your peer ratings, and thus your ranking, and your schedule, level, and number of games, the following year.

For HS games I typically wear docker type pants or nice jeans, a nice oxford cloth shirt, and add a sweater in cooler weather. Sometimes I'll have a blazer or leather jacket. I use a garmet bag and carry a smaller athletic bag. If I'm working a MS game in town, which is seldom, I jusy go dressed wearing my jacket. It's 3 minutes from home.