So sucking it up in a scrimmage generates good will???:confused::confused:

Officials don't need scrimmages.

You pay $200 to officiate in a conference?

Maybe you don't, but I've seen a lot (myself included) that find pre-season scrimmages very helpful.

We don't have a lot of options for calling ball in the fall around here. Summer ball ends in August/Sept, then basketball starts after Thanksgiving. So, scrimmages throughout November are a great way to see some plays and "get back in the groove." All our officials do them for free - even the 'vets' because most of them see value in it.

If they paid, I'd gladly take it - but I want to be ready when the first ball of the season goes up and look at the scrimmages as an opportunity to both get myself ready and help the new guys.

Of course the schools aren't going to pay, you have a group of guys in your area willing to do it for free, there is no reason for the school to waste money. Ask the school if they would still pay officials for regular season games if they figured out a way to get out of paying.

You find the scrimmages helpful, that is fine, good for you...but why would you work it for free? A scrimmage game is just another type of game. The teams don't need officials, they could try to play a scrimmage or a regular game without officials. If the team wants officials to drive to the game site, spend several hours of their time, be away from their families/jobs, run around on the court, and risk injury then they should pay the officials.

By all means, have him secure a pool of volunteers to officiate his games.

Get a volunteer assignor too.

Get back to me with the results.

I think I answered this in the part where I talked about it helping me get ready for the season.

I take this job seriously. I look at scrimmages as an opportunity to get better. I pay to go to camps, I do scrimmages for free, I get paid to do games, I hope to get better every time out.

I look at every game as an opportunity to get better but I don't work them for free.

I started because I couldn't play college ball because some fella decided to play tackle football on me during touch-football. Whenever I thought I was done, I would watch a rec league game and tell myself, "I could do better!" Then I would get back in.

In my later years, I am starting to see this as a good way to excercise (as was mentioned earlier), but also as a way to work through retirement :D. I don't see my Social Security check being very big and by the time the politicians run the economy in the ground, my retirment pension will get me a bowl of chillie - each week!

I love the game, too! But I don't love the crap! Getting paid balances it all out.

Yup. I sent the game to OT, too. :p

Scrimmages are an expected part of service for being a member of my local high school association during pre-season, and an absolute necessity for being a member of my two college associations. And I don't think your statement about teams being able to play practice games without officials applies to anything above the JV high school level. I don't know of a single JC, DIII, NAIA, or DII college that I could get assigned to that doesn't play multiple scrimmages before their games for record begin. The coaches want real officials at those games, for a few important reasons. It's part of the official or unofficial contract between the conferences and their officials' associations.

Around here you'll get paid for any preseason scrimmage as far as I know.

Officiating All The Way To The Bank ...
 

deecee and LDUB: I don't do one scrimmage, I try to do six to eight in the preseason. I do not officiate from April until October. When I step onto the court in late November, I haven't blown a whistle, with the exception of summer camp, for seven months. And every year there are new rules, and possibly new mechanics to get used to. I know that I'm in the minority here, but it's just the way I feel. I'm not at my best, and I need to work scrimmages to get ready for the real season. I appreciate the $10.00, or $20.00, for gas, and laundry, or I appreciate a free T-shirt, or a grinder, or a slice of pizza, or a beverage, but getting (basically) a junior varsity game fee for a practice game for both the players, and for me, just seems a little excessive, especially during this current recession. Keep in mind that I've been doing free scrimmages for twenty-seven years, so this is going to take some getting use to. I guess that I'll have to figure out a way to spend the extra money. That part won't be too hard.

Sam

That is classic! LOL I'm going to use that one when a coach or someone at the table kids me about the "big bucks" I make as a ref.:p

If youth coaches coached "for the love of the game", why do they care so much about winning at all costs? If they would volunteer to teach kids and not yell at refs and model their teams after the pros (win at all costs), then we'd volunteer more.

I volunteer when I do the Shrine All-Star football game, not when I do mouthy elementary school level basketball coaches, players and fans.

Slow whistle and the others nailed it. I do it for the love of the game but I won't do it for nothing. It's a mix.