stan,
these were 3 man crews in florida highschool ball. the association that i began working with started assigning 3 man crews the first yr i began (from what i have read/heard i started out in a very lucky situation).
welcome,
tony

Stan, their are several states that use 3 man for high school. Surprisingly, most of them are in the South. NC, SC, TN, GA, FL, and AL all use 3 man crews. And there may be others. That's not only playoff games but regular seasons. It's mandatory in NC, I'm not sure about the other states. We're considered to be behind the times and poorly funded in so many things in the South, yet we've found a way to have 3 man in high school basketball.

[Edited by BktBallRef on Jul 11th, 2002 at 04:38 PM]

We are beginning to use 3-man for our larger HS Varsity games here in the Ft. Worth, TX, area. For instance, we now use 3-man for our 4A and 5A divisions (boys & girls), the two largest divisions. Right now it is still in the experimental stages. We are still trying to get some of the more reluctant coaches "on board". A few coaches were skeptical that the benefits of an extra official would not out-weigh the added expense. To convince these skeptics, we agreed to work the games using 3 officials for the same game fee as the school paid for two officials (in other words, we took a pay cut). If the coaches are not convinced after two seasons that the benefits out-weigh the extra cost, we will return to 2-man mechanics. But we still use 2-man mechanics in far more games than 3-man.

Very common here.
 

This is the 6th year I believe that the IHSA has had playoffs with 3 man in both boy's and girl's basketball in all classes (only two classes). Most down state or at least many more than in the Chicago area had 3 person for years. This will be my 7th year in basketball and I have done 3 man games for at least 4 years on a regular basis. When I moved up to the Chicago area, not a single game during the regular season was 3 man (unless tournament). Last year was the first year that almost all conferences had 3 man during the regular season. Now do not have a single varsity game that is not 3 man. I have more lower level college games that have two officials then HS games. This is the only state that is like this I am aware of until the last couple of years.

Peace

Oh yeah, the original topic...as someone already posted before, in TX you simply have to demonstrate your proficiency on the court to receive Varsity games. Every official in our chapter is evaluated. If that evaluation reflects you are ready to do varsity level games then you could be doing varsity games that season. If you got the experience officiating church ball, rec ball, or kangaroo ball (whatever that is), it makes no difference. The Assigner makes the final decision. If the Assigner has enough officials to cover varsity games, you could work a JV schedule the first year (or part of the year) until the Assigner is more comfortable with your ability.

Most UIL high school games in TX are assigned by Assigners. UIL (University Interscholastic League) is the governing body that regulates all HS athletic and non-athletic events (B-ball, soccer, band, debate team, solo & ensemble competition, the number of school days a student can miss while participating in one of these events, etc.). UIL has acknowledged only one association that is approved to provide athletic officials to any UIL schools. It's my understanding, if you are a member in good-standing of a TASO chapter, then you can work any level of B-ball in TX public schools. TAPPS (TX Assoc of Parochial & Private Schools) regulates private schools. These schools contract directly with any official's organization in their area. It's up to the TASO chapter to assign the official to the games comensurate to their level of experience.

Having said that, we here in TX have a little "thang" known as the "scratch" system. It is the most archaic, antiquated, inequitable, and arbitrary system I have ever had the misfortune of coming across (for those of you who are still unsure whether I like this system or not...I do not). A coach can "scratch" any number of officials, at any time, for any reason, or for no reason. For instance, if you work a game and have a bad night (or you are assigned a game above your level of expertise), you could get "scratched" by the coach. A coach might even scratch you from his list if he doesn't know who you are (for new officials to the chapter). The coach will call your Assigner and tell him (or her) that you are no longer to do their games for the remainder of the season. However, the coaches have abused the system. And, to be honest, our chapter has not yet taken a stand to limit the number and frequency of scratches the coaches can perform. Suffice it to say, if you claim to be able to work varsity games but can not, you might get a few, but the liklihood that you will work more in the future is very low.

[Edited by rpirtle on Jul 11th, 2002 at 03:54 PM]

It is that easy?
 

Is this "scratch" system authorized by the state, or is the assignors responsible for this?

We have ways coaches can evaluate or "scratch" officials, but usually the assignors set their own standards. Some will, others will not at all. Depends on the conference or assignor themselves.

Peace

In SD, there really isn't any reason you couldn't work Varsity High School games in the first year - if you are good enough. There is only one conference that assigns games through an assignor - and you basically have to attend his ref camp to get assigned. Other than that, the Athletic Directors contact officials directly and that official finds his partner. I've taken out a first year official (first year of being registered/certified w/the SDHSAA). This official had worked junior high, YMCA ball, etc. before getting registered with the state. His judgement was fine, just had to work on mechanics and positioning a little, but even then it was a good refresher for me to see if I was in the "proper" position on the court.
As far as three-man crews, only the largest league does it in boys, but it sounds as if they might try it in all three classes in the state tournament.

Scratch System
 

The UIL states that the officials must be approved by both coaches for any varsity game. The coaches can reject an official up to a certain number of days before a game. The politics are fearce when it comes to officials. It gets even worse come playoff time. I have heard of two teams bringing officials clear across the state to call a playoff game because they can't agree on anyone local.

and then we get into...
 

One coach scratches an official because the other coach has him on his request list, so then the other coach scratches HIS requested official...and then the game playin begins...you see how it is a PITA to be an assignor in Tx?

Re: Scratch System
 

Officials are generally assigned from the other side of the state for playoffs in my area.

Of course, Connecticut is many times smaller than Texas - we can drive from one side to the other :D. (What is the reimbursement for airfare?)

In my association in northern VA, first year officials will mostly (about 90% of the time), only do rec ball. In your second year, you will be assigned frosh/jv games. In order to move to the varsity level, we are "invited" to participate in a summer evaluation league (boys varsity) and be evaluated. The invitation is based on your ratings from the winter season. Individuals selected to move up are put on the "swing list" which means you are eligible to work varsity games, but you might also work frosh/jv games. Usually after a year or so on the swing list, we move to the "varsity" list. Now, once again, varsity officials may work a freshman game at one school and later that day work a varsity game at another school, depending upon whether you are available to do the early game. Some of our officials do this quite often. Transfers (who have worked varisty games) are evaluated by some of our senior varsity officials and then placed accordingly. You must score at least 85 on your exam to be eligible to work varsity. We have one assignor for all scholastic games and one assignor for rec ball. We cannot obtain games on our own. The association has contracts with several rec leagues and with 95% of the high schools in the area. I can work as much or as little as I want to work. We are fortunate in this area that basketball is a year-round thing.

Re: Re: Scratch System
 

In Colorado, a playoff game between Denver and Boulder would involve a Colorado Springs official. 80 miles away. But that is not clear across the state. Here, I saw two teams that were twenty miles from each other import officials from 150 miles. No I have not seen them take El Paso Officials and bring them to East Texas but it wouldn't surprise me if they did.