I'm looking for web sites that sell basketball referee shirts. What is the latest style available ? What style of shirts do you recommend for new officials ? Thank you

You can get good official's shirts about anywhere that sells officiating supplies.

Try

Honigs.com

http://www.gerrydavis.com

http://www.purchaseofficials.com

All places you can find what you want. Get the V-Neck shirts. They are by far the most popular across the country and world. At least that is what you see from the major amateur and pro ranks.

Peace

V-neck ..ok but which one is better:

A) V-neck, B&W stripe with IAABO Logo, 100% Poly

B) V-neck, B&W stripe with IAABO Logo, Poly/Cotton

C) V-neck, B&W stripe with IAABO Logo, Micro-Mesh

Some shirts are way to hot (heat & sweat)so I was wondering which one is the coolest.

Letter C
Micro mesh is the way to go.

Personal preference.
 

It comes down to personal preference and what your fellow officials wear. I personally like the Poly/Cotton shirts or just the Poly. The Micro-Mesh to me does not look as good, they have alot of holes in them and you probably have to have a black undershirt with them just to look right. But then again, it comes down to what you like. Now the IAABO logo is not something I wear. We do have some IAABO members where I live but they are not very many.

Peace

Does anyone know where I can get these shirts in Ontario, Canada?

My experience with the micromesh and the poly/cotton hasn't been good. They are definitely cooler, but... The micromesh I had lasted one day before the armpit ripped out of it. The poly/cotton I have has little white pieces of material coming out of the black stripes so it looks like it has lint all over it, but they won't come off because they are part of the shirt. Both of these were purchased from reputable dealers, either Honigs or purchaseofficialssupply, not sure which because I order from both.

I do not know specifically about where you live in Canada, but I would not buy a shirt off the rack in a sporting store. Those shirts in there are usually not the quality or made with "real officiating" in mind. Order from one of those places that we have indicated to you. You will find better quality stuff. NBA and D1 College officials order from these places all the time. Gerry Davis Sports and Purchance Officials both were at a NCAA Rules Clinic this past weekend. Many D1 Officials were buying stuff from both of these places. It just comes down to what you like and like to use.

Peace

I have Polyester and micromesh. The warmer the weather, the more you love micromesh.

I have the micromesh and the polyester shirts. The micromesh are without a doubt much cooler.

Originally, I had the polyester shirts and wore a cotton T-shirt underneath. I, and the cotton undershirt, would be soaked by the end of the game.

I then tried the micromesh with a sleeveless Cool-Max or Dri-Fit undershirt. I was practially dry at the end a game. Either the shirts are cooler or I sweat just as much but the micromesh and the dri-fit/coolmax give the sweat an easy path to evaporate,

These undershirts also increase the rate of evaporation by wicking it away from your skin. Apparently, a person with a dri-fit shirt on will dry faster then a person with bare skin (both being equally wet to start with). These wicking undershirts are often may of polyester but of a very different weave than the standared poly officials shirts.

Now, I want to try the Intera shirts. I've heard good things about them. They look more like the polyester shirts but have the wicking properties like the dri-fit/coolmax shirts. They may be the best of both in one shirt. I'm going to try them this season.

One note about them, the directions say to NOT wash or dry them with fabric softener. It supposedly damages the wicking properties. I just air dry mine. They dry very fast.

[Edited by Camron Rust on Oct 16th, 2002 at 11:30 AM]

http://www.honigs-canada.com

Get the poly-cool shirts. They are awesome,very lightweight. Look great.reasonably priced. They have both the striped, and the solid grey(Canadian) shirts.

hope this helps

Tyler

Note that the prices on the page cited above are in Canadian dollars.

If you are an IAABO ref, your board should be able to direct you to a supplier. The shirts will have the IAABO symbol, AND a patch for the state/province you are a member in. My IAABO shirts have the state of Massachusetts embriodered in the sleeve. The general public cannot buy this shirt. If you are not on a board, contact IAABO directly for information. IAABO.org

IAABO REQUIRES V-neck shirt with emblem and patch. My 100% poly shirts have been washed and worn for five years and still look like new.

sniffyness
 

It is strongly recommended that if you use the micromesh shirt, you carry some kind of plastic bag in which to store it following game

They tend to major league reek after use and the stench will poison everything in your bag.

After 9 years, any shirt is going to reek.