Worst luck ever

[Loudwhistle]

[QUOTE=Scuba_ref;714914][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]CMH - Dealing in absolutes one way or the other won't win you many arguments. Of course I don't return EVERY game fee. I do however donate a lot of referee time on court whenever the opportunity presents itself; working the Lion's club scholarship game, giving back the game fee for cancer awareness nights, refereeing church basketball every Saturday for two months. The point is that most of us ref because we love it not because we get paid to do it. When getting paid to do it becomes the major justification then maybe it is time to re-evaluate.

+1

[Adam]

I'm with Rich, we have no business telling others why they should be officiating. I started for the cash in college, and because it was fun. The standard saying is pretty true: "I don't do this for the money, but I wouldn't do it for free, either."

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

I'm with Rich, we have no business telling others why they should be officiating. I started for the cash in college, and because it was fun. The standard saying is pretty true: "I don't do this for the money, but I wouldn't do it for free, either."

When I started officiating thirty years ago, I had a young family. We were saving for three college educations, making car payments, and saving for an upgrade from our five room ranch. I would officiate games anywhere, anytime, at any level. If they played games in a bathtub, I would be there to make the toss.

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

I'm with Rich, we have no business telling others why they should be officiating. I started for the cash in college, and because it was fun. The standard saying is pretty true: "I don't do this for the money, but I wouldn't do it for free, either."

Originally Posted by BillyMac

When I started officiating thirty years ago, I had a young family. We were saving for three college educations, making car payments, and saving for an upgrade from our five room ranch. I would officiate games anywhere, anytime, at any level. If they played games in a bathtub, I would be there to make the toss.

Mr. Ed,
Have you been beaten enough, yet?

Snaqs statement pretty much sums up how most of us feel. At the same time, for the officials under 30 (and, perhaps, for some others out of a job or under employed at the moment), money is a MAJOR factor. Let us not judge others' situations until we have walked in their boots for a mile. And, just because we walked in those boots 20 years ago doesn't mean we have necessarily earned the right to judge TODAY, either....

[Rich]

Originally Posted by CMHCoachNRef

Mr. Ed,
Have you been beaten enough, yet?

Snaqs statement pretty much sums up how most of us feel. At the same time, for the officials under 30 (and, perhaps, for some others out of a job or under employed at the moment), money is a MAJOR factor. Let us not judge others' situations until we have walked in their boots for a mile. And, just because we walked in those boots 20 years ago doesn't mean we have necessarily earned the right to judge TODAY, either....

I won't judge -- I worked games all through college and grad school and my primary motivator was to make money so I could go out or buy beer on the weekends. These days, my day job lets me treat officiating as a zero-sum game. Why else would I drive 180 miles round trip to work a single HS game last night? It got me out of the house, got me some exercise, and I enjoy it (most of the time). The $90 I got certainly doesn't compensate me fully for the time, mileage, and my services, but I'm OK with that.

Making a big deal out of not getting paid for canceled games, though, can cost more money in the long run. If I was an assignor, I'd start using a person like this less if I think he's going to call the state and cause trouble for something that should be handled locally.