Should I be upset?

[stiffler3492]

Originally Posted by just another ref

Why would you expect any more?

Well, nine times out of ten injuries are out of our control.

A traffic jam situation could be out of our control, ie an accident on a roadway that radio station traffic reports don't cover.

The school or district was going to pay you the money anyway, you get injured during the first half, and can't finish the game. Not their fault, not yours. Why should they withhold the money, other than to save a few bucks?

[RobbyinTN]

You get paid for what you WORK not what you were suppose to work but didn't.

If you were injured in the first half of a game I might see where they would pay you but if you were injured in the first game would you expect them to pay you for the second game as well? But just not showing up is a different story

[Butterfly182310]

Originally Posted by stiffler3492

Well, nine times out of ten injuries are out of our control.

Really? On the basketball court? I'd bet most of the referee injuries are due to inadequate stretching, carrying too much weight, or otherwise being out of shape. Those are controllable, if we choose.

We're not working under an employee agreement. We're independent contractors. If we don't do the job, we don't get paid. If I hire someone to build a chicken house, and he gets started late, and the chickens arrive before he gets the doors on, and the chickens all escape, I'm not paying him a nickel, even though he did do half the job.

[stiffler3492]

Originally Posted by Butterfly182310

Really? On the basketball court? I'd bet most of the referee injuries are due to inadequate stretching, carrying too much weight, or otherwise being out of shape. Those are controllable, if we choose.

World class athletes are in better shape than anyone, and they still pull hamstrings. Just sayin...Stretching before during, and after won't prevent 100% of injuries.

[RobbyinTN]

I am not even sure why we are talking about injuries here

The bottom line is that you didn't make it to the game until the second half. You were not there to work a complete game and shouldn't be paid for a complete game. You already know my opinion, you shouldn't accept pay for any of the game. It doesn't matter if the situation was out of your hands or not - you weren't there. And while I believe you when you say you were stuck in traffic, do you know how many times people use that excuse when they are late somewhere? Had I been in your situation I would not have accepted any money for the first game - even if I had only missed the tip off and got there before the first points were scored.

As someone else said - this doesn't make you a bad person or a bad official. Just accept it as part of life, learn from it and move on.

[Butterfly182310]

Originally Posted by stiffler3492

World class athletes are in better shape than anyone, and they still pull hamstrings. Just sayin...Stretching before during, and after won't prevent 100% of injuries.

I don't think we're talking about world class athletes here. Haven't seen many of them in stripes. Far too many of us are 'athletes' bordering on the other end of that spectrum.

[stiffler3492]

Originally Posted by Butterfly182310

I don't think we're talking about world class athletes here. Haven't seen many of them in stripes. Far too many of us are 'athletes' bordering on the other end of that spectrum.

My point exactly. I don't claim to be a great athlete, I'd consider myself lucky to be healthy through two seasons.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by stiffler3492

Well, nine times out of ten injuries are out of our control.

A traffic jam situation could be out of our control, ie an accident on a roadway that radio station traffic reports don't cover.

The school or district was going to pay you the money anyway, you get injured during the first half, and can't finish the game. Not their fault, not yours. Why should they withhold the money, other than to save a few bucks?

As someone that actually lives here, there are a lot of schools that would not do anything different but pay you your whole fee if you worked the entire game, especially if you called and told them you were stuck in traffic. That happens a lot here especially on those early games. Unless the contract says something different, they should pay you the entire fee. That being said saying something is not going to get much of anywhere. But I know many that have paid when you show up in this very situation.

Peace

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

As someone that actually lives here, there are a lot of schools that would not do anything different but pay you your whole fee if you worked the entire game, especially if you called and told them you were stuck in traffic. That happens a lot here especially on those early games. Unless the contract says something different, they should pay you the entire fee. That being said saying something is not going to get much of anywhere. But I know many that have paid when you show up in this very situation.

Peace

JRut,
If the school is willing to pay the money, taking the money is fine. Ultimately, the contract states that we are to be at a particular place at a particular time to perform a particular duty. While calling ahead is nice, it still does not free one of the responsibility of being at the game on time.

The schools budgeted for TWO OFFICIALS for FOUR QUARTERS. They got ONE OFFICIAL for TWO QUARTERS and TWO OFFICIALS for TWO QUARTERS. Did the schools get what they contracted for? Should the schools be required to pay for EIGHT "OFFICIAL'S QUARTERS" when they only got SIX?

In our local Catholic league, we have had a rule that states that a SINGLE OFFICIAL gets 1.5 times the pay of a two person crew. The reasons for this rule are to prevent officials from simply "splitting up" and making the entire fee AND an acknowledgment that ONE OFFICIAL is NOT as good as TWO OFFICIALS.

These situations can and DO happen. At the same time, the responsibility for arriving ON TIME rests on the OFFICIALS' shoulders. Taking a 50% pay cut for that game was MORE than reasonable, in my opinion. While going after the money might seem like a good idea in the short term, getting some "bad press" from the AD at this school as he talks to MANY OTHERS is a losing proposition for you.

I would write an apology letter to the school that outlines why you were late. I would be sure to THANK the AD for 50% of the first game fee. This technique will get you MUCH FURTHER in your career than the extra $20 would EVER buy you...in my humble opinion.

[chartrusepengui]

Originally Posted by CMHCoachNRef

JRut,

In our local Catholic league, we have had a rule that states that a SINGLE OFFICIAL gets 1.5 times the pay of a two person crew. The reasons for this rule are to prevent officials from simply "splitting up" and making the entire fee AND an acknowledgment that ONE OFFICIAL is NOT as good as TWO OFFICIALS.

So are they going to be happy with 75% of the calls that two officials would have made or are they going to pi$$ and moan the same way they would with 2 officials. The acknowledgment that one official is not as good as two officials is "DUH" - so lets penalize the guy that did show because he can't be as good as 2 officials even though he has to take the crap of two officials.

Makes no sense!

[Rich]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think a solo official should be paid *anything* more by the school. And if they are, that money should come from the other official who didn't show up (in the form of a fine paid by the official or from the association).

[tref]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think a solo official should be paid *anything* more by the school. And if they are, that money should come from the other official who didn't show up (in the form of a fine paid by the official or from the association).

IDK Rich. If I take care of business by confirming with my partner(s) & I go solo anyway, I'm gonna need a game & a half fee.

The school still saves money & we are compensated for our extra work.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by tref

IDK Rich. If I take care of business by confirming with my partner(s) & I go solo anyway, I'm gonna need a game & a half fee.

The school still saves money & we are compensated for our extra work.

I don't work solo unless i'm getting paid double. That is my HS association's policy. The school is not expected to pay the full fee. That's where the fine for the missing official comes in.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by tref

IDK Rich. If I take care of business by confirming with my partner(s) & I go solo anyway, I'm gonna need a game & a half fee.

The school still saves money & we are compensated for our extra work.

I'm looking at it from the school's perspective. I'm getting one, I pay for one. If I use an association, I'm expecting them to pay the extra money. If I'm contracting officials myself, then I can negotiate with the official if I *really* want to have the game played with one official.

If there's no association involved and no policy spelled out on the contract, I'm certainly not obligated to pay double.

That said, I don't have to worry about this. We don't start with 1 official and if I show up on time I'm getting paid whether we play the game or not.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think a solo official should be paid anything*more by the school.

It's to keep athletic directors from requesting, as a cost cutting measure, that only one official be assigned to the game. They figure that it's not worth the 25% savings to have only one official. If they only had to pay only one game fee to one official they might request only one official for middle school, and freshman games, maybe even some junior varsity games,.