How you became a ref

[JoeD1]

Where I'm from all I had to do is buy a shirt and BINGO I was referee,even when I moved up to high school all I did was take a test in which it made no difference if I passed or not

I'm interested in hearing how you became a ref and what you had to do to start calling in your area.

[Tim Roden]

That is almost how it is here. That is what fans don't understand. Until you get to the high school level, the officials generally have little to no training. At the high school level at least there is a test. You have to pass it to do a varsity game but they'll let anyone who takes the test do a sub varsity. Just remember to pay the dues. Just remember if you want to be the best, then do the rest. Go to clinics, classes, and camps to learn how to officiate correctly.

[sip]

Here in the Bahamas to referee at the lower levels (juniors 8-11) anyone can referee. But when you get to the national level and high school (what you would call varisty) you have to be certified. And that comes by a written exam, a phycial and a rpactical exams. Most don't pass the physical but pass the practical and a re cerified eitehr Level one (the top), level two or level three. At the very bottom are provisionl referees who have only passed the written test or none at all.

[Tony Wilde]

I suffer from brain damage...thought hey why not ref!!!!!! No, I started in church ball and decided that it was more fun to get paid and yelled at!!!!!

[JAdams]

quote:

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Originally posted by JoeD1:
Where I'm from all I had to do is buy a shirt and BINGO I was referee,even when I moved up to high school all I did was take a test in which it made no difference if I passed or not

I'm interested in hearing how you became a ref and what you had to do to start calling in your area.

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In Ohio, prospective referees must attend a 10-week class taught by a certified BB instructor. You must pass an open-book test at the end of the class covering both rules and on-court mechanics. At that point, you're certified to work junior high school and high school JV games. At the end of the second year, you're eligible to take a closed-book test; passing it certifies you to be able to work varisty games. Most new officials don't get JV games until their second or third year, and most don't move up to varsity until the fifth or sixth year (on the average).

[Richard Ogg]

Our area of California is served by the Northern Coast Officials Assoc. The rules here are before you do anything (including 3rd grade youth) you must complete 12 hours of class time, a 4-5 hour court clinic, and pass a open-book test. There is also a closed-book test, but I don't remember what level requires that. It is certainly required for Freshman ball, JV, and Varsity.

The class time is mostly talking about local policy on game management and difficult situations like you see on this discussion board. The court clinic covers mechanics, etc.

All the officials in our association are rated yearly, plus a mid-year update if needed. Games are assigned starting with the best ranked official taking what they want (i.e. varsity), and working down the list of officials. (It is not quite that rigorous because if the assignor doesn't reach someone, he moves on a few names.)

Generally officials do not see any Frosh or JV games until about their 3rd year. That can vary.... Like most areas, we have a shortage of officials. This is becoming worse due to a number of our officials (20%?) now working college. So, some of the lower youth games may get an official that has not quite completed the training indicated above. It is common for the youth games to have only one official. (We use 2-man crews even for varsity.)

Also, everyone must repeat the training each year. The court clinic is only 2 hours for officials with 2+ years experience, and is waived if you attended a 3-day or longer camp.

[Schmidt MJ]

Here in Kansas there aren't any requirements other than paying the $35 registration fee and taking the open-book exam. You're not required to pass the test, just take it. We're also required to attend a yearly rules meeting sponsored by the state. Other than that, you just let the league assignors know that you're a registered official and its up to them to put you to work. There are several camps offered by local associations to help you learn mechanics and rule interpretations and some of the league assignors attend these camps to learn of new officials, so they are a good source of exposure, but again, they are not required. Most officials spend 2 to 5 years working Jr. High and JV before working varsity but there's nothing written in stone so it is possible to move to varsity fairly quickly, especially in parts of the state where there is less population.