What to do...

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Every possible conflict, no. But where you kids currently attend, easy.
There is no need for that if you wish to maintain your professionalism.

Some people think you should not work a game in the town you live too. The point is how far are we going to worry about what people perceive their to be a conflict? Professionalism has little to do with who is in a game you are working unless it is your relative on that game IMO. But if there are no relative playing, who cares? I am also saying that it is an individual decision and that of the assignor if they care. And as I said I treat varsity contest different than a lower level game where the people assigned might be available based on proximity of the school rather than who are the best officials. Lower level games have a different focus and usually are not keeping major records or even listed in the media.

Peace

[ref2coach]

Below is the clip from our State's official website.
An official is prohibited from working in an athletic contest in which a member of his/her immediate family
- son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father, husband, or wife - is playing or is serving as a coach for
either team. If an official is a teacher, the official is prohibited from working in an athletic contest if one of
the teams represents the school in which the official is employed as a teacher unless otherwise approved by
the Executive Director. All varsity assignments must be assigned by a recognized and approved TSSAA
Local Association.

In TN you would not be prohibited from working a sport at a school just because you child attends said school.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by ref2coach

In TN you would not be prohibited from working a sport at a school just because you child attends said school.

Oregon doesn't prohibit it in general for the regular season, but the Portland Association does.

It is not an absolute....it is a matter of how many schools and organization covers and how many officials there are. In smaller associations that cover few schools, it would be perfectly acceptable and perhaps the best option in some instances. In larger organizations, it is easy to avoid it so why risk a problem.

[Adam]

Until now, this has always been easy for me. I grew up out of state, and my kids were in elementary school. This year, my daughter is in ms, but frankly, I'm not worried about it since she's not playing yet (6th grade can't play basketball).

[Rufus]

I've blocked out my kids' MS before and added their HS this year now that the oldest is attending (none of them play basketball for their schools). It's a no-brainer for me simply because you don't even want to give a hint of impropriety or give anyone an excuse to question your judgment/ethics.

There are guys in my association who teach and block out their own school plus the school those kids will attend later. Extreme? Maybe, but it's one less thing to worry about.

[Altor]

Originally Posted by Rufus

I've blocked out my kids' MS before and added their HS this year now that the oldest is attending (none of them play basketball for their schools). It's a no-brainer for me simply because you don't even want to give a hint of impropriety or give anyone an excuse to question your judgment/ethics.

There are guys in my association who teach and block out their own school plus the school those kids will attend later. Extreme? Maybe, but it's one less thing to worry about.

I could see where this is a good idea, not to protect myself from the appearance of impropriety, but to protect my kids. If I worked a more visible sport such as basketball or football, I'd consider doing this just to keep my children from being put in the middle.

While I'm professional enough to keep my officiating decisions separate from the rest of my life, I can't guarantee that the coaches, teachers, and especially other students can do the same.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Altor

I could see where this is a good idea, not to protect myself from the appearance of impropriety, but to protect my kids. If I worked a more visible sport such as basketball or football, I'd consider doing this just to keep my children from being put in the middle.

Excellent point.....one I've thought of in the past but was not currently on my mind.

You make a big call (correct or not) that causes your kid's school to lose. Other kids are going to know who ref is and who your child is. It only takes one knucklehead to cause your child trouble that they don't deserve. I wouldn't want my kid to be faced with that situation.