Question from a fan

[grunewar]

I live in a BIG town for almost 15 yrs. I have coached my kids and hundreds more for that much time and think I've been a pretty solid member of the community. I can do any one of ~ 75-100 local HS, ~ 10 of which are w/in 15 minutes of my house. Chances of me knowing or having coached someone is pretty good. I don't do my son's school, but other than that, I'm not avoiding them. I can do the job and be fair and impartial.

I've shook hands with the Captains and had them say, "Hey Mr. G how are ya?" (No one has called me by my first name - but, that's another thread)

That being said, in a small town, with few officials, what are the choices?

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by grunewar

That being said, in a small town, with few officials, what are the choices?

The other choice is all officials travel 50-100 miles to call their games on a given night, sometimes literally passing each other in the road on the way.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by just another ref

The other choice is all officials travel 50-100 miles to call their games on a given night, sometimes literally passing each other in the road on the way.

JAR - I know we've had that discussion on the Forum before - "How far do you travel for a game?" I am very thankful I don't have to concern myself with that. Those are some dedicated folk!

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by just another ref

The other choice is all officials travel 50-100 miles to call their games on a given night, sometimes literally passing each other in the road on the way.

And if you made officials do that on a regular basis, you'd probably have no officials for some of the more rural small-town schools. These small areas have a tough enough time getting good officials and they'd be a lot less likely to work at all if all of their games were 100+ miles away.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by just another ref

The other choice is all officials travel 50-100 miles to call their games on a given night, sometimes literally passing each other in the road on the way.

I drive almost 100 miles a few times a season. The rural conferences here do something that the more urban and suburban conferences do not -- they pay higher game fees and also pay travel money (I'll work some schools that pay up to $50 travel). To me, it's a sign that they *want* officials from my area to come and work or that there's a shortage of varsity level officials in the area. And those schools pack the gym and provide an atmosphere rarely seen at bigger schools, where the gyms can be less than half full. It's OK to do this once in a while, but I do appreciate the rare occasion where I have to drive less than 20 miles, too.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I do appreciate the rare occasion where I have to drive less than 20 miles.

I had Catholic middle school games (not my parish) last night in the town that I live in. The distance, as listed on Arbiter, was 0 miles. Two "varsity" games, girls, then boys. Walked into the gym at 5:50 p.m. Home before my car warmed up. Eating dinner at 8:20 p.m. $82.00. Cash. As Jackie Gleason used to say, "How sweet it is".

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I had a Catholic middle school game (not my parish) last night in the town that I live in. The distance, as listed on Arbiter, was 0 miles. Sweet. I was home before my car warmed up.

Do you find the mileage on Arbiter is usually accurate for you? I've worked in two separate areas and it has been way off on both for me.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Do you find the mileage on Arbiter is usually accurate for you? I've worked in two separate areas and it has been way off on both for me.

I believe that it goes from zip code to zip code. If your home is in the most distant part of your town, and the school is in the most distant part of it's town, your actual mileage will be longer than Arbiter's. If your home is in least distant part of your town, and the school is in the least distant part of it's town, your actual mileage will be shorter than Arbiter's. Mileages to most of the schools in my area have been pretty close. Close enough for tax purposes, according to my accounting firm, Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Do you find the mileage on Arbiter is usually accurate for you? I've worked in two separate areas and it has been way off on both for me.

But, it's relative. I live in a big area and my zip area is pretty large. It's within a few miles, but not spot on.

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I drive almost 100 miles a few times a season. The rural conferences here do something that the more urban and suburban conferences do not -- they pay higher game fees and also pay travel money (I'll work some schools that pay up to $50 travel). To me, it's a sign that they *want* officials from my area to come and work or that there's a shortage of varsity level officials in the area. And those schools pack the gym and provide an atmosphere rarely seen at bigger schools, where the gyms can be less than half full. It's OK to do this once in a while, but I do appreciate the rare occasion where I have to drive less than 20 miles, too.

Our association is almost all small town schools in a rural area. The area serviced is about 135 miles long from top to bottom with the home of the association in the center. We are paid travel for all levels based on one car, one way, from the home of the association to the home school, regardless of actual distance traveled, with a minimum of $30. This money is split between the 2 or 3 officials working that night.

I live about 15 miles from the north end of our territory, so I have to travel more than most. But, when the game is on the south end, I usually drive down to meet a partner halfway, more or less, then ride with him.

[BillyMac]

We service two counties in Connecticut. If you'll imagine a big rectangle, I live at southwest corner of the rectangle. Longest trip from home is about fifty-five miles, one way, to the northeast corner. Luckily, my day job is located in the center of the rectangle.

My major problem is that the Connecticut River cuts our service area in half. Home on one side of the river. My laboratory is on the other side of the river. There are just a few bridges that cross the river, and they're all very busy at rush hour.

I went to reconciliation (confession) during Advent. Told my pastor about my offensive language when stuck in traffic. He told me that instead of swearing, I should say a prayer for the other drivers, like he does. No penance because he said that he is very familiar with the highway that I was talking about, and that the understands my frustration. I left with the feeling that he does more than just say prayers when stuck in traffic. If one swears in Latin, is it still swearing?