Playoff conversation???

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I have another question for everyone.

We have 4 levels of playoffs. Regionals, Sectionals, Super-Sectionals and State Finals.

Regionals and Sectionals have a Championship game. The Super-Sectional is one game at usually a college site or bigger high school gym. And the State Finals include the semifinals and the finals of a particular class.

Now for us in Illinois to work all the way to the State Finals, we have to work a championship at each level before getting state that season. We do not just get assigned a Sectional Final for example than then miss the Super-Sectional and work State.

Is that similar to other areas or can you work the State Finals without working other levels in that season? Also to advance to a Sectional for example, you have to had previous years of working Regional Finals to get to the Sectional level. Is that also similar or different?

Peace

Not here in VA. Like VA Terp said we have 3 level of play-offs--Districts, Regionals, States. They are all assigned independent of what you worked in other rounds. We have 5 classes: A (D1), A (D2), AA (D3), AA (D4), AAA.

In 2010 I worked all 3 rounds (Quarter, Semi, Final) of the AA (D3 & D4) regionals but found out I was not qualified for the State tournament because of the camp requirement. I crew-chiefed a AA (D4) Boys State Quarterfinal in 2011 but I did not work any other AA games that season because my board had lost its AA conference. I still had not attended the camp (long story involving an ousted commissioner and what is now a political split of officials in the area) but got my assignment through a recommendation by someone the VHSL director trusted and respected. In 2012 my board only had 1 public school (Single A) and folks in our association were allowed to work through the regionals but we were shut out of the State tournament.

If not for the political split and my home board losing all its public school contracts I'm quite confident I would have worked a Final Four game in Richmond last year and/or this year.

So I am one official who can legitimately claim that politics has affected me at the State level, both negatively and positively.