Why do they do that? I guess if there are enough officials, it's no big deal, but seems pretty inefficient.

This would be the greatest thing ever. "Sorry, but I'm not certified to work girls basketball."

I'm not at the pay grade to know why :)

I don't know about the rest of the state but within NYC, Long Island and Westchester there are more than enough officials to cover everything and lots of people - me, included - do both.

If anyone wants to watch any of the Southern Section finals here is the link to fox sports prep zone which will be carrying the action.
http://www.foxsportswest.com/pages/prepzone_schedule

Totally agree. You mentioned in your first post you have to use some more tact when declining girls games. I've done it (tactlessly) a few times this year with bad results. Do you have suggestions for better things to say?

From what I remember you are still particularly new at this. Newbies only get to turn down games that conflict with job or family. You gotta earn "pick-and-choose" status. ;)

Great! Thanks for the opportunity. I appreciate it.

Not singling you guys out, and I promise not to label you as sexist for your honest and open responses.

I'm wondering why the aversion to calling the girls game. It can't just be general talent level, or you'd be refusing boys games with two bad teams and maybe even accepting girls games with two good ones. I'm genuinely curious as to the reasons.

(Personal experience, and this is likely an over-exaggeration, but the JH and HS boys coaches around here are FAR tougher to deal with than the JH and HS girls coaches).

Yep, us noobs don't get to turn back games just because... The only time I've turned back games is if a) I've got a family conflict, b) I've got a work conflict, c) I've been assigned a game at a SIGNIFICANTLY higher level (think: D-III college football game on Saturday afternoon instead of a 9th grade game that morning), or d) injury.

In my career 6-year combined football, basketball and baseball career, I think I've turned back less than 5 games TOTAL, two of which were of the "swapping a college game for a high school one" variety.

Also, Rich contracts directly with schools. If you are getting games through an assignor he/she doesn't want some newbie telling him/her what games he is willing to accept.

I gotcha, but I've heard it the other way too. Right now, I do not work for an assigner, which means I get to pick and choose. I was at a game with my mentor a few days ago and heard a story about how someone turned back a postseason girls game he was given, which bodes very bad for his future getting games. I guess at the college level too, turning back games is one of the worst things you can do.

EDIT: Just read your latest post. High schools in my area are about 50/50 assigners/self-hire. But yeah, I won't turn down any games I get from an assignor.

I've always received my HS games through an association commissioner. Over the years, as I improved, I received fewer and fewer girls games. This year I worked for 2 different associations and was assigned exactly 1 girls game and that game got snowed out.

I also only receive JV games if they are part of a DH. I have a very good female friend who quit working HS games b/c the commissioner wouldn't give her any boys games.

I have no desire to work a game that looks nothing like what I want to advance in at either college or HS. I think it is really hard to go back and forth and do them adequately.

Another factor, in my state we have the option to work either boys playoffs or girls playoffs. And if I were to work girls playoffs then I would have to likely turn back games that I have assigned for girls games. And I like only working 3 games and 4 at the most in a week (and that usually involves a college game or two). Working both genders would or potentially take that up to 5 or 6 in a week. I also have other things I like to do and I want to continue officiating and doing that many days a week (and working 3 sports on top of that) would just make me want to quit overall or burn out quickly. And this also does not include that when I started officiating I never even though of doing girls games because I clearly did not watch that side of the sport before I officiated and it was never in my plans or goals to advance in that level.

The bottom line when I leave my house, I have to like what I am about to do or change what I am doing or quit what I am doing. I do not begrudge those guys that want to work both, but I see no point personally. And it would cause problems with certain assignors if I am constantly trying to walk that line doing both.

Peace

If officials here were allowed to decline girls games, there wouldn't be enough people to work those games. We have all games assigned by one assigner and we can't decline games that are assigned. The guys high up in the pecking order don't work much if any girls basketball though. Then the majority of us work both boys and girls at various ratios of each. Then there are officials who work almost all or all girls basketball.

The honest answer: Because I have fun in about 10% of the ones I work.

I am working 3 postseason girls games and I expect that the first two will be in the 90% category and the last one will be in the 10% category.

Trust me when I say I give all of these games all of the hard work I can. I just don't want to after this season. 26 years is enough.