What company do you use for game assignments?
 

I have little doubt that most will say Assign By Web, but what other companies are used?

How does the cost and the benefits differ?

You mean Arbiter? AssignByWeb, I believe, went away a few years ago.

RefTown is a great product! Lots of services available.

Run by Camron Rust

Yep, went out of business a few years ago. I know because each assignor in my area had used AssignByWeb and in the middle of the season had to use Arbiter with the largest consortium in the country with Arbiter. We have used Arbiter ever since. Not happy about it, but we have little choice.

Peace

You are correct. We went to Arbiter.

I had one friend tell me about officialassignor.com

BV = none :eek:

GV = RefTown

ECAC = Presto & Arbiter

And yes, it's a pain using four different methods to update my schedule.

Arbiter ...
 

We've been using Arbiter to assign games for eight years, for two years to rate partners. The only complaint that I know about is that partners can only rate partners, so Arbiter can't be used by officials to rate non-partners that they may have observed, i.e., varsity officials rating junior varsity officials. Many of us use the contacts feature to confirm games with our partners, and with school athletic directors, and we can also use the map feature to remind ourselves of directions to out-of-the-way schools that we may not have been to for several years. We also use Arbiter to send out "email blasts", and to produce invoices with our game assignment fees. We do not use Arbiter to pay officials. Our Arbiter fee is $1,900.00 per year.

I don't know how the Forum leaders feel about endorsements, but one of our very own has an excellent product - Camron Rust and Reftown. Our local association uses it and here local groups combine with other groups for post season purposes. That post season combination also uses Reftown because Camron was able to customize his process to accomodate these 6 local groups into one seamless larger group even though it was for a short period of time.

Arbiter is neither official friendly nor assignor friendly when compared to Reftown or any other smaller assigning product that we have used before Reftown. Involved with assigning for our group, I can tell you that Reftown is an excellent product. Another issue that you will want to consider - how available are those folks for technical type issues? Reftown gets high grades from us for response times and flexibility.

If are looking, you will want to put Reftown in the mix for consideration.

The schools call the officials and are hired that way. Usually the AD, or coach calls.

Thx for the props guys. Appreciate the complements.

As for the Chicago area, I had contacted them when AssignByWeb had gone under but they (or someone in the area) had essentially already decided they wanted Arbiter and never seriously considered anything else.

How many officials and games? Just curious.

I don't see how that's acceptable in 2013.

For me, I've known nothing but Arbiter.

Arbiter for 4 difference conferences, but BlueZebra for 1 conference.

We know. :rolleyes:

And I bet you were cheaper.

Peace

Likely....$100 per 25 officials currently (was a little less back then).

Believe me, it's more than a little aggravating.

Do not get me started. :D

Peace

Survey Says ...
 

About 325 working officials. About 70 high schools (boys, girls, varsity, junior varsity, freshman), plus a few dozen middle schools. 4027 games, mostly all two person games, so about 8054 assignments.

The Sunshine State ...
 

What's also nice about Arbiter is that some of our "mini" assignment commissioners also use Arbiter, and they can "see" our high school games and, thus, prevent assignment conflicts. The assigner for my Catholic middle school games actually lives in Florida. He sits on a warm, sunny, sandy, beach, with his adult beverage, with an umbrella in it, and uses his tablet computer to assign his Connecticut Catholic middle school games, without having to worry about conflicts with our high school games, because he can "see" our high school games. What a life.

I could save you about $600 and do the same things. :D

He's In A Witness Protection Program Down There ...
 

I have absolutely no idea what my Catholic middle school "mini" assignment commissioner pays for Arbiter. He's not a publicly traded company so we don't get to look at his books, both sets of them. But he does have beautiful home in Florida.

Can Reftown, or any other assignment software, "link" with Arbiter, or for that matter, any different assignment software?

Auld Lang Syne ...
 

Actually I was looking at the wrong figures. The $1,900.00 is the estimated cost in our association's 2013-14 budget. We paid $1,800.00 for the 2012-13 season.

Arbiter Complaint ...
 

Will Reftown allow officials to rate non-partners that they may have observed, i.e., varsity officials rating junior varsity officials? Arbiter only allows officials to rate assigned partners. We have to use our own software, invented by one of our members, to rate non-partners that officials may have observed. The "non-partner" software is pretty good, but deosn't 'link" with Arbiter. It would be nice if Arbiter would allow us to rate non-partners.

$5 or $6 per official is the typical Arbiter cost.

While I would love to see Camron get more business, I know Arbiter allows officials to rate non-partners. Our assigner has set it up so they can go in and self-assign as evaluators prior to the game.

Dancing Cheek To Cheek ...
 

Sounds too complicated. First we would have to know that there was a game for us to observe. It's common for junior varsity games to be played before our varsity games but it not etched in stone. It takes several clicks to find these games, something that our computer illiterate officials may be incapable of doing. Also, anything optional won't cut it with some of our more"irresponsible" officials. The Arbiter partner-partner rating is not an option, it must be done at the expense of losing games next year. I will discuss this option with my assigner at our banquet this week.

Here, it's simple. JV official gets his schedule. JV official goes into the master schedule to see who is working the varsity games after his JV games. JV official emails request to appropriate varsity officials. Varsity official emails back that he's honored and goes into arbiter to self-assign.

Note: "he" = "he or she"

Out of curiosity, what's the rationale?

We use Arbiter in North Carolina. Mandatory for every HS sports assigner now, and the state association is linked to the games in order to make sure no uncertified officials are calling HS games, as well as oversee suspensions and such.

And now that a few of my recreation assigners (I use 3) are using Arbiter, I don't use anyone that doesn't have it.

Arbiter / State Associations
 

Terrapin Nation (state of Maryland) had linked up with the arbiter. Now every association must use the arbiter.

Having used the arbiter to assign for the last 8 years, I must say that it is pretty efficient.

However if you are are working multiple levels, I would usse different e-mail accounts.....

To what end?

Adam -

Just curious,,,,have you ever seen arbiter from the assigner side ????

No, I haven't. Are you saying you'd use different email accounts as an assigner, or as an official, for different levels?

Because I dont want my college assignors to see what HS games I work. Also, because one of the college assignors here also does 2 HS leagues and he will not give you a college game if he sees you already have a HS game on that day, even when it isnt one of his HS leagues. As long as he isnt offering me the game on gameday, I am getting off my HS game every time to take any level college game.

I'm surprised Brad hasn't chimed in yet... :)

Football here uses Zebra Ware which I'm not too fond of. My basketball chapter uses Arbiter.

I used to work sub varsity for one assigner out here that uses Ref Town and that was my favorite by far. You put out a good product, Camron.

Get a room.

As long as it isn't the same room you will be using next month at BWSC after so suck up to all those pretty DI assistants !!!!!

I basically work for two assignors. Before the 2012-13 seasons, only one used Arbiter. The other used pen and paper, then e-mailed game dates to me. He finally switched to Arbiter for all basketball and football in 2012-13.

What the assigner sees......
 

3If you are working for example hs / juco / D2 / D2 all on the same website here is what happens.......

Let say you have taken a juco game for Supervisor Billy Mac ( I know would never happen :D:D:D). Even if you don't close out the game with your other supervisors here is what happens if I (they) were to go into the arbiter to give you a college game.

An assigner using arbiter can choose from the following when assigning games

Available officials or Potential Officiials

AO are officials that have NO restrictions in getting to that game...This is the guy that can go anywhere any time. Also in an unrelated subject names will appear based on the number of assignments you currently have. So if East is playing west and Juggling Ref has 50 assignments and Bad New Ref has 3,
BNR name will come up first and then everybody between BNR and JR.

Most assigners use the Available Officials option beacuase there is no reason that these guys should turn game back...YOU will not appear on the
AO list EVEN if you dont block out the date because you have accepted a hs game.

If you don't block the date, you will only appear on the Potential Officials list....this tells me that you have some sort of issue that will make things a bit difficult ( you have a hs game you need to get out of)

Why as an assigner would i want to choose from porential if i know you have some sort of "issue"

NOW........if you used [email protected] for your hs assigner and taken that game and used [email protected] for your D2 league, I would see you as open with no restrictions every time I wanted to give you an assignment.

Most guys I know that work small college basketball have a seperate hs arb account /
a juco arb account / D2 arb account / and if working D1 a seperate account....all with different e-mail addresses.....

This way the guy higher up always sees you as open with no restrictions....

Be happy to answer anymore QQQQQQ's

Being an official that has always used excel and email for assigning games for about 6-8 other officials, I'd be interested to see how these products work. Is it even cost effective with this number of officials?

With just 6 - 8 guys, I don't see a need for the arbiter for you.....

Thanks for that. Thinking I will add a new GMAIL account for this.

Question: I had been using the option NOT TO SHARE my high school assignments with my college supervisors. Does this still show me as "Potential" instead of "Available"?

No matter the answer, I'm going add a new account just for my HS stuff.

I knew you had a purpose here :D

You show as potential !!!!!

Might explain a couple things (or at least I hope it does....LOL)

Cost Effective ???
 

My Catholic middle school assigner uses Arbiter for 15 schools (boys, girls, "varsity", "junior varsity" A, and "junior varsity" B, and 41 working officials. "Varsity" teams play an eighteen game schedule. "Junior varsity" teams play an eight game schedule. My assigner is paid $125.00 by each school to assign games ($1,875.00), and, according to BayStateRef, the Arbiter cost would be around $225.00. Also, his officials don't pay any assignment fees.

Yes, we support various levels of game ratings systems. It can be configured to allow access by anyone or selected authorized officials.

Doubtful. I would think that most of them wouldn't want to open up such access for competitive reasons.

This is where I allow the official to designate which groups get to see which other groups. If they want, they can isolate each account and maintain their availability manually between the different assignors.

Along with that, the official can prioritize each organization so that assignor A will blocked by an assignment from assignor B but not the other way...or they can make them equal so that the first to assign gets you.

In my experiences, not all supervisors are fond of this approach.

Interesting, thanks. One more question: how do I show up if I have a certain time blocked?

Which approach, having separate accounts for high school and college supervisors?

or

not sharing my high school schedule with my college supervisors?

Using separate email accounts for each supervisor/assignor.

Not doing 1 for each supervisor, I said 1 for my HS supervisors and 1 for my college supervisors.

You come up on the potential list....and that is only on games you can get to within the time frame allowed based on your block you put in....

If my college schedule is better next year, I won't know if it will be because of your info or my skills.....LOL

You will never know but, you will appear on the arbiter as available to your college assigners everytime you have a hs game.....

Now to get more games just suck up to every college coach that comes to BWSC this summer ...........wait Im sure you have been doing that for years !!!!

BTW - what'sup with the concession prices there...that is highway robbery !!!! :D:D:D

Once in a Blue Moon I'll buy some french fries from there, that's it.

Other than that I'm only at the snack bar to flirt with a lady who used to scorekeep some military intramural games.

I'm A Virgo, What's Your Sign ???
 

Concession stands are great places to pick up hot, single, Moms.

My best pickup line: "So after we finish our nachos, do you want to come up and see my etchings?"

I said it was my best line, I didn't say that it worked very often, or, if it ever worked.

The state association MANDATES that all chapters use Arbiter???

Who pays for it? The individual chapters? Or the state?

Curious as to how many other states do this ... seems fairly anti-competitive.

What are the conferences, if you don't mind my asking ... just curious ... looking to talk to some different conferences as we are adding and improving things!

I did —*you missed it :)

What did you not like about Zebra-Ware? (I know why *I* didn't like it ... curious as to your thoughts)

Pro-Tip: You can use a + sign after your Gmail and it will still come to you ... this might allow you to create multiple accounts, but with the same email address.

If your email is [email protected] — you can use [email protected] for your high school and [email protected] for your college games ... and so on.

http://brad.me/tmyktm

Well I see that NOW but I didn't see any advertising. :P

Where to start...clunky interface is the big one. Points and game fee tracking is a good idea but poorly executed. Reports are tedious to create and read. Needs more options for exporting data.

I can think of more if I put my mind to it but that's those are the glaring ones.

It does work but some sites will not let you enter such an email address in their system. I use such addresses with my gmail accounts to guard against spam but some sites reject it as an invalid address.

Look, don't try to outgeek me Rust!! :)

You're right, of course … I generally use [email protected] for that very reason.

Ok, we've reached NERDCON 2 … time to pump the brakes!

The booking agents pay for it out of the booking fee. Some actually share the same account.

My primary booking agent (I say primary because he books MS and Rec football, MS and JV basketball, all softball minus college and MS and Rec baseball. I call those sports also so I work with him all year) has an arbiter account that he shares with three other booking agents. He told me his Arbiter fee is around $1000/year, but moving from Arbiter to Booking Agent (he did about five years ago) made his life so much easier so it was ultimately worth the price.