Methods for Game Assignments
 

I serve as the game assignor for my local officials association. I assign 250-300 sub-varsity level games per season. We assign for 5 or 6 local schools from MS to JV level.

Currently, we use a system in which our officials each create a google calendar to reflect their availability. Those calendars are shared with me and I can overlay them in one large calendar to create a list of available officials for each date. From there I assign the games. The process works, but it's time consuming. (I think I had nearly 100 hours invested to complete the process this year.)

I'm wondering what other game assignors use? Is there software out there designed for this?

(I'm aware of programs like "rSchool" used by some of our area conference commissioners for issuing contracts for varsity games, but keep in mind that I'm not the one issuing the contracts. I'm simply assigning games, passing the assignments on to the school ADs, who in turn issue contracts using "rSchool".)

We Use It ...
 

Arbiter.

https://www.arbitersports.com/front/501/Site/Home/Home

Here's Another
 

I'll say it so that he doesn't have to engage in what some might illegitimately consider crass self-promotion.
Check out RefTown.
REFTOWN - Home

I don't think Camron is that shy :)

But it's a good site.

You beat me to it. LOL

MTD, Sr.

Also horizon web ref

Cost Effective ???
 

We've even got an assigner who finds it cost effective to use Arbiter to assign Catholic middle school games. About a dozen schools, with boys, and girls, programs, with "varsity", and "junior varsity", programs, playing about a fifteen game schedule, with about forty officials on the "board". He actually lives in Florida, and assigns games from his laptop while on a sunny beach, drinking adult beverages with umbrellas in them, while we, back here in Connecticut, trudge through twelve foot high snow drifts, uphill both ways, to work his games. What a racket?

Arbiter
 

Spent some quality time with the Arbiter staff here at the Summit at the social event tonight. Everyone, from the CEO Jeff Triplett to the VP down to the techs who run it and tweak it, seem very open to suggestions to continue to make it more and more user friendly. They accepted quite openly the input and sometimes outright criticism offered by everyone I observed, from the assigners and officials from the top tiers down to the local assigners and officials who took time to speak with them. Whereas I don't find Arbiter the easiest thing especially for the new officials to learn to use, I was impressed with their desire for feedback and suggestions.

I'm rather unimpressed with Arbiter.

I asked 3 seasons ago about being able to export my schedule to Google Calendar. "It's coming" I was told. 1,000+ days later, nothing...

The "Remember Me" function doesn't work on all handhelds. Funny how those are the same devices they pitch their paid access to.

Myself and other local members have not received the reminder e-mails. Why have a function that repeatedly doesn't work properly?

There have been other bugs too.

They are open to suggestions because they have to be.

I know of another service that does all of those things and has for several years. ;)

In fact, it not only exports schedules to your Google calendar, you can subscribe to your schedule from your Google calendar (or many other calendars) so that your games automatically appear on it shortly after you receive them....and updates are automatic too. :)

See? Told you Camron wasn't shy...

Does any system sync with Google calendar?

I noticed after my free trial with their mobile page expired, I wasn't getting the notices. I had to go back in and change some settings that had been auto-updated by the mobile app. I hate the mobile app, it's not worth it to me, as I can easily do anything I need to do with the full site on my Android.

For me, as an official, it works just fine. I don't know other software, though, because all my assigners use it.

Edit: I see Camron's software does the sync thing. That would be nice.

My HS assignor uses Zebraweb. Go to zebraweb.org. My college assignor uses Arbiter.

Other options
 

tazzeroo2002, my condolences... that sounds like a very complicated time-intensive process.

ArbiterSports is not the only option out there. If you are shopping around, here's the things that I would suggest you look at:

• get a demo, and try out the full assigning process. How easy is it to use, and does the process make sense for your officials?
• can you and your officials easily access their information "on the go" via a mobile device, or get text messaging notifications.
• ask about up-time and customer support. Send a few questions to support, and see how they respond

assignr.com won't pull in an official's personal events from Google Calendar, but it does provide a way to subscribe to the officials schedule using any iCalendar compatible calendar program. This means you can "subscribe" to your officiating schedule with Google Calendar, iPhone, or others, and your personal calendar changes automatically as your schedule changes on assignr.com.

Yet Another...
 

We use GotOfficials. It allows you to synch with your Google calendar among other things. Since moving to this system it has made life much easier for our FB and BB assignors as well as allowing the ADs the ability to see who is working their games.

That presents some scary possibilities!!!!!

Yeah, That Right, Kittens, You Got A Problem Wiith That ???
 

Every single assignment software out there synchs with my calendar.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7300/9...e189369d_m.jpg

My assignor handles over 100 officials, over 100 schools and thousands of games each season... he does all of his assigning the old fashioned way. You better be home Sunday when the phone rings!

Like what? Having the game check ready on site?

I worked a baseball tournament last weekend where the assignor had called 2 weeks in advance and got my availability. A couple of days later in the mail I got a hand-written copy of the schedule with my assignments.

Major flashback, probably not for the better though.

I can't believe people still assign like that. When I started baseball, it was like that still and I had one assigner who was notorious for double booking games and leaving others uncovered or undercovered. He was quietly removed one year.

Fool Me Once, Shame On You, Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me ...
 

For about twenty-five years our local board assigner did all assignments the old fashioned way, using the United States Postal Service, and phone calls, usually through land lines. He continued to so this even after computers, email, cell phones, and assignment software, became commonplace, he was a stubborn old son of a gun. About seventy schools, boys, girls, varsity, junior varsity, freshman, a few middle schools, and even a few mens recreation leagues. He never, ever, made mistakes. When asked how he did it, he would point to his head and say, "With this computer".

Then he died suddenly, and unexpectedly, about five years ago, and, of course, the "computer" in his head crashed, without a backup disc. It took us a full year to get back on track. Now we use Arbiter, and have two paid assistant assigners that know how to use the software, and "practice" using it by assigning scrimmages, and AAU assignments, when available. Those three assigners are never allowed to be in the same place, at the same time, just in case of an asteroid strike.