Officiating Article

[Canfootball52]

Originally Posted by jaybird

And just what makes him think that doctors and lawyers are quality people?

It's not your profession that makes you a good official. It's how well you know your mechanics, how hard you work on the field, and how well you know the rules.
My local association does not have any doctor's or lawyers in its membership, but I'd say that we have many high quality officials. In my 11 years officiating, I've seen 4 of our members make their way to the proffesional level. None of them are doctors or lawyers. 3 are cops, and 1 is a University Professor.
Maybe Mr. Chauvin should step on the field himself, and see what it's like. If he did, I'm sure he would respect officials a lot more. Last week, at a professional pre-season game, a former player decided to step on the field to see what it was like. It seems like he appreciates the job much more now. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=211602&hubname=cfl

[SWFLguy]

First pay increase in 12 years !!!???
I'm amazed they kept anyone, considering increased costs in equipment/uniforms and gasoline to travel to meetings and games !
In New York we got regular increases in fees as they were "tied to" the
pay of teachers. I'm not sure of any connection like that here in Florida
--but it seems that fee increases are fairly regular since I've been down here.
I still maintain that officials fees are low and that higher fees would
increase our quantity and therefore give associations more power to
develop quality. All too many sport's official organizations are stuck putting
"bodies" on the field.

[GPC2]

I didn't necessarily get offended by that comment by Mac Chauvin, but I just wanted to clarify who he is. Chauvin is not just any athletic administrator, he is assistant commissioner of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and one of his major responsibilities is to coordinate the officials in the state. Basically he is the top official in Louisiana.

[Bob M.]

Originally Posted by GPC2

I didn't necessarily get offended by that comment by Mac Chauvin, but I just wanted to clarify who he is. Chauvin is not just any athletic administrator, he is assistant commissioner of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and one of his major responsibilities is to coordinate the officials in the state. Basically he is the top official in Louisiana.

REPLY: All the more reason that Mr. Chauvin should have thought about making such a comment and realized that it would offend the many of us non-doctor/lawyer officials. If such an official from my own state made a similar comment, I would be equally offended.

[Jim D]

It's really ironic that the person who made the comment insinuating that doctors and lawyers are a better class of people would actually be named Chauvin. His comment was totally chauvinistic! Mac must take after one of his distant relatives for whom the term is named.

[Texas Aggie]

he is assistant commissioner of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and one of his major responsibilities is to coordinate the officials in the state. Basically he is the top official in Louisiana.

He is (or was) on the Fed hoops rules committee and worked hoops in the SEC (probably among others) as late as the early '90s. So he's a former working official.

I think some of you guys are being a bit over sensitive on his point. What I think he's saying is that (traditional) professional types have a different view of their time than others. It isn't that my time as a lawyer is more important than your time as a teacher or salesperson, or whatever. But its that I put a specific value on my time by the hour for my livelihood. Teachers and others don't do that specifically. so when we see we're paid $45 for two games that will take 3 hours, we immediately see $15 an hour when we charge, say, 10 times that much in our work. Teachers, for example, see $45, knowing their job is over for the day since school is out. They compare it to what they might earn working some other part time job. Thus, the pay rate is analyzed a lot more by professional types than it may be by folks in other vocations.

With that said, I need to get back to work!

[prosec34]

As a lawyer who has called ball for three years now, I feel most officials should feel offended by this guy's comments. What a horrible choice of words for the "top official" in the state.

I work games with guys who work in factories and other blue collar occupations, and I try to go out of my way to not act like I'm something better than them. Because I'm not. I don't even tell them what I do for a living unless they ask.

If you're dedicated to your sport(s), try to learn the rules/mechanics and try to act professional while wearing the uniform, you have what it takes to be a good official, no matter what college degrees you may possess.

[TXFB&BBOff]

Originally Posted by Bob M.

REPLY: All the more reason that Mr. Chauvin should have thought about making such a comment and realized that it would offend the many of us non-doctor/lawyer officials. If such an official from my own state made a similar comment, I would be equally offended.

Notice there was a third criteria of people in his statement. Professional people. If you are an official that is not a doctor, lawyer, or dont handle yourself professionally, the by all means, complain. If you dont handle yourself professionally, I wouldnt consider you a quality official though.

[Canfootball52]

Originally Posted by SWFLguy

First pay increase in 12 years !!!???
I'm amazed they kept anyone, considering increased costs in equipment/uniforms and gasoline to travel to meetings and games !
In New York we got regular increases in fees as they were "tied to" the
pay of teachers. I'm not sure of any connection like that here in Florida
--but it seems that fee increases are fairly regular since I've been down here.
I still maintain that officials fees are low and that higher fees would
increase our quantity and therefore give associations more power to
develop quality. All too many sport's official organizations are stuck putting
"bodies" on the field.

If you're doing it for the money, you're doing it for the wrong reasons. I do it for the love of the game, and the friendships I've made over 11 seasons. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. Granted, it is nice to get a little reward for your time . Especially when you consider gas prices .
In my local association, we usually see a pay increase every 2 years. Our Executive sits down with every league that we work games for, and "negotiates" our "wages". We bill the leagues, and then our local association uses that money to pay us in December, which then gets spent on Christmas presents. Last year I earned over $1000.00 before deductions (membership dues, equipment purchases, etc.)