SCAB officials

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

If you are going to start a thread, could you please give us some information? I have no idea what you are talking about or who all these people are.

From GOOGLE......

http://www.allcanadagridiron.com/php...forum.php?f=19

If you wade through everything and throw out the 90% fan nonsense, as near as I can tell:
- the OVFL is composed of 3 divisions--Peewee(12-14), Junior(14-16) and Senior(16-18). The divisions have over 20 teams each playing a summer schedule from cities all over the province of Ontario, Canada.
http://www.ovfootball.ca/
- Officials are supplied through a provincial officiating body called the OFOA, which is composed of regional officiating groups. OFOA supplies officials through the same type of model used by the SEC and other major D1 conferences. They recruit, select, train and assign all officials for all games played in that league
http://www.ofoa.ca/
- the Provincial official's group had a major problem with the actions of the coach of a Senior team against the game officials at a semi-final game. They wanted him suspended for the championship game for these actions.
- after fighting all week, an agreement was reached on Thursday that the coach wouldn't be on the field and that OFOA-assigned officials would now do all 3 games.
- The Peewee championship game on Friday night was officiated by OFOA officials.
- When OFOA officials showed up for the Junior championship game on Saturday afternoon, they were informed that their services would not be needed for either game, and that both games would be officiated by U.S. officials. They were.
- The team that was the center of the conflict lost anyway in the Senior championship game.
- if you can believe some of the rhetoric, there have also already been OVFL executive members and teams resigning from the league over this mess.

Bottom line....it's basically a labor dispute and it's not over yet. And....imo officials anywhere at this age level should not involve themselves in situations involving major problems encountered by a fellow officiating group. "Brothers Under The Stripes" simply don't do that sort of thing.

I don't know where the officials came from but the closest big cities in the U.S. would probably be either Buffalo or Detroit.

Btw this reinforces my vow to keep away from fan forums in any sport.

Enjoy, if you've got a strong stomach......

[ref18]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

- the Provincial official's group had a major problem with the actions of the coach of a Senior team against the game officials at a semi-final game. They wanted him suspended for the championship game for these actions.

I was an official on the game in question, and while I won't give any details about what happened, I will say that what he did warranted at least a suspension.

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

imo officials anywhere at this age level should not involve themselves in situations involving major problems encountered by a fellow officiating group. "Brothers Under The Stripes" simply don't do that sort of thing.

I agree, I was shocked when I found out that American officials were actually doing the games. If I was asked to step in in this situation, I would definitely refuse. The only thing I can think of is that these officials did not know the whole story.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by SCAB

All I know is that I did a favor for somebody and helped cover the games so the kids could have their championship games. I had no idea all of this stuff was going on up there until it was too late.

All I do know is that the weather was beautiful, the field is beautiful, the games were good, and the kids seemed to have a good time.

It looks like you didn't do much of a favor to your fellow officials from another country though, does it SCAB? But hey, the weather was good, the field was beautiful, the games were good and the kids seemed to have a good time. And you made a few bucks too probably. Life is good.

Not to worry. I couldn't do what you did. Ever. But that's just me.

I read somewhere in that forum that you guys were from the Detroit area. Maybe an equivalent situation might be the MHSAA using you guys all year round and then telling you before the state championship games that they're bringing in officials from Illinois or Ohio...or Canada to do those games. Nothing the matter with that, right? I'm sure that the officials from Illinois or Ohio would never ask whatinthehell was going on either. They'd probably think that it was only a favor for someone.

One other thing....I see that the MHSAA posted a Code For Athletic Officials on it's website. #3 in that code states "Accept contracts for and officiate only contests for which you are qualified and experienced." I take it from that then that you are qualified and experienced in Canadian football. Correct?

[TXMike]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

It looks like you didn't do much of a favor to your fellow officials from another country though, does it SCAB? But hey, the weather was good, the field was beautiful, the games were good and the kids seemed to have a good time. And you made a few bucks too probably. Life is good.

Not to worry. I couldn't do what you did. Ever. But that's just me.

Well clearly none of us is going to get a straight story from the ref's side about what was going on up there so how can you blame someone for taking the game. Should they just have refused because some other association refused it? Most of us have been in associations where the group's leadership has done things that many of us in the group do not agree with. For all any of us know, that was the case here. I am all for defending my fellow zebras but only if I know they acted correctly. They do not get an automatic walk from me.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by TXMike

They do not get an automatic walk from me.

Apparently.

Soooooo......there'd be no problem with the TUIL bringing in officials from Oklahoma to do playoff and championship games in Texas, I take it? And if someone from Oklahoma called you and said "Hey, TXMike, y'all come up and do our 5A championship high school game, you'd be there? You'd never dream of calling the Oklahoma officials first to find out whatinthehell was going on?

OKay.......

[TXMike]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Apparently.

Soooooo......there'd be no problem with the TUIL bringing in officials from Oklahoma to do playoff and championship games in Texas, I take it? And if someone from Oklahoma called you and said "Hey, TXMike, y'all come up and do our 5A championship high school game, you'd be there? You'd never dream of calling the Oklahoma officials first to find out whatinthehell was going on?

OKay.......

Me personally, I would not do the game in Oklahoma, nor the one in Canada. A man has to know his limitations and mine include limited brain capacity. Same reason I will not even do HS football here in Virginia. I only know 1 rule code, NCAA, and am incapable of learning another sufficiently to call a "big" game. How do we know the US refs did not inquire as to why they were being requested?

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by TXMike

1) A man has to know his limitations and mine include limited brain capacity. Same reason I will not even do HS football here in Virginia. I only know 1 rule code, NCAA, and am incapable of learning another sufficiently to call a "big" game.

2) How do we know the US refs did not inquire as to why they were being requested?

1) Original answer deleted due to a wrong assumption on my part.

2) That was one of my points. It's not normal imo not to question being asked to drive hundreds of miles to do games in another jurisdiction, let alone in another country using strange rules. Something had to be screwy.

Hopefully, it'll get straightened out, maybe not to both side's satisfaction but to something that both can live with.

That is one unbelievable fan forum to wade through though. Typical, I guess.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by SCAB

Would have been nice to know some of that info a week ago. Because questions were asked, and that link has given me a lot more info than I had last weekend.

I'm glad that you did do this... but what does it say when the league gave you less info than what was in that article, and the statements in that article were largely skewed?

You had the wool pulled over your eyes, and for that I'm sorry that such a thing happened to fellow officials.

[Don Mueller]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

I'm glad that you did do this... but what does it say when the league gave you less info than what was in that article, and the statements in that article were largely skewed?

You had the wool pulled over your eyes, and for that I'm sorry that such a thing happened to fellow officials.

Is this the first time ever that this league did not support the officials or fudged on one of their policies?

In my neck of the woods, if an association doesn't approve of league actions they simply terminate the contract and go on.
A new association steps in and officials work the games. Leagues shouldn't have to dissolve simply because one association doesn't like what they did.

IMO the associtation should have:
1. Negotiated in private with the association to work out the problems. Not make it a public debate.
2. After negotiating either Honor the contract or
3. Terminate the contract and walk away.

If they terminate the contract they shouldn't care what happens after.
If the association wanted this leagues business they shouldn't have publicly ridiculed them.

When my association picks up a new league I don't research the history of the previous associations dealings with that league, I simply do the games I'm assigned to.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by SCAB

Jurrasic, asking TXMike about somebody from OK doing their 5A championships is like apples and oranges. This was represented to me as some type of summer youth tournament. I had never heard of the OVFL before this weekend. Turns out that it's a big deal in ON, but how would we know that? There's nothing simuliar in the States that I've ever heard of.

If somebody invited me into your area to do games, I'd sureasheck find out what the real deal was before coming in. And that includes contacting the local officials' group in your area and getting their input and permission.

That's just me though.

[TXMike]

Permission????? Maybe y'all look at things different but down here, officials are independent contractors. We do not need "permission" from other independent contractors to do work for a contractee.

So if a league decides they want to use a different ambulance service than the one they have been using, the new ambulance service should ask the old one for "permission" ?????

[jjrye22]

I found one real article about the theme. Doesn't say much, but it at least gives a background.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/st...d-ed973d35da5a

Personally I'd like to hear more about it.

James

[Niner]

Interesting part of the article indicates that the striking officials union was paid in advance for the games and...

""They're breaking their contract, so there will probably be litigation after this," Rion said. "They (officials) are the only ones who get paid for their job in this (league) right now they're denying youth their championships."

Sad state of adulthood.