Newbie

[refnrev]

CL,
If the sun is blazing down and your head is going to get sunburned or if it helps keep the sun out of your eyes and helps you see better, wear the hat. It will make it much hotter, but you won't be miserable from a sunburn for 10 days. If you're an AR and staring right into the sun, wear the sun glasses. Tools that enable you to see better enable you to make better calls.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by refnrev

CL,
If the sun is blazing down and your head is going to get sunburned or if it helps keep the sun out of your eyes and helps you see better, wear the hat. It will make it much hotter, but you won't be miserable from a sunburn for 10 days. If you're an AR and staring right into the sun, wear the sun glasses. Tools that enable you to see better enable you to make better calls.

Better advice for any referee would be to find out what is acceptable in his area. When one inquires with the proper authorities, it may be the case that one will be told not to wear a hat to protect one's head from a sunburn, but instead to simply wear sunscreen. A person may also learn that sunglasses are strictly forbidden while working game for a particular league/assignor/region and that only a hat or visor (or nothing at all) is acceptable.

[refnrev]

And maybe not. At the young level you are working, these are not going to be a big deal.

[phatneff]

I always wear sunglasses on bright sunny days. I do primarily center assignments and I tell my AR's that I will wear the sunglasses. If they would like to wear sunglasses, too, I allow them to. For me, anything that can help to better officiate a game, I'm all for it. Some, if not most, people believe that sunglasses should NEVER be worn. However, i totally disagree. I also sometimes officiate with a black towel hanging out of the back of my shorts. That allows me to get the sweat off of my hands, arms, head, and face on the hot days. Again, most people would not allow that to happen, but my contention is whateve will help me throughout the game, I will use.

As an official, the focus should never be on you. The focus should be on the game itself. If someone is worried about what you're wearing, then THEY are focusing on the wrong thing. If anyone has an issue with me wearing sunglasses and/or a towel, I suggest to them that they call the assigner and/or state. In my 10+ years of officiating, I have never been told not to do as such.