Numbers

[SCalScoreKeeper]

How are the officiating numbers where you are? Have any contests had to be rescheduled or postponed due to a lack of available officials? A showdown between our area's top two teams scheduled for Thursday was cancelled due to lack of officials and cannot be made up since the two teams do not share the same off days.

[Tony.oe4]

In IL, historically, HS volleyball was played on Tuesday or Thursday nights. For the past several years, matches have been played Monday through Friday. Although not the only reason, one reason is to have enough officials to work matches and all HS playing on only Tuesday and Thursday nights really stretched the officiating pool thin. The same problem is happening with football. HS football has always played on Friday nights. I hear that some games are being played on other weekday nights. I am sure it is because of the shortage of officials.

[chapmaja]

Struggling in many sports, volleyball included.

[Lcubed48]

Here in my corner of the Commonwealth, we do struggle on occasion. Our numbers are up this year due to some heavy recruiting by current members.

[SCalScoreKeeper]

How did you guys recruit Lcubed48?

[Lcubed48]

Originally Posted by SCalScoreKeeper

How did you guys recruit Lcubed48?

Most of our recruits come from other sports. A lot of our officials do multiple sports so we recruit from those ranks.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I do not officiate volleyball but am planning to take it up next school year. I do know that there is a shortage in all sports in the OhioHSAA. I have friends who officiate swimming & diving, and friends that officiate track & field and cross-country and there is even a shortage of officials in those sports.

MTD, Sr.

[Scrapper1]

My local board is drawing officials from the area's basketball board. They don't know the game, but they know how to officiate, so their training time is a little shorter.

[timasdf]

There are numerous reasons why officials are in short supply. A few of them here...

1. Pay is low, relative to time spent. Fee increases are typically well below the increase in cost of living. Cost of Living has exploded in my area recently. School funding increases at a steady clip (see my property taxes as proof). Officiating increases are typically in the 1-2% range, if any.

2. Schools' insistence on overloading their contests on only 1-2 days/week. A balanced schedule would allow those officials to be utilized more effectively. Not enough VB refs on Tuesday/Thursday...most officials sitting home on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Brilliant! I've personally seen 80 slots on a Tuesday, with less than 5-10 slots on the Monday and Wednesday.

3. Abuse from coaches and spectators. Many quit during the sensitive time when they really aren't very good and are learning. Administrators find it completely acceptable to have their coaches badger officials (even rookies at a freshman or junior high game), then wonder why these newer officials quit after their first or second year.

4. Perceived unfair path forward. Many associations are operated and controlled to the benefit of the select few. After a while, the newer officials see that their input isn't valued and advancement will be difficult due to external factors (not simply their competence). Opaque post-season selection and ranking processes are devastating to the health of an officials association. Most everyone is OK with not moving up the ranks, if they believe things are transparent and fair. If things aren't transparent and fair, officials quit at an alarming clip.

[timasdf]

Originally Posted by SCalScoreKeeper

A showdown between our area's top two teams scheduled for Thursday was cancelled due to lack of officials and cannot be made up since the two teams do not share the same off days.

I don't know about the circumstances of this cancellation, but unless this match was scheduled with limited advanced notice, I suggest that the assigner was trying to make a point in this situation.

No way does the match with the top two teams in the area get canceled for this reason. It's the match with non-varsity or low-level varsity teams that are at the bottom of the totem pole and don't get the refs.

[Insane Blue]

Originally Posted by SCalScoreKeeper

How are the officiating numbers where you are? Have any contests had to be rescheduled or postponed due to a lack of available officials? A showdown between our area's top two teams scheduled for Thursday was cancelled due to lack of officials and cannot be made up since the two teams do not share the same off days.

I just looked at the master schedule for Thursday games before the date you posted and found 1 match canceled that fits the criteria you mentioned (top teams) and it would not have been for shortage of Officials since 2 where scheduled for it. There was only 18 games that day and we have over 80 officials.