Middle School Ref goes CRAZY

[bigwes68]

Bigwes68 wrote,

I hear the pay there is pretty good, not like the $50 or so we get for working two middle school games, or $70 for two varsity games -

 

. In 2006, between football, baseball, softball, basketball and volleyball, I have officiated a total of 220 contests which encompasses 116 dates. This does not include trips to state and local meetings, camps, clinics, etc. This also includes scrimmages and play-days for which I was not paid. I have put over 4,000 miles on my car this year JUST from officiating. I have also accumulated nearly $1,000 in expenses, not counting mileage. So in the long run, unless you are good enough to move up to the higher levels, the money really isn't that great.

If you take an average of $60 per night and assume you work 5 hours per night, including travel, take your 116 dates and 220 contest and turn that into 8 hour days for 360 days, and it works about to be about $66,000 a year. Pretty good pay for a part time job. I am tired of hearing about how underpaid officials are. How many other jobs could you do where you could make $20-$30/hour and have complete power while you are working.

I agree it is a hard job and I would not want to do it, but if you CHOOSE to be an official you know what you are getting into.

I also understand that most officials are good, but as the saying goes, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

I think the problem most people have is that there is no accountability with officials. If this article is true, then that official was able to completely determine the outcome of a game and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.

I guarantee you that if you checked the best officials in the state give out less technicals than everyone else. Bad officials give T's to compensate for bad calls and there is nothing that can be done about it.

I know i will get raped by some officials on here for writing this, but oh well, i guess it will feel good for them to dish it some.lol

 

 

Your math is a little fuzzy there. If I'm averaging 5 hours per night and $60 a night, then I'm averaging $12/hour. That makes $96 for an 8-hour day, which, multiplied by 360, brings us to $34,560. That's not awful, but it's certainly no $66,000. But aren't full-time jobs generally 40 hours a week, Monday-Friday? By my count, that adds up to about 260 days when you take away Saturday and Sunday. So that brings our grand total to $24,960...which ain't too good. And don't forget that Uncle Sam wants his share, too. But comparing officials' pay to a full-time job is really apples to oranges.

 

But I'm actually averaging less than that. Once you figure in expenses, mileage, etc., my average net income for one day of officiating is a little under $35. That might be for one volleyball match that lasts 45 minutes; that might be for working 10-11 hours calling a baseball tournament. And don't forget time spent driving to the site of the game, which in some cases, may be an hour or two each way. By my figures, I made about $10/hour officiating this year. But like I also said, if it weren't for the fact that I needed the money from officiating, I would probably do it anyway because I love it.

[pffan]

Your math is a little fuzzy there. If I'm averaging 5 hours per night and $60 a night, then I'm averaging $12/hour. That makes $96 for an 8-hour day, which, multiplied by 360, brings us to $34,560. That's not awful, but it's certainly no $66,000. But aren't full-time jobs generally 40 hours a week, Monday-Friday? By my count, that adds up to about 260 days when you take away Saturday and Sunday. So that brings our grand total to $24,960...which ain't too good. And don't forget that Uncle Sam wants his share, too. But comparing officials' pay to a full-time job is really apples to oranges.

 

But I'm actually averaging less than that. Once you figure in expenses, mileage, etc., my average net income for one day of officiating is a little under $35. That might be for one volleyball match that lasts 45 minutes; that might be for working 10-11 hours calling a baseball tournament. And don't forget time spent driving to the site of the game, which in some cases, may be an hour or two each way. By my figures, I made about $10/hour officiating this year. But like I also said, if it weren't for the fact that I needed the money from officiating, I would probably do it anyway because I love it.

Sorry, I did have a figure wrong. If you take $60 at 220 contest. its $13200. You figure that 116 days is about 1/3 of the year that is 39,600 (thats more than most of the coaches) or look at as 1/2 the year its 26,400 (thats more than a lot of coaches). The point is that it is good money for a part time job.

[FridayMainEvent]

 

 

Your math is a little fuzzy there. If I'm averaging 5 hours per night and $60 a night, then I'm averaging $12/hour. That makes $96 for an 8-hour day, which, multiplied by 360, brings us to $34,560. That's not awful, but it's certainly no $66,000. But aren't full-time jobs generally 40 hours a week, Monday-Friday? By my count, that adds up to about 260 days when you take away Saturday and Sunday. So that brings our grand total to $24,960...which ain't too good. And don't forget that Uncle Sam wants his share, too. But comparing officials' pay to a full-time job is really apples to oranges.

 

But I'm actually averaging less than that. Once you figure in expenses, mileage, etc., my average net income for one day of officiating is a little under $35. That might be for one volleyball match that lasts 45 minutes; that might be for working 10-11 hours calling a baseball tournament. And don't forget time spent driving to the site of the game, which in some cases, may be an hour or two each way. By my figures, I made about $10/hour officiating this year. But like I also said, if it weren't for the fact that I needed the money from officiating, I would probably do it anyway because I love it.

 

 

 

This is the second long winded post about the pay. Those of us in the non-official job categories also have to travel to and from work without being compensated. Bottom line, if you don't like the pay, find another job. I really don't care to hear about it!

[bigwes68]

Sorry, I did have a figure wrong. If you take $60 at 220 contest. its $13200. You figure that 116 days is about 1/3 of the year that is 39,600 (thats more than most of the coaches) or look at as 1/2 the year its 26,400 (thats more than a lot of coaches). The point is that it is good money for a part time job.

 

$60 is for two games. So that would be $30/game for 220 contests. That makes about $6,600.

[CoachD33]

Thanks, NWhoopaholic -- you were, after all, the one that helped me get my start in journalism, writing up Jr. Falcon basketball games about 10 years ago!

 

Glad to have played any small part.

 

I would like to make clear that I DO NOT condone how this game situation was handled. If all the facts of the story are correct, and I assume they are, it sounds like things were out of control. The point Wes made and I concur with is the way the story was written. The style would have been appropriate on the Editorial Page. A game summary should be just that. This referee was basically attacked and his picture placed on the Internet and was not even named. The coach was the only one quoted. Please keep opinions on the OP/ED page.