Officials

[grapplertom]

I am new to the forum and am not sure if this is a taboo subject. (I could not find a thread discussing the topic)

 

I just spent two days at the Independence tournament and watched probably the most awful and inconsistent officiating in my 30 years of being involved in the sport (from midgets through Div. I). I have been an official, I have worn the stripes as one official said to me when I asked for “clarity on his lack ofconsistencyâ€. I accept judgment calls that sometimes don’t go my way, I understand, but the basics: in and out of bounds, starting on top and bottom, stalling etc. need to be greatly improved in quality and consistency. I actually started to walk around taping matches where I felt the officiating was particularly gruesome. I wanted to review them BEFORE broaching the topic in a forum.

 

Is there no peer review? No Continuing certification, education and development? I am not sure what they are paid, and can assume it is not substantial, but we owe it to our athletes to have quality officiating. To be sure there was some quality officiating at the tournament, but very little compared to the overall poor officiating.

 

HOW can we make officiating better for our athletes? They put so much into this sport and deserve the best officiating possible!

[UMAKETHECALL]

I have officiated for over 25 years, in 5 different states. I can tell you we do not do it for the compensation. after paying TSSAA fees, Local fees, purchase shirts, pants, shoes, and the rest, Oh and throw in gas to sometimes drive 80 miles or more round trip to tournament, I assure you it's not for the $.

Without being there it is hard to comment on what you witnessed.