TSSAA REFEREES

[TheProfessor]

big wes.... officials held accountable? come on... yes they do get evaluated, but how are they held accountable? for someone to be held accountable, there has to be some sort of disciplinary action; not just saying ,'hey you blew this call.' coaches and athletic programs get fined for conduct why can't officials get fined for poor calls? all the supervisors are the same. if an official is criticized by a coach to the supervisor, the officials circle the wagon and defend each other to the nth degree. the 'not enough officials' is not a valid argument. if you don't have enough quality officials, it is the TSSAA's job to recruit some. don't punish the athletes and schools because the governing body can't supply quality officials. why are officials and the governing powers soooooo afraid of an accountablity system with REAL accountability? is there something to hide?

[sportiemom]

How come whenever a Ref gets on here with a comment their answer is "why don't you get a whistle and do it". That just shows your ingnorance. I would have to be a Ref, work at McDonalds, the bank, be a cop, be a Polititian ECT ECT ECT..........

Do your jobs so we spectators that pay your salary can ENJOY the game and our kids can play a FAIR game. That is all we ask. You can keep your job I don't need it.

[heyitsme]

So few things affect me anymore, but one thing that has always bothered me is the lack of knowledge that some of you have about high school officiating in Tennessee or anywhere else in the country.

 

So let me set the record straight. First, I do not officiate nor do I have the desire to officiate. Second, this information is deprived from talking to h/s officials and their supervisors and gaining first-hand knowledge about their vocation. There's nothing like getting 'accurate' information rather than speaking from 'emotion'. For educational purposes, I'll speak about "averages" knowing full well that there are always positive and negative exceptions to the 'average'.

 

The "average" h/s official will receive 20 assignments @$65 per night (a whopping $1,300.00/year). The "average" h/s official will travel an 'average' of 100 miles round trip for one assignment (2,000 miles per year). The "average" h/s official is required to attend 5 local meetings, plus one 'state' meeting (again averaging 100 miles/meeting for an additional 600 miles/year). The "average" h/s official must attend an officiating camp once every 3 years @ $175 per camp ($58.33 cost per year). The "average" h/s official has to pay 'registration' and 'assigning' fees every year at an 'average' of $100/year. A 'new' h/s official will invest between $200 to $400 the first year to purchase the 'required' uniform and equipment with absolutely no guarantee that they will work the first h/s game. A 'non-first year' "average" h/s official will easily invest over $100/year to keep the uniform/equipment up to date. H/S officials usually are happy to work pre-season scrimmages and jamborees with little or no compensation. About one-fourth of h/s officials must make arrangements with their employers to leave work early to reach their assignments on time. Most "average" h/s officals will sacrifice hours of family time and personal time to complete their officiating assignments. Most "average" h/s officials really do love the game of basketball.

 

So let's add up the numbers using these figures. First, remember that the American Automobile Association and the Internal Revenue Service estimates that it will costs all automobile owners over $.36/mile to operate a vehicle. That cost not only includes fuel, but all items associated with operating a motor vehicle such as, insurance, depreciation, wear and tear, maintenance, etc.

 

2,600 miles ---- equals $936 actual costs for the "average" h/s official (that's 2,600 miles X $.36/mile). Add the 'annual' cost for camp ($58), dues and fees ($100), maintaining the 'required' equipment/uniform ($100) and the total is $258. Combine this with the vehicle costs of $936 and the grand total is $1,194.00. So, to gain $1300.00 the "average" h/s official will spend $1,194.00, which leaves a balance of $106 to be divided by 20 assignments. Folks, that's about $5.30/assignment. Now, considering that most assignments will last 3 hours, plus the "average" official is required to be at the game site 45 minutes prior to the scheduled start time, and you must include approximately 45 minutes drive time to the assignment along with 45 minute drive time home from the assignment, and the "average" official will have invested 5 1/4 hours of his/hers time. I believe that breaks down to about $1/hour of 'actual' profit for the "average" h/s official.

 

This is the reality of the"average" h/s official in Tennesse and throughout the country. So, how many takers can we get today to join in the basketball officiating ranks?

 

As far as the accountability issue, what kind of monetary penalty can you place on someone that isn't making anything? The bottom line is this: the better officials will receive more games, and the lesser officials will receive less games. That's the basic measure of accountability of the NBA and the NCAA, along with h/s officiating. Personally, I'd love to see the passion concerning 'accountability' that those of you on this website speak of, applied to the things that really matter in our lives such as politicians, public figures, educators, doctors, lawyers, etc. After all, this is just a 'game' that really plays an insignificant role when measured to the important things in our lives.

[OldDoc08]

Hey Buki,Sportiemom and keepinscore you all are crazy.

 

Buki both teams where shooting double bonus free throws. If your kid with 12 seconds left hits them both and you don't let a guy drive the length of the floor uncontested you wouldn't be crying. By the way I guess you think it was cool how the fans from both sides acted toward each other as well as the officials. I think I heard both sides calling the other student section faggots. Also it was very nice for the HV fan to call the ref black trash. Thats what we need to be teaching our kids.

 

 

Sportie Mom that big paycheck you refer to is $65 or $70 heck the rec leagues pay more than that. You also have a job and I bet you couldn't handle 3 minutes of 1000 people giving you heck about it, if you can let me know and we will arrange it.

 

Keepinscore how many shots did your team miss? How many offensive rebounds did East get? How many points did East score not counting Free Throws ( Because I am sure they should have never been on the line as it was always the referees fault) and Howmany turnovers did Unaka have. Now be a man add them all up and tell me the refs made more mistakes than your team.

 

 

All I see on this on this board and at games of all sports is everybody crying about officials instead of admitting they got beat. In every sport officials will miss calls but they won't make as many as the teams do.

[paintwatcher]

sportiemom I understand your frustration. And yes there are officials that are unfair and have agendas other than doing a good job sometimes. However, the fact remains THERE AREN'T ENOUGH REFEREES! There is no one to do the job. No one wants a job where if you make 50 calls a game and get one incorrect then you get screamed at and called an idiot The pay isn't good enough. There is nothing to attract people to want to do this job. And that is ridiclous there aren't job openings in all those fields like there is in refereeing. Supervisors send officials to games knowing good and well they don't have the ability to make good calls. But they have no other choice. Pay needs to be increased, and a ranking system of some sort needs to be implemented. But until then not a whole lot can be done. So please try to set an example and teach your children that everything in life isn't always fair. But you have to act like an adult, do your best, and DEAL WITH IT!

[OldDoc08]

Great post HEYITSME

[sportiemom]

Paintwatcher ~ Good point but still not an answer.

 

heyitsme ~ you just wasted a half hour of your life.

 

 

Olddoc ~ I have done it for free and have done a better job. Try thinking of the words "pride in what you do"

 

 

by the way our team won and the officials still stunk

[OldDoc08]

Sportie at what level did you ref for free and where do you work so we can raise a little on you. Nice the way your kids were calling Erwin Kids faggotts and the way the guy thrown out was acting. I bet Charlie Bayless who is a tremendous coach and first class individual would be real proud of how his fans are acting

[fbcoach4]

It does cost an official to officiate. You have state dues, local dues, and have to pay for summer camp. With that being said, it can cost well over $200 just to get on the floor. You throw in the cost of the uniforms, it's not cheap. It can take up to 2 or 3 weeks of games at $65 a night to make up for the cost. To say that referees are in it for the money is a little stretch. As stated before, gas, travel time, automobile maintainance, supper (after the game) on the road, these are cost that they have to face. A referee might make it home from a 4-5 hour night with $30-$35. You do the math. They can make more money working a night at Lowe's or Home Depot. Most refs really love the game and enjoy being out there with the players. Since people pay there money to go to the games, they have a right to their opinion and can express it if they choose. Some refs can tune it out and some cannot. They are suppose to.

 

Yes, there are some referees that need some work. Alot of refs do the extra work necessary during the summers with aau or yboa ball, some don't. Refs get evaluated by the TSSAA without the refs knowing they are there, and will never know in most cases. This is how they get the refs at the state tournament. The good ones are rewarded for their work. The bad ones will not get as many varsity games if there are some young ones that are doing the extra work.

 

If you have never officiated before and enjoy bashing them, try it and see if it is easy or not. You may have a new found respect for the men and women in stripes.

[OldDoc08]

Sportie you said you used to ref. Why did you quit was it A) you couldn't handle the heat Not enough pay C) you got out of shape or D) all of the above

If its not one of these then you must still be working. Also I heard last week against Central your team shot like 20 Free throws and Central shot 0. I bet you thought those guys did a heck of a job.

[WesVLT]

AMEN BROTHERbut you forgot one thing ~ They get to cash a fat paycheck too

From somewhat of an insider's perspective, I can tell you it's definitely not about the money for most refs...besides, they don't get paid very much anyway.

[InspectroVol]

I usually have very little to say negative about refs. most are trying tehir best even if they aren't very good. I have seen two specifically in my area that need to be fired. One guy is like me, too fat and out of shape to get up and down the floor. This has to put an unfair burden on the other two calling with him as they wind up doing most of the end to end work while he just works the middle of the court.

The other is a woman who IMHO had a ax to grind or something. The girls game that night she was about even for both teams as far as fouls,walks called. The boys game was an all together different story. first half wasn' too awfully bad but the second half was pitiful. I have watched a lot of BB over the years and I would have to say this was the blantant example of ref bias I have ever seen. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt some and finally it was just too obvious. She tried to take over the game completely. Just for an example: Boy is driving towards the goal and two or three players converge on him, one steps in front and the other(s) from the side. She calls a charge, Ok it was close, ref from out front comes in at the same time and calls a reach in foul now pay close attention, this had to have happened before the charge because he lost the ball at contact, she walks him out to midcourt and talks him out of his call and keeps her call for the charge. That is when I knew for sure the little B had it out for us and she (according to some other refs I know) is supposed to be one of the best around?

 

That is the kind of stuff that give refs a bad name and why we have threads like this on internet meassage boards.