Taking Care Of Business
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Covering legal issues, insurance concerns, and best practices related to taxes, reports and paperwork.
What Do You Have to Hide?
Knock, knock. “Hello, Mr. Smith. We’re with the state association. We’re conducting a little check of all our registered officials. You don’t mind if...
Tort Liability for Game Officials
Protecting the safety of players is a substantial responsibility of officials. We are charged with enforcing the rules and many of those rules are...
Get Yourself an Injury Witness
It happens. A player has an injury in a game you’ve just officiated. You managed the players and the crowd. The trainers handled the...
Enforcing vs. Interpreting the Rules
Today’s high school sports officials are often caught between the “rock” of enforcing rules strictly and the “hard place” of interpreting the rules sensibly,...
Handling an Accident and Insurance from Game Travel
Sometimes the riskiest part about being a sports official is getting to and from the game. Sure, no official likes the abuse we often...
Take a Peek Inside An Assigner’s Notebook
W
hile I have officiated since 1975, I have also served for 22 years as a high school softball assigner and 14 years as an...
For the Fourth Time, That’s Enough!
Warnings — Give ‘em “the look,” “the stop sign,” the quiet word, the louder word, it doesn’t matter if you never take care of...
Accepting Assignments: Dos and Don’ts
Games! We all want as many as we can possibly handle, but when it comes to accepting assignments, you can't just say yes without...
How to Write an Officiating Resumé
Nine times out of 10, a bad resumé will land in the “circular file” before the first half is read. Some bad resumés are just...
Don’t Officiate an “Unofficial” Game
Games can be over before they begin. Some officials fall into the trap of officiating the extra inning after a run rule, or starting...
Extreme Behavior Demands Ending Games Early
Legal issues for officials take many forms. Some are obvious. Others not so much. It’s easy to see how injuries to players can be precipitated by...
Special Circumstances That Go Beyond Any Rulebook
If you work long enough most officials will find themselves in the middle of special circumstances that go beyond any rulebook.
It’s a cold December evening but the gym...
Assigners Can Fire You
The officiating world has no objective meter, like win-loss record, to help determine who keeps their job and who gets fired. It often takes an assigner making judgment calls...
Proactively Address Abuse on the Court or Field
The failure to proactively address sexual and other forms of abuse of amateur athletes can result in severe consequences — including criminal prosecution of...
You’re Your Own Agent
At a referee development camp that I attended last summer, the camp director began with a single question: “Who is your agent?”
After a period...
Step Up When a Player Goes Down
There’s a scramble for a loose ball. Before the ball is secured, the referee hears a scream. One of the players is lying on the court and...
Safety and Warmups When a Team Arrives Late
As a sports official, you’ve been there. You’ve fought the traffic to show up to a field on a cold, rainy day, in plenty...
Negotiating Officials’ Pay
A contract is a contract. However, sometimes the parties to a contract want to change the terms. Often leagues will renegotiate officials' pay for games each year with...
Seek Knowledge and Ye Shall Find
You’re a young, aspiring official who is eager to seek knowledge anywhere you can about the rules, mechanics and philosophies applicable in your sport....
A Guide to Defending Your Officials
Every season association officers get letters, letters and more letters that may lead you to defending your officials.
“How could we have 10 fouls and...
Rules Test Tips for Takers and Givers
There are those who argue that a rules test is not the most reliable method of determining an official’s rules knowledge. How much stock you place in...
What to Do If You’re Attacked
Assaults against sports officials are drawing unprecedented attention. Many states have passed legislation designed specifically to protect sports officials from being attacked. More and...
Good Reports Earn You Respect
It’s a good idea to send misconduct reports — sometimes referred to as incident reports — to proper authorities, even if it’s not required....
Essentials of Game Security
Sadly, personal safety is a concern for officials today. What’s being done to ensure game security and our welfare?
John Locke, the 17th century English philosopher and physician said, “All mankind...
