Schedules released

[HRCJR]

Here is a laundry list.
1. Many varsity officials can't make a 4:30 or 5:00 start for a prelim game without taking some time off work.
2. Many varsity crews are not spring chickens anymore. Doing 2 games is hard physically. And the last thing you want is to be gassed in the 4th quarter of a competitive varsity game. Most conferences realize this and prefer to have separate crews for prelim and varsity for this reason.
3. If you work both games, you actually don't get paid for both games. The logic is that some portion of your game fee is to compensate for your travel. Since you are already there, they take some off the top.

Compensation for officials is going to be a large issue going forward. Rates rise very slowly versus teacher's salaries and inflation.

I umpire baseball. I do HS at all levels.

For a 4:30 pm game on a Thursday I arrive a by 4:00 pm (sneaking out of work early) to get dressed, equipped and pregame with my partner. A varsity game will be normally done in 1:45 to 2: 15. Sub-Varsity are occasionally called because of darkness in March and April because the level of play is so poor. So I am at the field for for roughly 3 -4 hours by the time I am packed up and ready to leave.

Now those times are based on the following:

Visiting team arriving in time to get warmed up for a 4:30 start
Home team arriving in time to get warmed up for a 4:30 start - not all schools have available fields on campus
Field is ready to go at 4:30 - lined, dragged, mound ready

For a Varsity game (with partner), I get paid $65. For sub-Varsity (WITHOUT Partner) I get $62.

For a Varsity Saturday doubleheader starting at 10:00 am, I arrive by 9:30. For example, the first game ends at 12:10. Teams have a break for lunch (home team usually feeds visiting team). Second game starts at 12:45. Ends at 3:30. I have been at the game site for 6 hours. I get paid $110, NOT the $130 you would think as $20 dollars of the game fee is for travel. So for 6 hours of work I make $18.33/hr. If it was a sub-Varsity I would make a total of $106 or $17.67 an hour.

Remember in Illinois there are no time limits for games.

OR

I could go umpire three 12 year old games with time limits (starting at 9:00, 10:50 and 12:40) and be done by 2:20. I would get $55/game or $33/hr.

What would you do?

Many opportunities for officials, but not may officials.

 

[Quags57]

Compensation for officials is going to be a large issue going forward. Rates rise very slowly versus teacher's salaries and inflation.

I umpire baseball. I do HS at all levels.

For a 4:30 pm game on a Thursday I arrive a by 4:00 pm (sneaking out of work early) to get dressed, equipped and pregame with my partner. A varsity game will be normally done in 1:45 to 2: 15. Sub-Varsity are occasionally called because of darkness in March and April because the level of play is so poor. So I am at the field for for roughly 3 -4 hours by the time I am packed up and ready to leave.

Now those times are based on the following:

Visiting team arriving in time to get warmed up for a 4:30 start
Home team arriving in time to get warmed up for a 4:30 start - not all schools have available fields on campus
Field is ready to go at 4:30 - lined, dragged, mound ready

For a Varsity game (with partner), I get paid $65. For sub-Varsity (WITHOUT Partner) I get $62.

For a Varsity Saturday doubleheader starting at 10:00 am, I arrive by 9:30. For example, the first game ends at 12:10. Teams have a break for lunch (home team usually feeds visiting team). Second game starts at 12:45. Ends at 3:30. I have been at the game site for 6 hours. I get paid $110, NOT the $130 you would think as $20 dollars of the game fee is for travel. So for 6 hours of work I make $18.33/hr. If it was a sub-Varsity I would make a total of $106 or $17.67 an hour.

Remember in Illinois there are no time limits for games.

OR

I could go umpire three 12 year old games with time limits (starting at 9:00, 10:50 and 12:40) and be done by 2:20. I would get $55/game or $33/hr.

What would you do?

Many opportunities for officials, but not may officials.

I have been a huge proponent of paying officials more. And for all sports. There is no reason that people working the clock, the scorebook, ticket takers or "security", should be making more than the people responsible for officiating a game.

This official crisis is not going away. And more and more will leave high school sports for this reason.

 

[dieter]

I have been a huge proponent of paying officials more. And for all sports. There is no reason that people working the clock, the scorebook, ticket takers or "security", should be making more than the people responsible for officiating a game.

This official crisis is not going away. And more and more will leave high school sports for this reason.

As of today (8/4) there are 1489 football officials registered with the state and have passed their concussion test. Registration ended 7/31 even though you can still register I believe with a late fee. I believe just 3 years ago there were over 2000.

 

[Zebra]

As of today (8/4) there are 1489 football officials registered with the state and have passed their concussion test. Registration ended 7/31 even though you can still register I believe with a late fee. I believe just 3 years ago there were over 2000.

It is a grim situation, and as you mentioned in an earlier post, there are going to be a lot of very inexperienced officials working varsity games this year, and potentially games having to be covered by less than 5 officials. I hope they survive and grow into experienced officials.

 

[Blue Ruin]

the lack of officials.

Article in today's Trib on this very issue.

Friday night slights: Referees, feeling unappreciated, underpaid and unnerved by COVID-19, are fleeing high school football and other youth sports

Kevin McMurray is the sort of person high school sports needs in order to run. For 46 years he has officiated football games in the fall, swimming and diving competitions in the winter and baseball…

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[Cross Bones]

Is Loyola just going to have 8 games?

 

[mc140]

Is Loyola just going to have 8 games?

Probably waiting for a CPS team to announce they are cancelling at this point. Then you throw a few grand and a bus for someone to come up there to get running clocked in the first quarter.

 

[godfthr53]

Probably waiting for a CPS team to announce they are cancelling at this point. Then you throw a few grand and a bus for someone to come up there to get running clocked in the first quarter.

You get nothing out of that. I'd skip the week.

 

[mc140]

You get nothing out of that. I'd skip the week.

Others kids can play and you get a win. There are not many games on their schedule in which most will play.

 

[crusader_of_90]

We could not field week 9 many years ago ... what a boring stretch of time.