8 Brighton Standard Blade
December 1, 2021
Not many white hats these days youth.”
BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
It’s a national crisis, according to Karissa Niehoff, the executive director of the National Federation of High Schools. “It” is the shortage of officials to work high-school games. The problem is worse because of the impacts of coronavirus. Adam Laubert, former operations director for Herd of Zebras, a group that tries to find and train prospective officials, said some game officials don’t want to retire. A basketball official in semi-retirement said fan abuse is a problem. But he thought another issue was lack of qualifications to work varsity-level games which, he thinks, contributes to an often-cited reason for a lack of officials - fan abuse. A retired CHSAA baseball official blamed three things -- lack of involvement by the Colorado High School Activities Association, a lack of recruiting and retention efforts and low pay. Whatever the reason, a lack of game officials was a problem even before the pandemic and before certain officials didn’t want to hang up their whistles. Niehoff said in some cases, games have had to be moved and sports programs canceled. “We need more people to consider officiating high-school sports,” Niehoff said in a video presentation. “Parents need to appreciate the time and sacrifice and devotion that officials make to ensure high-school sports are available to our nation’s
Pay and travel time One issue is the rate of pay. Salaries for the state’s officials depend on the sport. In baseball and basketball, each member of a two- or three-person crew earns $62.42 per game. In field hockey, the fee is $58.26 for each of the two officials. In volleyball, the fee is $50.98 for each of the two varsity-level officials and $39.02 per official for a junior-varsity or “C” team match. In Texas, high-school football officials are paid $105 to $185 per game, depending on attendance and travel distance. Baseball umpires there earned $85 in travel stipends for the first game and $70 for subsequent games in 2019. In Colorado, the travel stipend increases to $10 per game next year. According to retired CHSAA umpire Dan Weikle, who worked statelevel playoff games during many of his 46 years as a certified baseball official, the pay for an umpire in 1964 was $10 per game. “If you extrapolate that out, that’s $88 today,” he said. “We get paid $62. The pay hasn’t kept up with inflation. In 1975, when I started, the pay waas $25 ($118 in today’s dollars).” Ray Garza is a former basketball player, former basketball coach and a basketball official in transition. He’s not signed up to work games this season but keeps his referee togs at Riverdale Ridge High School just in case. His issue with pay came in two parts – travel time and the hour be-
fore varsity-level games. In the case of a varsity level basketball game, Garza had to be in the gym an hour before scheduled tipoff time. Then there’s the time it takes to get to a gym. In some cases, thanks to traffic, it can take an hour. Garza’s problem isn’t necessarily with the travel time. It’s the hour before the game begins that’s unpaid “What job asks that?” Garza said. “If they could build in something, $10 for gas would be a step. Basketball officials get $48 but no pregame fee.” Game officials are independent contractors; by law, they cannot form a union. Weikle said state’s schools pay CHSAA a fee, part of which goes toward running officials’ associations. “It’s not in CHSAA’s best interests to give us a raise,” Weikle said. “They want to make officials’ pay cost-effective for all the schools.” Recruiting and retention At one time, CHSAA offered training to prospective officials. That’s not the case anymore. Weinkle said even an appearance at a high-school career day would help. Weikle said CHSAA was “good to him” during the time he served as an official. “I don’t have an ax to grind. The system worked for me. I worked state championships in football, basketball and baseball,” Wrinkle said. “CHSAA does nothing to support high-school athletic officials. They leave it to the sports officials’ jurisdictions. CHSAA has a direct connection to the schools, which could do more to get the word
out needing more officials. That could pave the way for us to get into the high schools. We could hit as many kids as we could and may get 12 or 15 to stick.” Representatives from CHSAA could not be reached for comment by press time.
Dealing with abuse Public address announcers read a statement from the Colorado High School Activities Association that encourages proper ways to support the players and game officials. Niehoff agreed during her video presentation. “We need players, coaches, parents and other fans to be respectful to ensure that those individuals who are currently officiating continue to do so,” Niehoff said. “Cheer positively for the student-athlete and not criticize the officials. The profession is tougher than we might think.” Garza took it a step farther. “Some officials need to be at the middle-school level. But we have such a shortage of officials,” he said. “Some just aren’t ready for the high school level. It’s tough officiating. And if you’re not prepared, it causes frustration among the spectators. Some can’t keep up with the pace. We need bodies to fill the void. But some aren’t working to be better at their craft.” Weikle said his problem wasn’t with high-school fans and coaches. His issue was with summer league organizations. “CHSAA handles the coaches well,” SEE OFFICIALS, P11
COVID-19 GRANT APPLICATION NOW OPEN Application Deadline Wednesday, Dec. 15
RISING THROUGH
RESILIENCY The Adams County COVID-19 Grant Program, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), is now accepting applications. The program is designed to help provide financial support for projects and programs assisting in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts in Adams County. The deadline to apply is Dec. 15, 2021. Businesses, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofit organizations, school districts, and special districts are encouraged to apply.
adamscountycovid19.org/grants
