January 2022 | Vol. 8 Iss. 13
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HELP WANTED: OFFICIALS FOR YOUTH SPORTS By Greg James | g.james@mycityjournals.com
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he number of high school referees and sports officials is declining rapidly across the country. Until recently, Utah had not experienced much of a decline, but this season it has finally hit home. Why is this happening and what can be done to make sure athletes don’t miss games because of it? “If high school is in session I am doing a sport,” Harley Gold said. “I have officiated since 1967. I started because I was invited to a little league umpires clinic then and I became an umpire. I enjoy all of the sports and picking a favorite is like picking my favorite child.” Gold is not alone. Many of the officials started young and have continued for years. Former USA Hockey Supervisor of Officials Jim Mckenna started officiating youth and adult recreation hockey games in 1994. He continues working collegiate and junior league games as well as games in the ECHL. “I was looking for a way to earn some extra money back then,” Mckenna said. “I dealt with the assignment of officials and contracts with leagues and organizations and helped with training. It was a lot of work, but it was fun.” Both of these longtime arbiters enjoy what they do. “I like being around the game and with the kids,” Gold said. According to an Ohio University study many states are reporting a decrease in officials. Oregon alone saw a 12% drop in registered football referees this fall. The shortage has finally hit Utah. Two weeks before the boys basketball season began the Utah High School Activities Association had 450 people registered for the job, nearly 250 less than what they need to complete the season. In northern California they have seen a decrease of nearly 30%. Utah has also increased the number of schools therefore increasing the number of games. Making this a two-headed problem for officials. The lack of officials has forced postponement and cancellation of many sub-varsity games in the state. Some schools are moving games to make it easier to find people to help. “Every year in the last five or six years we have seen a decline in the number of officials,” McKenna said. “The abuse from parents and players contributes. The younger officials wonder why they would want to go and get yelled at for two hours.” Sportsmanship, specifically the lack thereof, has become a key factor in the decline of officials. Sportsmanship refers to virtues such as fairness, self-control and courage. In today’s
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High school basketball referees work together to make sure rules are followed and the games are officiated correctly. (Travis Barton/City Journals)
sporting culture those virtues can take a back seat to winning at all costs. “We have really lost the sense of what is appropriate. It seems OK to scream at some official and tell them how crappy they are. Society is a lot less accepting and willing to come to an understanding,” McKenna said. In a National Association of Sporting Officials survey, adult recreation and youth competitive sports had the worst sportsmanship and 47% of officials surveyed feared for their safety because of a fan, player, coach or administrator. According to UHSAA assistant director Jeff Cluff, poor sportsmanship is “probably the No. 1 reason an official does not return. We lose about 75% of first-year officials. It is hard if you don’t have the personality to handle it. There is no
place for bad sportsmanship.” In early November, at a 13-14-year-old division hockey tournament in Colorado, Ron Groothedde, a 25-year veteran referee, was sprayed in the face with a large can of Lysol by an angry parent. The suspect was arrested for harassment. Incidents of poor sportsmanship are numerous. “I think it takes communication. I see a lot of officials that get yelled at and they yell right back and all that does is fuel the fire. Talking to a coach and explaining what you saw in a conversation and come to an agreement,” McKenna said. “Some of the younger officials are intimidated by the coaches.” The extra money of a part-time job like officiating was a big draw to begin with, but many potential officials have Continued page 12
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