17487 Officials Had Something To Say

FOOTBALL

SNAP CHATS

BASKETBALL

ALL SPORTS

SAY WHAT TIME TO MAKE WHEN? YOUR MOVE

SOCCER

5MW AMANDA ROSS

SOFTBALL

NFHS ADDS INTENTIONAL WALKS

NOVEMBER 2017 // REFEREE.COM

POLITICAL BASEBALL IT’S PROVIDENCE PG.20

VOLLEYBALL

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE

OFFICIATING

SURVEY

IN HISTORY PG.50

WHAT’S MY LINE? BASEBALL

NFHS NEW RULES your voice since 1976

$6.95

17,487 17,487. That is the number of officials whose investment in this avocation motivated them to respond to the recent National Association of Sports Officials survey. In the spring of 2017, the largest survey ever conducted in the officiating industry was carried out by NASO and sponsored by Peopletrail.

The project began as an effort by NASO to explore how data might be used to improve the officiating industry. It was intended to be a project that cracked the door open to data collection and hinted at what information might be discovered.

However, as fate would have it, the officiating world did not want the door to be subtly cracked open. Officials are ready to have their voices heard, not just in the future, but now.

And now, NASO is ready to reveal collected data to the officiating community with meaningful visuals. As might be imagined, the door that has been swung open through this survey will provide the opportunity to explore many officiating topics for a long time to come.

50 | REFEREE November 2017

7

OFFICIALS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY UNPRECEDENTED DATA COLLECTION PROVIDES A VOICE TO THE OFFICIATING INDUSTRY The map shows the locations of the survey respondents around the country.

There were also some respondents from outside of the United States.

NASO NATIONAL OFFICIATING SURVEY SPONSORED BY

Technical Support provided by:

REFEREE November 2017 |

51

17,487 OFFICIALS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY

WHO ARE WE? 17,487

53.29

WHO ARE WE?

6.43%

AVERAGE AGE

FEMALE RESPONDENTS

69.96%

WHITE RESPONDENTS

Age Distribution by Sport 80.00

Median Age Average Age

TRACK & FIELD

TENNIS

SWIMMING

FIELD HOCKEY

SOFTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

WRESTLING

BASEBALL

RUGBY

FOOTBALL

BASKETBALL

NULL & OTHER

LACROSSE

SOCCER

20.00

HOCKEY

40.00

COMBAT SPORTS

Age

60.00

51 54 55 55 56 56 57 57 57 57 58 58 59 60 60 60 48.41 50.96 52.60 52.97 54.04 54.26 54.77 54.78 54.83 54.91 55.99 56.33 56.08 57.87 58.04 58.74

The charts above show the average ages of officials in each sport. The line across the inside of each box shows the median age of officials in that sport. The box represents the range of ages of the middle 50% of the officials in each sport with the upper and lower hinges showing the upper and lower age limits of that middle 50%. The fact that some officials are significantly younger than most of the officials in a sport, or outliers, explains why the mean age is lower than the median age.

Note: The mean age is the sum of all of the participants’ ages divided by the number of respondents that answered this question. The median age is the middle value of all of the ages when the ages are put in order from youngest to oldest.

pro vs. women officials In 2015, 59% of Americans had completed some college or more, 33% had a bachelor’s degree or more, and 12% had advanced degrees including master’s, professional, or doctorate degrees.* In comparison, the level of education of professional officials and female officials is impressive. *Footnote: According to the United States Census Bureau’s “Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015”

52 | REFEREE November 2017

female officials:

professional officials:

Some college or more:

75.18%

Some college or more:

78.23%

Bachelor’s degree or more:

59.61%

Bachelor’s degree or more:

62.40%

Advanced degree:

28.74%

Advanced degree:

28.11%

Declined to answer:

19.05%

Declined to answer:

19.31%

Sport Level

Educational Level

High School Varsity

Declined to Answer

72.76%

Youth

69.51%

High School Sub Varsity

68.81%

Bachelor’s Degree

19.27%

Master’s Degree

39.78%

Small College

6.44%

Associate Degree

6.08%

Professional Degree 15.42%

Major College

Doctorate

6.75%

No Diploma

The chart shows all levels at which respondents have ever officiated.

9.54%

Post-graduate Study

High School Diploma or ...

19.85%

Declined to Answer

15.78%

Some College

52.19%

Adult Amateur

Professional

34.88%

3.54% 2.41% 1.58% 0.62%

The bar graph shows the highest level of education respondents have attained.

ETHNICITY, GENDER AND PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY* 11.33%

A

OF MALE RESPONDENTS HAVE FELT UNCOMFORTABLE OR THREATENED

BY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE OFFICIATING COMMUNITY.

B

47.94%

C

12,889 MALES

1,113

FEMALES

OF MALE RESPONDENTS HAVE FELT UNSAFE OR FEARED FOR THEIR SAFETY BECAUSE OF ADMINISTRATOR, COACH, PLAYER OR SPECTATOR BEHAVIOR.

MIDDLE EASTERN OR NORTH AFRICAN 47 MALES

2 FEMALES

A 17.02% B 57.45% C N/A

D 50.00%

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN 539 MALES

65 FEMALES

A 12.99% B 44.53% C 23.08% D 53.85%

20.58%

OF FEMALE RESPONDENTS HAVE FELT UNCOMFORTABLE OR THREATENED

BY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE OFFICIATING COMMUNITY.

D

44.74%

OF FEMALE RESPONDENTS HAVE FELT UNSAFE OR FEARED FOR THEIR SAFETY BECAUSE OF ADMINISTRATOR, COACH, PLAYER OR SPECTATOR BEHAVIOR.

HISPANIC, LATINO OR SPANISH ORIGIN 427 MALES

37 FEMALES

ASIAN 117 MALES

17 FEMALES

A 16.16% B 52.69% C 29.73% D 51.35%

A 13.68% B 49.57% C 23.53% D 41.18%

WHITE

OTHER RACES

11,174 MALES

945 FEMALES

A 10.74% B 47.91%

C 19.58% D 43.81%

203 MALES

22 FEMALES

A 18.72% B 52.71% C 36.36% D 59.09%

*Numbers and percentages shown are based on the respondents that chose to answer the relevant questions.

REFEREE November 2017 |

53

17,487 OFFICIALS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY

what should be done to recruit and retain officials from underrepresented groups?

AGREE

DISAGREE OR NOT SURE

MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED

74.20% SPECIAL RECRUITMENT EFFORTS SHOULD BE MADE TO FIND NEW OFFICIALS THAT FIT INTO THESE CATEGORIES

63.34% SHOULD NEVER BE A DIFFERENCE IN TREATMENT AND THINGS SHOULD CONTINUE AS THEY ARE

52.56% ADDITIONAL TRAINING SHOULD BE OFFERED THAT IS SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO THESE GROUPS

40.59% EFFORT MADE TO PUT REPRESENTATIVES FROM THESE GROUPS IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THESE GROUPS

37.18% EFFORT MADE TO PUT REPRESENTATIVES FROM THESE GROUPS IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS FOR ENTIRE OFFICIATING COMMUNITY

36.36% OFFICIALS IN THESE GROUPS SHOULD BE ASSIGNED TO WORK WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THAT GROUP AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE

28.84% WHEN AN OFFICIAL FROM THESE GROUPS HAS EQUIVALENT SKILLS TO OTHERS, THEY SHOULD BE PROMOTED FIRST

23.69% AGREE THAT SPORTS DOMINATED BY ONE GENDER SHOULD BE OFFICIATED BY THAT GENDER

13.63% AGREE OFFICIALS FROM THESE GROUPS SHOULD BE PROMOTED FASTER EVEN IF THEY HAVEN’T MET THE SAME REQUIREMENTS

2.44%

Important note: When officials are filtered by gender, ethnicity or age, the trends in responses remain very similar. This means that officials as a whole, no matter what group they might be categorized into, have similar views on what types of action should be taken to incorporate more officials from underrepresented groups into the officiating ranks.

RESPONDENTS BY SPORT AND LOCATION

BASEBALL

54 | REFEREE November 2017

SOFTBALL

BASKETBALL

WHAT ABOUT SPORTSMANSHIP? Sports officials say sportsmanship is getting...

Of sports officials that believe sportsmanship is getting worse...

As a fan, do you ever heckle officials?

57.02%

YES

Do you ever publicly criticize other officials?

YES

11.13%

14.61%

NO

NO

85.39%

Of sports officials that believe sportsmanship is getting better...

27.09%

As a fan, do you ever heckle officials?

15.89%

WORSE

NO CHANGE

88.87%

BETTER

Do you ever publicly criticize other officials?

YES

YES

11.52%

19.24%

NO

80.76%

NO

88.48%

With 57.02% of respondents feeling sportsmanship is getting worse, we have a clear indication that action must be taken to improve sportsmanship. Unfortunately, even among the 57.02% that feel sportsmanship is getting worse, a substantial percentage heckle (14.61%) and publicly criticize (11.13%) other officials.

Rugby and swimming are the sports in which the highest and lowest percentages of respondents (respectively) feel sportsmanship is getting worse. In rugby, more than 7 out of 10 feel sportsmanship is getting worse, while in swimming nearly 1 out of 2 respondents feel it is getting worse.

REFEREE November 2017 |

55

17,487 OFFICIALS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY

at what level is sportsmanship worst?

who causes the most problems with sportsmanship?

Youth Recreational

Not Sure

13.89%

Youth Competitive

36.02%

High School

39.54% 10.11%

Players 21.31%

29.57%

Coaches

Amateur Leagues

Professional

18.25%

Fans Parents

14.73%

Adult Recreational

College

1.45%

7.57% 2.15% 4.33%

Schools

0.38%

Governing Bodies

0.46%

Officials

0.24%

WHEN/HOW DID YOU START? Count of Respondents

65

1.00

60

61.00

55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 1950 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

At what age did you start officiating?

70

The chart shows the ages and years at which officials began officiating. The colors indicate how many officials joined the ranks at each age and year intersection. The red shows the lowest concentration of officials, with orange, yellow, light green and dark green each incrementally showing higher concentrations. This chart tells a story with the clear pattern of higher concentrations of officials starting the avocation at older ages with the advancing years.

Continued on p. 58 56 | REFEREE November 2017

The concentrations of officials are represented as follows: Red = 1-12 officials Orange = 13-24 officials Yellow = 25-36 officials Light green = 37-48 officials Dark green = 49-61 officials

17,487 OFFICIALS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY Continued from p. 56

how did you first get into officiating?

Asked by an official at the time

19.00%

Approached a coach or official

15.49%

Other reasons

11.26%

Asked by the sporting organization/ others in the organization

10.06%

Saw an ad on a sports association/ website

4.16%

Asked by their coach at the time

3.14%

Saw a job posting

1.02%

why did you start? why do you continue to officiate?

For The Love of the Game

42.50% 16.72%

To Stay Fit

To Be Part of a Competitive Sport

Friendships Within Officiating Involvement at Elite Level To Meet New People Ability to Work With Elite Players Reward and Recognition

13.10%

16.60% 13.67%

To Have a Hobby To Mentor Newer Officials

13.16%

14.84%

To Challenge Myself

1.45% 4.28% 3.33%

10.51% 7.55% 1.32%/2.51% 0.50%/2.33%

0.70%/1.70%

Family/Friends Already Officiating

1.51%/0.63%

My Child Was Playing the Sport

1.27%/0.82%

This chart shows the percentage of respondents who first became officials for each of the listed reasons (in blue) in comparison with the percentage of respondents that are continuing to officiate for those reasons (in grey). It is clear that some of the motivations for officiating change as officials gain experience in the industry.

10.31% 8.83%

14.94%

Additional data from the survey will be released online in the fall of 2017. Go to www.naso.org/surveyresults to sign up to receive a notification when the data has been released.

RESPONDENTS BY SPORT AND LOCATION

VOLLEYBALL

58 | REFEREE November 2017

9.35%

SOCCER

FOOTBALL