Refereeing is not easy

“Get the cane out of your mouth and blow the whistle.”

“Put your glasses on you are missing a good game.”

“The doctor called, your glasses are ready.”

It is a hard job to be an official.

“We will take all the guys, or girls, we can get,” Juneau-Douglas Officials Association (JDOA) Umpire in Chief Joel Osburn said. “We don’t know if there are any varsity level officials out there. We are just looking to develop new officials really.”

While most think because they love the game, or are passionate fans, or their child plays the sport, that they know the rules, regulations and can see every call from the fifth roll of bleachers better than the bearer of the striped shirt and whistle, they had better think again.

“It probably takes somebody, who has played the game, about four years of dedication to get to the varsity level,” Osburn said. “You can do it in three probably but you are starting out doing women’s games and things like that. It just takes a while to become an official. It is like in high school trying to make varsity right out of junior high.”

The JDOA is in need of basketball officials for the 2015-16 season. They will provide training, rules clinics and written testing to assist possible officials in obtaining and maintaining Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) certification.

“I don’t know anybody that thinks reffing is easy, especially in basketball,” Osburn said. “Basketball is the highest paced sport with probably the most whistles of any sport out there. You don’t hear any other officials blow their whistles as much as you do in basketball, as far as I know, maybe in cricket, I don’t know. We are blowing whistles all the time. We have to be in position for any number of things. It is very quick operation. You have to know the rules and how the game is played.”

Osburn has been an official for 10 years at the high school level.

“We really need entry-level positions,” Osburn said. “We need people who are willing to come in and work games at the C team and JV level.”

First year officials generally start with middle school or high school C team action and can work JV games sometime during their first year. Even some of the JV boy’s games can get pretty hot and heavy.

“Last year we put a first year ref on a JV game and we probably shouldn’t have,” Osburn said. “Really what you want to see a first year official do is work a lot of city league games with another high school mentor official.

“Anyone needs to have a little bit of a thick skin,” Osburn said. “But I think it comes down to more of just working on your people skills. The main thing is you have to have the hustle and desire to do a good job every game. Just like everything else, such as a quarterback throwing an interception, you have to be able to put those things into the back of your mind when you make a bad call or a no call. You pick those things up over time.”

Osburn said stepping out on the court for the first time can be intimidating for people but they do get used to it. City league players generally give first year officials a hard time but all officials have had to deal with that and the JDOA always partners new officials up with a mentor.

Osburn’s most memorable heckle was not his own.

“We had an official who wears glasses and it was an early morning region game,” Osburn said. “The coach’s wife was heckling him and she yelled something like ‘Hey ref, I think you need a new prescription’ or something like that. He just laughed it off. He actually looked up in the stands and gave her the thumbs up. You have to have a sense of humor. The best thing about our group is that pretty much we all have a sense of humor.”

Long-time Juneau referee Bob Sims grew up playing football and basketball in high school at Moscow, Idaho and decided that officiating was a good way to give back to a community and stay active.

“Number one it is the best seat in the house,” Sims said. “Number two if you have played before then it is a good way to get exercise. What I like to do is give back to the community so that is another reason, plus it keeps me in pretty good shape. If you have played before it is a good way to continue in the game most people love.”

Sims was a Gold Medal referee from 1983-87 and was elected to the GM Hall of Fame in 2007 for radio play-by-play broadcasting. He currently officiates high school volleyball, basketball, softball and football, as well as college softball.

“You always hear the comments like, ‘shake your head, your eyes are stuck’ and things like that,” Sims said. “There are funnier things. Most of the time I just tune the fans out. Normally it has to do with an official’s eyesight, that is what fans yell at most officials.”

They boo, too, and Sims was the recipient of such in a 2001 basketball game between Juneau-Douglas and Ketchikan high schools.

The Crimson Bears’ Suzanne Parr fouled Ketchikan’s Kelly Nausid with 0.6 seconds remaining before halftime while Nausid was in the act of shooting outside the 3-point arc.

The call was not popular with the crowd and before Nausid stepped to the line for her three free throws, Sims warned the crowd that any further obscene comments directed toward the officials would result in a technical foul on Juneau.

Sims had to think long and hard as to his most memorable contest officiated.

“I have been a state tournament official in all four sports,” Sims said. “I can remember when Boozer and that group of kids were playing. By the time they were sophomores and juniors, literally if you did not come to a C squad game you did not find a seat in the house.”

Another of his most vivid memories was working the 1995 World Police and Fire Games softball championship in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, between the Los Angeles Police Department and the New York City Fire Department.

“The final score was, like, 52-48,” Sims said.

The games were akin to the Olympics. The officials were put in formation with the teams and marched out into the Calgary Saddle Dome, where the CFL plays.

“The thing that makes that memorable is that when I was in the airport in Calgary coming home I was talking to three guys that worked for the NYC fire department,” Sims said. “It was a good talk and we exchanged email addresses.”

The three men would be among the first responders when terrorists targeted the World Trade Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Two of the three perished on that day.

“As far as sports, those days in Calgary are some of my most poignant memories,” Sims said.

Sims recently returned from Oklahoma City where he officiated in the Amateur Softball Association/USA National Slow Pitch Championships.

Last season he worked the medium school football state championship game between Soldotna and North Pole as the “White Hat,” or referee.

On Oct. 17, he will travel to Anchorage to work that game as the line judge.

“Those are pretty good memories as well,” Sims said. “To be able to work state championship games.”

In Juneau, an official may not always be popular, but they will be in demand. Currently the JDOA is conducting classes every Tuesday through October and on Nov. 3, from 6-8 p.m. in Room C-105 at Thunder Mountain High School. Those interested in participating can contact Osburn at 209-7897.

“We are looking for anybody who is interested in basketball officiating,” Osburn said. “We will find a place to put you.”

As one fan yelled during the 2015 Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament, “You must be blind! Even your dog is shaking his head over that call.”

 

THE JDOA CODE

OF CONDUCT:

1. Officials shall be free of obligation to any interest other than the impartial and fair judging of sports competitions.

2. Official shall hold and maintain the basic tenets of officiating, which include history, integrity, neutrality, respect, sensitivity, professionalism, discretion and tactfulness.

3. Officials shall master both rules of the game and mechanics necessary to enforce the rules, and shall exercise authority in an impartial, firm and controlled manner.

4. Officials shall uphold the honor and dignity of the profession in all interactions with athletes, coaches, colleagues and the public.

5. Officials shall display and execute superior communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal.

6. Officials shall recognize that anything, which may lead to a conflict of interest, either real or apparent, must be avoided. Anything, which may compromise the perceived impartiality of officiating, must be avoided.

7. Officials shall prepare themselves both physically and mentally, shall dress neatly and appropriately, and shall conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the high standards of the profession.

8. Officials shall not be party to actions designed to unfairly limit or restrain access to officiating, officiating assignments or to association membership. This includes selection for positions of leadership based upon economic factors, race, creed, color, age, sex, physical handicap, country or national origin.

9. Officials shall be punctual and professional in the fulfillment of all contractual obligations.

10. Officials shall work with each other and their governing bodies in a constructive and cooperative manner.

11. Officials shall resist every temptation and outside pressure to use one’s position as an official to benefit oneself.

12. Officials shall never participate in any form of illegal gambling on sports contests, may never gamble on any sporting event in which they have either a direct or indirect involvement.

13. Officials shall not make false or misleading statements regarding their qualifications, rating, credentials, experience, training or competence.

14. Officials shall accept responsibility for all actions taken.