2019 IHSAA Basketball Tourney

Here’s the shot clock duties list for SD

LINK

There’s a hell of a lot there, and I wouldn’t want just any mouth breather running it. If you paid $30 a game for, say, 10 boys and 10 girls home games that’s only $600 a year.

In our conference refs get $100 a night (JV/V) times 2.
Curious, do you also get mileage? How about expenses such as meals?
 
Here’s the shot clock duties list for SD

LINK

There’s a hell of a lot there, and I wouldn’t want just any mouth breather running it. If you paid $30 a game for, say, 10 boys and 10 girls home games that’s only $600 a year.

In our conference, refs get $100 a night (JV/V) times 2.
It's not a bad amount for the beer money, and it keeps your beer belly down.
 
Curious, do you also get mileage? How about expenses such as meals?
I don’t do basketball, but it’s up to the individual schools to set the referee pay. There are some districts that will pay a little extra if a ref has to go more than say, 30 miles or whatever. For meals refs (around here) usually get whatever they want from concessions.

I do umpire though, and for baseball we typically get paid a little more I’d say. Most schools around here are in the $120 range give or take, and that’s for a JV/V game. So your night starts at 5:30 ish and you get home around maybe 9:30, 10:00 if you have to drive.

I don’t really do it for the money, but I wouldn’t even consider it for less than $100. With baseball an ump can pretty much work every night if they want, and there are always Saturday tournaments somewhere. The pay for those varies a lot, but if you want to stay busy you can actually make some serious bank May/June/July. I guess I do it because I like baseball and it’s a way to stay involved without having the responsibilities of coaching. I’ve had friends ask me to get started reffing at freshman games and work into JV/V, but no way am I going to take that kind of abuse from parents 6’ away lol. I also don’t feel as confident in my rules knowledge as I do in baseball. With baseball you’re at least 30’ away from the crowd most times, and heckling umps is kind of part of the game. You expect it and as long as it isn’t swearing or threatening you just let it roll. Some of it is actually funny and there are people who are really good at it.

Basketball parents and coaches are just another level of douche baggery that I don’t want to put up with.
 
I don’t do basketball, but it’s up to the individual schools to set the referee pay. There are some districts that will pay a little extra if a ref has to go more than say, 30 miles or whatever. For meals refs (around here) usually get whatever they want from concessions.

I do umpire though, and for baseball we typically get paid a little more I’d say. Most schools around here are in the $120 range give or take, and that’s for a JV/V game. So your night starts at 5:30 ish and you get home around maybe 9:30, 10:00 if you have to drive.

I don’t really do it for the money, but I wouldn’t even consider it for less than $100. With baseball an ump can pretty much work every night if they want, and there are always Saturday tournaments somewhere. The pay for those varies a lot, but if you want to stay busy you can actually make some serious bank May/June/July. I guess I do it because I like baseball and it’s a way to stay involved without having the responsibilities of coaching. I’ve had friends ask me to get started reffing at freshman games and work into JV/V, but no way am I going to take that kind of abuse from parents 6’ away lol. I also don’t feel as confident in my rules knowledge as I do in baseball. With baseball you’re at least 30’ away from the crowd most times, and heckling umps is kind of part of the game. You expect it and as long as it isn’t swearing or threatening you just let it roll. Some of it is actually funny and there are people who are really good at it.

Basketball parents and coaches are just another level of douche baggery that I don’t want to put up with.
My brother in law was liscensed to officiate basketball in Wisconsin and Iowa and would sometimes travel up to 150 miles round trip with his own vehicle so I'm pretty sure he was reimbursed mileage but I never asked how much.

He officiated, starting at the city rec level, for about seventeen years. In 2011 his knee gave out him while backpedaling up the court and he was forced to get medical attention. In 2012 his son started playing JV, then varsity shortly thereafter and he thought that was a good time to get out. He had knee replacement in early 2016.
 
Rambling Post Tourney thoughts:

Iowa actually develops a fair amount of D1.D2 talent for a state with 3.5m people.

Norwalk Osky Game was well attended and was maybe the best game I saw. Born is a good little guard - will he be able to get his shot off in college? Henry will be a good addition to UNI. Questioned the use of Foster, floating outside too much - he would look great in black and gold-the size and skill is there.

Jake Hillmer should be Mr Basketball, his numbers and Championships dictate it.

Make the shot clock happen - bring the game up to contemporary standards please. It’s brutal to watch and is disrespectful to the game to let coaches stall for 1 and 2 minutes at a time.

Teams with better talent beat teams with less talent. Coaching matters to a degree, but players win games. Recruit better Fran.
 
I officiate basketball in Missouri. Some schools pay mileage, most dont. It is usually the out of the way places that pay mileage to get officials to go there.

Great part time job. I tell young people all the time to look into it. Officials in all sports are needed badly.

On another note, I was talking to a guy I was working with, he worked a baseball game with a guy who also did football in Texas. He worked a district game. Football officials get 5% of the gate. And they are 5 man crews. He made $1200 working a HS district football game. $600 for being there and $600 from the gate. Crazy.
 
I officiate basketball in Missouri. Some schools pay mileage, most dont. It is usually the out of the way places that pay mileage to get officials to go there.

Great part time job. I tell young people all the time to look into it. Officials in all sports are needed badly.

On another note, I was talking to a guy I was working with, he worked a baseball game with a guy who also did football in Texas. He worked a district game. Football officials get 5% of the gate. And they are 5 man crews. He made $1200 working a HS district football game. $600 for being there and $600 from the gate. Crazy.
We are so short on umps it’s unbelieveable. I can only see the pay going up because of demand. Our assigner said he lost 8 umps after last year and only has 3 replacements so far including me. So only 2 of them are new guys getting into it.

I think people are just too intimidated to try it. I know tons of people in my circle of acquaintances who are very sports-smart and would make great officials but they’re either too busy or think they wouldn’t be able to cut it.
 
I officiate basketball in Missouri. Some schools pay mileage, most dont. It is usually the out of the way places that pay mileage to get officials to go there.

Great part time job. I tell young people all the time to look into it. Officials in all sports are needed badly.

On another note, I was talking to a guy I was working with, he worked a baseball game with a guy who also did football in Texas. He worked a district game. Football officials get 5% of the gate. And they are 5 man crews. He made $1200 working a HS district football game. $600 for being there and $600 from the gate. Crazy.
Do you guys get Gatorade, concessions, etc from most of the schools you officiate at?
 
In Central Iowa most schools pay between $100-$115 for the varsity double header. Schools typically provide water. Some provide candy bars and some provide food. Some still do mileage but most do not. You typically work with your assigner on how far you’re willing to travel and theirs a website that you can set up the travel distance limitations.

Post season is a little different as those assignments come through the girls union and the state association and those do include a mileage fee.
 
Hich school concessions are a real smorgasboard. Some schools barely have more than popcorn amd candy. Others have hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, pizza, even pork chop sandwiches.

Over here in Cuba City there has always been a great support system with parents working the grills for football games, making concession stand shifts "many hands, light work" etc. Go to some schools and you might miss half a quarter of the game standing in line for a hot dog.

It's also a great money maker for the athletic department, which leads to better facilities. Which leads to better attendance. Which leads to more concession stand revenue, etc. We have a full football field, full baseball field, full softball field and eight lane track. Go to some schools in our conference and the football field is in the baseball outfield, bring the infield dirt into play, and there is little bleacher seating.

We have a gentleman who owns a local butcher shop and who had daughter's who ran track just as my two oldest were getting into high school. He would drag his huge trailer grill up to Boscobel every year in May for a Friday track meet that had over twenty schools participating, and this wouldn't get done until after eleven in the evening.

Our athletes/parents may have left tired, but they didn't leave hungry. Nothing quite the spot like those late night burgers and hot dogs.
 
I don’t do basketball, but it’s up to the individual schools to set the referee pay. There are some districts that will pay a little extra if a ref has to go more than say, 30 miles or whatever. For meals refs (around here) usually get whatever they want from concessions.

I do umpire though, and for baseball we typically get paid a little more I’d say. Most schools around here are in the $120 range give or take, and that’s for a JV/V game. So your night starts at 5:30 ish and you get home around maybe 9:30, 10:00 if you have to drive.

I don’t really do it for the money, but I wouldn’t even consider it for less than $100. With baseball an ump can pretty much work every night if they want, and there are always Saturday tournaments somewhere. The pay for those varies a lot, but if you want to stay busy you can actually make some serious bank May/June/July. I guess I do it because I like baseball and it’s a way to stay involved without having the responsibilities of coaching. I’ve had friends ask me to get started reffing at freshman games and work into JV/V, but no way am I going to take that kind of abuse from parents 6’ away lol. I also don’t feel as confident in my rules knowledge as I do in baseball. With baseball you’re at least 30’ away from the crowd most times, and heckling umps is kind of part of the game. You expect it and as long as it isn’t swearing or threatening you just let it roll. Some of it is actually funny and there are people who are really good at it.

Basketball parents and coaches are just another level of douche baggery that I don’t want to put up with.
Thanks.

I do USSF and NFHS soccer (also college-age but not college). In Arizona, we get $45 for JV and $60 for varsity (virtually all assignments are JV/V combos). Most games are metro which are $10 mileage. Out-of-town games get a ref association-negotiated per mile rate.

An occasional AD will bring candy bars or chips to the ref crew but that’s it. We don’t get freebies or discounts at the concession stand. We can get tap water from the coolers they provide both teams at the benches but most of us bring our own water and/or Gatorade.

High school crowds can be obnoxious but we are far enough away we generally don’t notice. The AD or someone in authority is there to deal with spectator issues. I was escorted to my car only once when the home team lost a playoff match on a controversial call.

The “sweet spot” now is middle school which pays $50 for a 60-minute match (two 30-minute halves) plus $10 mileage. Most games are shorter than that due to visitors showing up late and no lights at the middle school fields.

The only USSF soccer I do is college-age youth and adult amateur. Used to do a lot of younger youth but got fed up with foul-mouthed and abusive coaches, players and parents. Never expected to toss a 12-year-old girl but I did when after giving her a yellow card for her rough play she said “F—- you, ref.”

I used to be the ref who stepped up to help when assigners were short-handed. No more. They make pleas to the effect of “youth players deserve good referees, too” but I disagree. When their parents and coaches treat referees the way they do and some of the leagues are reluctant to act, they deserve the referees they get — youngsters just starting out who have little clue what they’re doing, or old, out-of-shape former high school refs who never find their way out of the Referee Restraining Circle.

I do it for the fun and love of the game. The money is a nice side benefit. My most rewarding experiences are doing Special Olympics matches, which are 100 percent voluntary, no pay.
 
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Thanks.

I do USSF and NFHS soccer (also college-age but not college). In Arizona, we get $45 for JV and $60 for varsity (virtually all assignments are JV/V combos). Most games are metro which are $10 mileage. Out-of-town games get a ref association-negotiated per mile rate.

An occasional AD will bring candy bars or chips to the ref crew but that’s it. We don’t get freebies or discounts at the concession stand. We can get tap water from the coolers they provide both teams at the benches but most of us bring our own water and/or Gatorade.

High school crowds can be obnoxious but we are far enough away we generally don’t notice. The AD or someone in authority is there to deal with spectator issues. I was escorted to my car only once when the home team lost a playoff match on a controversial call.

The “sweet spot” now is middle school which pays $50 for a 60-minute match (two 30-minute halves) plus $10 mileage. Most games are shorter than that due to visitors showing up late and no lights at the middle school fields.

The only USSF soccer I do is college-age youth and adult amateur. Used to do a lot of younger youth but got fed up with foul-mouthed and abusive coaches, players and parents. Never expected to toss a 12-year-old girl but I did when after giving her a yellow card for her rough play she said “F—- you, ref.”

I used to be the ref who stepped up to help when assigners were short-handed. No more. They make pleas to the effect of “youth players deserve good referees, too” but I disagree. When their parents and coaches treat referees the way they do and some of the leagues are reluctant to act, they deserve the referees they get — youngsters just starting out who have little clue what they’re doing, or old, out-of-shape former high school refs who never find their way out of the Referee Restraining Circle.

I do it for the fun and love of the game. The money is a nice side benefit. My most rewarding experiences are doing Special Olympics matches, which are 100 percent voluntary, no pay.
Interesting to hear about soccer. I know nothing about it but it looks like you run a lot. We are starting HS soccer in my town and they are looking for refs, is it something that is difficult to pick up? I’m ignorant, but it doesn’t seem to be a sport that has a million rules and a billion nuances like football or baseball. They are offering pretty good pay so it was something I was tossing around if it was learnable by someone who never played.

As far as being away from the crowd, football refs have it dicked. Not only are there four of you, you’re like 50 plus yds away from the douche brigade (high school parents are the worst type of spectators on the planet, but put 500 of them together and it’s like the Walking Dead herds). I took the test and stay current, but I’ve only done it twice because I can’t convince myself that I don’t have better shit to do on Friday nights than freeze my balls off standing out in a pasture.
 
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