(Boone) The number of officials available for high school sports has been steadily dropping for as far back as 25 years. Lewie Curtis is the Director of Officials for the Iowa High School Athletic Association and earlier this month he attended the NFHS Officials Consortium.
Curtis says recruiting attempts have been taking place for years, especially targeting younger officials. However, now there is more of a focus on better treatment of current officials. “One of the big takeaways from the consortium event was just a need for ways to attack some of the problems. There’s a lot of concern for behavior of people at the event whether that be spectators, coaches, or players. Negative behaviors that drive people away from wanting to be in that environment if they are an official.”
Curtis describes it as a long, arduous task, but one that needs to be addressed. “I think it’s going to be a super tall mountain to climb, but I think that if you really are honest about it that is kind of the crux of the problem. If you get put in situations where you are ridiculed or abused you just don’t want to be there anymore.”
At times, events have been cancelled due to an officials shortage. More common is having competitions held with fewer than the desired number of officials, for example a two person crew instead of three in basketball. Curtis points out the number of officials, especially in baseball and softball, has decreased sharply in recent years. “I would almost say it’s a crises. Two years ago, pre-pandemic we were running just shy of 1,000 officials and this year as of right now we believe we’ll have around 700. very alarming. To drop your potential umpires by 30% is very, very alarming. The work really hasn’t changed, so you are trying to cover the same amount of games with 30% fewer people. It’s tough.”
Officiating offers several positives such as allowing kids to have fun and compete while earning yourself a side income. Curtis lists friendship and camaraderie among other officials as a main perk. “Common passions, common interests, they speak a common language. I think they really like that aspect of it. I’ve talked to people that have been in it for a long time and people who have been in it not as long. It’s a pretty common theme that just the friendships and the teamwork that they feel are things that last for years and years and years and really for a lifetime in many cases.”
Curtis admits other states are in a similar boat as Iowa when it comes to needing more officials. He says online clinics are being utilized to help new referees get up to speed more quickly. 51% of IHSAA registered officials are 50 and older.
Lewie Curtis:
