As the Cherry Creek Schools community prepares for the much-anticipated opening weekend of high school football in the state of Colorado, a situation that some would call a crisis looms. Over the past few seasons, the number of on-field and on-court officials has been shrinking across all high school sports.
Dealing with the shortage of officials has become increasingly difficult for school districts across the state, including Cherry Creek.
“We’re really excited about the school year and athletics and activities getting underway,” District Director of Athletics and Activities Larry Bull said. “But I will say that schedules for games and matches are always subject to change due to normal situations, such as weather or facility availability, and now the district is now having to make changes due to the lack of officials and crews.”
Bull and other district officials have spent the last few weeks adjusting the 2022 schedule for football and other sports, to facilitate the availability of referee crews.
“This affects all sports,” Bull said. “For instance, in field hockey, there’s a very limited number of referees. In softball, we could have issues with umpires, and as we’ve said, there will be challenges with football this season. It’s become a nationwide problem.”
The Colorado High School Activities Association has been keenly aware of the situation for some time.
“It’s certainly not just Colorado. It’s nationwide,” said CHSAA Assistant Commissioner of Officials Michael Book. “I attended a national conference in San Antonio in June, and officials from every state talked about similar problems.”
Book pointed to several causes. In Colorado, schools are being added due to population growth, older veteran officials in all sports are retiring, and the pipeline to add new officials has not been established to the extent that will meet the state’s needs.
“With new schools opening, with all the sports – and levels of sports – you see the problem,” Book said. “When you’re losing officials and adding schools and sports, it just makes that gap bigger and bigger.”
He explained that because of the shortage, officials are having to work more nights a week, which is creating a higher rate of burnout. In addition, new people are not coming into the professional ranks fast enough to keep up with demand.
Book said that CHSAA asked schools and districts to make schedule adjustments to accommodate the shortage in football.
“We have been telling everybody since early this summer that we will not have enough crews to cover the number of games that are played, especially on Friday nights,” Book said.
Schools and districts have been asked to schedule more than one game on the same day, so that a single crew can do two games back-to-back. This is a measure that Cherry Creek Schools has taken.
“We’ve moved some game times to start later so crews can double up,” Bull said. “We’ve moved some games from Stutler Bowl to Legacy, so that we can use the same crew.”
“The Cherry Creek School District has been very helpful,” Book said, adding that schools and districts that aren’t willing to adjust dates and times will find that they don’t have officials for games.
Recruitment of new officials for all sports has become a priority, but there are challenges.
“Pay is a big factor. Being able to take time away from a regular job to commit to the amount of time it takes to officiate a contest is part of it,” Book said, adding that the issue of training plays a role as well. “I think CHSAA does a pretty good job of training officials as they get started, but I think it can get better with mentorship opportunities.”
Coach and fan behavior is also a factor. Book said the issue has deterred many would-be officials.
“When I ask someone, ‘Hey, would you like to be an official?’ or ‘Do you have any interest in officiating?’ the number-one answer I always get is, ‘No. I don’t want to get yelled at.’” Book said. “It’s not pay, it’s not all those other factors, it’s, ‘I don’t want to get yelled at.’”
He said that schools can influence coach and fan behaviour.
“Coaches are the people who lead how players and fans react. If a coach is respectful and level-headed, and asks questions appropriately, the crowds usually follow, especially the kids who are playing,” Book said. “Officials can take care of things on the floor or the field, but the crowd in the stands, that needs to be game management.”
Bull agrees.
“This is a statewide issue,” Bull said. “It’s all of us: communities, students, parents, coaches, and players have to change to get this thing turned around.”
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming an official, contact the Colorado High School Activities Association by emailing Michael Book at [email protected] or Monica Tillman at [email protected].
