As fall sports are starting up, players won’t be the only ones returning to the field or court. As with any sport, officials are a necessary cog in the machine of competitive athletics.
But there is a growing problem in the ranks as multiple sports in the area are facing shortages in officials. The dearth of arbiters has many observers worried about the looming impacts on the fall seasons.
Bob Rose, the football and basketball assigner for the Lower Columbia Officials Association, said he’s seen overall numbers decline in recent years and that the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to exacerbate the problem.
“It’s kind of a mess right now,” Rose said. “Next week we need 40 officials to work on Friday night and I have available 38 as we speak. So I’ve got a little work to do to get a few more ready to go for Friday night.”
Rose typically works with 60 or more officials to oversee games around the region each week, but this year that number has dropped perilously low. He said he still has above 50 officials, but their availability can differ from week to week.
In addition to COVID concerns, Rose said the problem also includes the reactions some officials get while working games.
“It’s mostly because of the reaction of the fans, not so much the coaches,” Rose said. “The coaches understand what’s going on, but the fans in basketball and football are brutal.”
Volleyball has been similarly impacted in recent years. Lower Columbia Volleyball Officials assigner Bill Tuggle said he normally has 25 officials to spread around to matches in the area, but that number has been reduced to just 17 this year.
When asked if that would be enough to complete the season, Tuggle was candid.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” he said.
Tuggle said that he can even foresee the problem getting worse with time.
“I’m afraid that we may lose more if the state mandates that they have to be vaccinated,” he said, stating that multiple officials have already told him they would not be receiving the vaccine.
To accommodate for the lower numbers, Tuggle said he will likely have to assign just one official for some high school matches, which normally have two, in addition to the regular set of volunteers to work the lines.
Recently, Clatskanie athletic director Ryan Tompkins reached out to potentially interested parties to see if he could drum up some more officials for this fall season as he’s seen numbers of officials continue to plummet in Oregon, too.
“We know that (numbers) are just dropping everywhere,” Tompkins said. “Part of it is COVID, if they have underlying health conditions it causes them not to want to do it.”
Tompkins also mentioned fan backlash as a contributing factor to the decline. He’s worried about the implications the lower numbers might have for athletes, citing soccer as a sport he’s especially concerned about.
“Certainly, it’s impacting our ability to play games,” Tompkins said. “Soccer is probably our lowest number of officials, so they really have a hard time.”
As it stands, Tompkins fears he will have to resort to cancellations of C-squad and JV games if more officials don’t come out of the woodwork soon.
“Basically, It’s going to cost us lower level games if numbers don’t improve,” he said.
The fall sports season isn’t the only one that Tompkins expects to be impacted as he’s already heard concerns about the dwindling number of officials for winter and spring sports, too.
Officials are paid for their work, but must go through training and pass literacy tests before helping out on the field or floor. Rose made a pitch to those that are considering lending a helping hand.
“It’s a very rewarding experience,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to give back to the athletes if you were an athlete. The coaches treat you pretty good and there’s good camaraderie.”
Those interested in helping out with officiating can find contact info at woa.arbitersports.com under the WOA contacts tab. Tuggle said the best way to reach out for volleyball would be to email volleyball4u@hotmail.com.
