Oregon State Activities Association seeks officials for upcoming sports year
Published 8:15 am Tuesday, July 18, 2023
- A football official signaling a touchdown.
The Oregon State Activities Association is again facing a shortage of sports officials and is hoping increased pay will entice individuals to take the plunge and become officials for the upcoming sports year.
The OSAA — the sanctioning body for high school sports in Oregon — has an immediate need for officials in football, volleyball and soccer, according to a press release from the organization. Jack Folliard, the executive director of the Oregon Athletic Officials Association, said the OSAA has seen a drastic drop-off in the number of officials over the past few years.
“About five years ago, we had approximately 3,400 registered officials in the seven sports that we service. …Currently … we’re down to about 2,400,” he said.
Folliard said sports official registrations ticked up about 8% last year, but it wasn’t enough.
“We’re so low to begin with that it’s barely a dent in the problem. It’s still a major, major problem for us,” he explained.
The shortage has left some schools with no choice but to change start times or the dates games are played. In other instances, schools may be forced to cancel games.
“Not a lot of varsity games get canceled — they get changed, which makes it inconvenient for everybody,” Folliard said. “It’s some of the lower levels — the freshman, JV2, those kind of contests which are not involved in the (OSAA) rating system that get canceled.”
Folliard said he thinks the way in which spectators treat officials has something to do with the shortage, although that typically happens among the younger athletes, whose games are officiated by teens.
“We have a hard time recruiting those young officials who have some experience and they’ll say, ‘Why would I want to do that? You don’t get paid that much and everybody yells at you,’” he said.
That type of heckling of officials in high school sports is rare in Oregon, according to Folliard.
“At least in Oregon, the coaches themselves are really good about this because they have the most influence over their players and in some cases the fans. I give good kudos to the coaches,” he said.
For anybody considering becoming an official for the upcoming sports season, Folliard said the rewards more than compensate for the drawbacks.
“The benefits of having a hobby and the avocation of officiating far outweigh the negatives,” he said.
“First of all, you get to stay in the game, you get good exercise, you get to help out the kids in school and you make some money.”
Schools have recognized there is a shortage, according to Folliard, and have increased pay for officials by 15-20%.
“You can make a lot of money if you’re working basketball, for example, because there are so many games,” he added.
“In football, not this year but the coming year, varsity officials will be paid $100 per game plus mileage. That’s significant.”
One of the other perks of officiating, according to Folliard, are the relationships forged while working in high school sports.
“I’ve been working in this area for about 40 years,” he said. “I have lifelong friends through officiating that I would not otherwise have.”
Those interested in officiating games this upcoming season can visit www.newofficials.org. Potential officials can sign up and list the sports they’re interested in officiating. The site will automatically send an email to the leader of the local group of officials, who will contact potential candidates and help them register and get involved.
“Very easy,” Folliard said. “Very simple.”