July 25, 2001

An honourable profession

Officiating builds life skills, strengthens character

by Adam Smith

(illustration: Mark Saunders)

How can you miss that, ref? Open your eyes, ref! Get glasses, ref! What kind of call was that? Get off the floor, you’re not a ref!

With abuse like this currently prevalent at all levels of sports, one is inclined to ask, "why would anyone want to be a sports official?" The reasons are many.

To begin, we officials have the opportunity to remain actively involved in the sports we love long after the bulk of our playing days are over. A year after I began playing basketball competitively, I began officiating. After graduating from high school, I played basketball on a couple of casual intramural teams, but never to the same extent that I had as a member of my alma mater’s representative squad.

In recent years my officiating career has taken off. I have had the privilege of refereeing at the Provincial Basketball Championships each of the last two seasons. Although I was a decent player, I will gladly concede that I am a better official. Thanks to officiating, I continue to experience excitement equal to and occasionally greater than any I experienced during my playing career.

Furthermore, it is important to recognize the sense of integrity and achievement that officiating provides for those who partake in it. In hotly disputed contests, two or three individuals are trusted and required to maintain order and protect the integrity of the game. In this sense, we officials are both police officers and judges within the microcosm of the game. We are given authority, but not without a great deal of responsibility.

Officials also serve as teachers within the context of their respective sports. Ideally, we are to work in conjunction with coaches to model good sportsmanship and values for players and to discourage inappropriate behavior.

One unforgettable motto that officials hear from supervisors repeatedly throughout their careers is that "the gymnasium/field/diamond/rink is a classroom. Be good teachers." With these noble goals set out for us, it is easy to stay motivated.

Great friendships are another by-product of officiating. The heavy pressure that officials face together forges a strong bond between them. Officials often travel together and share common interests.

When out on the court, it is essential that officials communicate well, work as a team and support one another. It is therefore as much by necessity as anything that a strong sense of fraternity develops among them.

Some of the greatest benefits to be gained from becoming a sports official, especially at a young age, are the life skills that one acquires. An official will need to develop excellent communication skills in order to be successful.

Any sports official must use verbal and non-verbal methods to communicate with players, coaches, spectators, and their partners. Basketball happens to involve officials’ hand signals to a greater degree than any other sport. One of the cornerstones of a good basketball referee, therefore, is mastery of hand signals. Through strong signals, basketball referees convince the game’s participants that their decisions are correct and final.

Verbal communication is equally important in all sports. While officials shy away from extended conversations with coaches and players, the occasional well placed remark or response can improve the rapport between the parties involved.

Sometimes, officials need to respond in a decisive fashion to queries that place their knowledge and correctness in doubt. Other times, officials might see fit to bring a touch of humor to the game. A well-placed humorous comment may cause the coaches and players to view the officials in a more positive light. In basketball for example, when a team seems to have accidentally prepared six players to be on the floor at one time, an official might quip, "new rule this year coach, you only get five."

On yet other occasions, an official must fend off excessive criticism or intervene in inappropriate behaviour by players. We are instructed to be firm, but never nasty or threatening. A response such as, "coach, that’s enough" or "coach, I hear you" is often ideal.

When players confront one another, the official is charged with separating them and convincing them to abandon their conflict. While physical intervention is often necessary, a well-placed "leave it alone guys, just play the game" may be effective. Officials constantly have to fight the temptation to be aggressive or disrespectful in their rapport with their critics, even though they themselves may feel victimized.

The communication skills one learns as an official serve as excellent preparation for a vast number of careers including teaching, law enforcement, and public relations. As a Client Representative with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, I feel that my officiating experience helps me every day when I deal with frustrated or confused clients. Some of my fellow basketball referees – a firefighter, a liquor promoter, a correctional officer, and a radio deejay – all acknowledge that their experience behind the whistle helps them in the workplace.

Another life skill one acquires through officiating is impartiality. While people constantly try to convince us to be biased in their favour, we must base our decisions on objective criteria as we observe them. Calls must not be made to please anyone, but rather to protect the players and maintain order in the game.

By fighting to maintain impartiality, officials attain a high level of mental toughness. In this way, officiating prepares individuals to occupy positions of authority at all levels of our society, positions in which important decisions must be made and cannot be coloured by bias.

Officiating is by no means easy and does have all the disadvantages people associate with it. Officials are certainly some of the most heavily criticized people, regardless of the sport.

Often, we officials are our own worse critics. No official is immune to bad calls or mistakes, both of which are painful and stick with us for days, months, and even years. The notion that officials feel they are above the law and can do no wrong is incorrect. We cannot expect coaches, players, or fans to be supportive while we suffer from the embarrassment of making a bad call. We must overcome that obstacle alone.

Occasionally, criticism spills over into violence, and this eventuality terrifies a lot of prospective officials.

A Brandon hockey ref was recently assaulted by an American coach; charges are pending. At this past year’s Manitoba "A" rural basketball championships, a semifinal game was forfeited when a coach jumped off the bench and chased a referee with the intention of choking him. Almost everybody remembers the antics of former NBA player Dennis Rodman, who at one time head-butted referee Ted Bernhardt. Perhaps most unforgettably, a professional basketball referee was punched unconscious by an irate player in Uruguay last winter. The referee is not expected to regain complete eyesight.

The threat of violence is remote but real. It is something officials are content to live with, but must always be aware of. Officiating is for people who are decisive, confident and who will not be shaken by criticism. It is also a good place to turn for those who wish to strengthen their character.

Some feel officiating has no glory. While teams win games and championships, officials have the unique privilege of doing a professional service for the game. While we stay in the background, we gradually earn the respect of the sports community through commitment to officiating and through doing our job well.

An old adage among officials is, "the best compliment you can receive is that nobody remembers you officiated their game." This holds true, as officials will certainly be remembered, and unpleasantly so, if their games are riddled with poor calls and incompetence. However, people will remember and recognize those officials who constantly excel. Yes indeed, we have our own brand of glory – and we get paid.

Being a sports official is, for those who take the opportunity, an experience worth its weight in gold. Like any other pursuit, the extent of one’s enjoyment correlates with how seriously one is involved.

For some, officiating may be a brief escape from the grind of everyday activities or a chance to get a little exercise. For myself and many others officiating is a cornerstone of life. While I will likely never make a career of refereeing basketball, it will continue to be one of my greatest sources of excitement and personal pride.

For all those out there contemplating becoming an official, it is worth your while. It is a tough but rewarding experience that is certain to build character and prepare you for the future. In officiating, as in life, there are no limits to what you can achieve if you are not afraid to dream and pursue your goals with all your heart.