Would high school refs feel safe officiating during pandemic? At least a third say no
As school districts across the state weigh a potential return to in-person learning and high school athletics at some point during the 2020-21 school year, there’s another group — an often overlooked, yet vitally important group — that is also weighing a return to action: Referees.
The National Association of Sports Officials conducted a nationwide survey among high school officials, asking if they’d feel comfortable officiating sports right now. A jarring 32.5 percent said no.
Todd Stordahl, executive director of the Washington Officials Association, said the national results essentially mirrored the results from an internal poll the WOA conducted with some officials in Washington state.
“Ours was 34 percent,” he said. “That has a lot to do with the age range of our officials. Our core varsity officials are in the upper 50, early 60 range. That’s the high-risk category.”
Stordahl, who helps oversee anywhere from 4,800 to 5,000 officials in the state in an average year, said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the surveys.
Charles Kennedy, a 67-year-old longtime basketball official in the Tacoma area, has been reffing high school games for the past 15 years. He said he’s in great overall health, mitigating the fear of potentially contracting COVID-19 somewhat. But still, he’s weighing everything and constantly communicating with other officials in the area.
“We’re all just like everyone else, looking at the numbers, watching what the schools are doing, what the other sports groups are doing,” Kennedy said. “We’re all in the same mindset. I don’t know if I speak for everybody, but the majority I’ve talked with, we’re just kind of weighing the situation and what the safety precautions are.”
Of course, it’s not just older officials who have concerns about the virus. Kennedy said he talked with one younger official who plans to opt out of the 2020-21 year, barring the release of a vaccine or some type of proven treatment.
“There’s that concern, too, of bringing it home,” he said. “The younger official I talked with has a son with some health issues. He already said he’s not going back.”
Like everything else, if sports do return at some point this year prior to an easily accessible vaccine being released, they won’t look the same.
If officials are required to wear masks, they’ll likely need to utilize electronic whistles. They’ll need to keep their distance from players — which in sports like basketball and wrestling, can be an immense challenge. How they officiate sports will not look the same.
“As an official, you can learn to distance yourself from players and coaches,” Kennedy said. “If it’s an understanding on their part that they need to stay back, as well. It’s a two-fold thing.”
One issue, specifically with basketball, is handling the ball itself.
“It’s being touched, it has sweat on it — that contact there,” Kennedy said. “You’re having to handle the ball for free-throw shooting, putting the ball into play. You’re handling a ball that’s being touched by everyone on the court. That would be an issue. No one has an answer on that.”
Varsity games generally are assigned to more experienced, veteran officials, with rookie officials taking middle school games, freshman, C-team and JV games.
With a potential shortage of veteran officials looming, the state could see some big-time games called by inexperienced officials this year. Stordahl, for what it’s worth, is taking a glass half-full view where that’s concerned.
“For us, that 30 percent (of officials who wouldn’t feel comfortable reffing games) is going to be an even greater value because it’s that veteran officials,” Stordahl said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for our younger officials to step up in this time. It’s an opportunity they wouldn’t have had in a regular season. … It makes us an even stronger association.”
If there is an official shortage during the 2020-21 school year — which seems likely, given the current trajectory — communication between athletic directors, school districts and local officiating assigners would be crucial, Stordahl said.
“They just have to work with their local group to make sure not everyone (in football) is trying to play on Friday night, or Tuesday and Friday for basketball,” he said. “A huge need for that would be communication.”
High school officials are a vital part of the process and fabric of high school athletics. They’re working hard in the offseason with virtual clinics, staying up to date on the rules and constantly working on their craft. If sports are given a green light in 2020-21, they want to be a part of it.
“The bottom line is, if there’s a green light to play games, we definitely want to be there, ready, so the games can go on,” Stordahl said.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 5:35 AM with the headline "Would high school refs feel safe officiating during pandemic? At least a third say no."
