NIAA faces referee shortage that could affect fall season

Arbor View shot manager Matt Gerber said helium has heard for the past fewer years that the fig of officials for precocious schoolhouse sports has been dilatory dropping.

But the numbers the coaches heard astatine the Southern Nevada Football Coaches Association gathering Thursday acceptable disconnected alarm bells.

Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association adjunct manager Jay Beesemyer said the enactment volition request 700 registered officials statewide for autumn sports of transverse country, football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls tennis, girls play and girls volleyball.

As of Sunday, that fig was 361. The autumn play begins Aug. 19.

“We’re going to beryllium hurting this year, for sure, if the aboriginal sign-ups are immoderate indication,” Beesemyer said. “The large reddish emblem is that radical aren’t coming backmost to officiate. They either got jobs, moved distant oregon got distant for a portion and aren’t successful a unreserved to get backmost in. It’s a cleanable tempest for having large problems.”

Southern Nevada Officials Association president Vince Kristosik said determination were 292 officials for football, 104 for shot and 97 for volleyball successful the 2019-20 schoolhouse year. As of Sunday, those numbers were 121 for football, 28 for shot and 46 for volleyball.

“As you tin see, we’re nether 50 percent for each sports,” Kristosik said.

Anyone who wants to beryllium an authoritative tin find accusation astatine niaa.com nether the “officials” tab oregon astatine snoaofficials.com nether the “become an official” tab.

For shot games, the SNOA provides 5 on-field officials, the sideline concatenation unit and a property container squad that runs the clock, among different duties. For volleyball, it’s a four-person unit that includes up-and-down officials and 2 calling lines. Soccer uses 3 officials.

There are mitigating factors the SNOA volition consider, specified arsenic reducing the fig of officials and having schools capable successful the auxiliary crew.

But the eventual interest is that games could person to beryllium canceled oregon rescheduled if the numbers don’t improve.

“It’s a atrocious concern close now,” Gerber said. “We’ll bash immoderate we request to bash to get games successful for these kids, particularly aft missing past year.”

Shadow Ridge shot manager Travis Foster took it a measurement further, saying helium doesn’t attraction if there’s “three officials, 2 officials, coaches with whistles, they’ve conscionable got to get connected the field.”

Foster said he’s acrophobic astir the imaginable for games being eliminated due to the fact that of the shortage, particularly since determination are nary guarantees COVID-19 won’t unit cancellations.

Desert Oasis boys and girls volleyball manager Nick Porter said helium is encouraging subvarsity coaches to get certified arsenic officials truthful they tin astatine slightest telephone lines. He besides has reached retired to erstwhile players.

Porter said helium hopes the SNOA volition instrumentality the competitiveness and value of games into relationship erstwhile assigning officials. If it’s a crippled betwixt 2 highly competitory teams, determination “better beryllium 2 refs.” For matches with lower-level teams, 1 referee would suffice, on with the line-callers, helium said.

Porter, the Southern Nevada Volleyball Coaches Association president, saw the effects of the shortage successful the outpouring season. Teams had to play doubleheaders astatine times, which meant for long, tiring days.

“I was blessed we had a season, but it was ace abbreviated and ace weird,” Porter said.

While Porter said COVID-19 has forced everyone to go flexible, helium isn’t unfastened to having games rescheduled oregon canceled.

“If the schoolhouse territory does person docket changes, they’ll person a mutiny connected their hands,” Porter said. “And I don’t caput saying, I’ll beryllium starring that mutiny. We can’t beryllium messing with schedules this late.”

Kristosik said the minimum property to officiate for the SNOA is 14, and schedules are flexible. While helium would beryllium thrilled to get immoderate officials to enactment 5 days a week, he’s not successful a presumption to beryllium picky and would happily judge anyone who wants to officiate 1 time a week.

“We’re going to instrumentality whoever we tin get, bid them and get them connected the tract successful astir 3 weeks,” Kristosik said.

Contact Jason Orts astatine jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts connected Twitter.