Want a part-time job that provides a workout and the opportunity to be in the center of the action on a fall Friday night?

A vocation where you get to forge lifelong bonds and instill values of fair play in young people?

The SC High School League is looking for such individuals. They need officials to work throughout the school year, especially in football.

A recent drop in the number of available officials has those associated with high school football very concerned about the future. According to Charles Wentzky, assistant commissioner of the league, the number has fallen below what the group considers comfortable to fill weekly high school games. Covid-19 is a key factor in the shortage, but he also pointed to other factors.

While not in “panic mode” compared to other states, Wentzky believes the current number (around 600) is not sustainable to keep up with the amount of statewide games supervised by the league.

“We have 102 games a week,” Wentzky said. “We’ve got to have 102 referees available. Not just 102 referees, we’ve got to have 102 available. (Recently), we’ve been replacing officials who were hurt, who are having to work extra at work because of (covid-19) at their workplace with their employees who have somebody in their family who’s sick or they’ve been blocked for whatever reason.”

The recent shortage has forced schools to move some varsity football games off Friday nights to insure availability of officials. A recent example was the Brookland-Cayce/ Airport matchup on Sept. 23.

This has also created a situation where officials from 1 district are called upon to fill vacancies at locations which require heavy travel. Wentzky explained that having to contact an Upstate official to travel to the Lowcountry to work has become more commonplace.

In years past, the league has assigned more than 700 officials throughout the state. That number is currently 650, Wentzky said.

Garrick Messer, director of the District 5 branch of the SC Football Coaches Association which covers Lexington and Richland counties, puts his numbers at just above the “threshold” at 105.

“As long as we have 100, we are able to meet our varsity needs,” he said. “We were around 120, but dropped to 100.”

Time commitment

Larry Saunders served as District 5 president for the 2020-21 school year. He has worked as many as 5 games a week at the middle, junior varsity, varsity and college level during his long career.

Saunders officiated his 350th game on Sept. 23 when Beaufort faced Oceanside Collegiate. But, covid-19 proved an impediment last year to others who take on the task.

He said as many as 23 officials who either opted out or retired last year due to the pandemic. While some returned this year, he and Wentzky cited other factors behind the continued shortage.

“I think the biggest 1 is just time commitment,” he said. “You don’t just go buy a uniform and a whistle and go out there on Friday night and officiate. It takes a lot of prep and a lot of time. So when we get a lot of folks that are interested, a lot of them then back out when they realize that they’ve got to go to several meetings a week during the summer and all this prep work and then, oh by the way, you’re probably not going to work a varsity game your 1st year.

“We’re in that instant gratification society now. Everybody wants to work the state championship the 1st year. It takes 6,7, 8 or even a decade just to get even to the 3rd round of the state playoffs. Rarely happens before their 7th year that they work a state title game.”

Saunders said an incoming official can expect to spend as many 10 hours a week for more than 3 months in class and field training. Add the initial out-of-pocket cost of registration, uniform, shoes and equipment ranging between $300 and $400 and it becomes a challenge to keep officials through a 3rd year as they often balance this with a full-time career and family.

“That’s a big commitment considering that pay per game is only about $100 until you move up to the college level,” he said.

Criticism “ratched up”

Then there’s the increased scrutiny from fans. Wentzky believes technology in the form of instant replay and increased social media attention has added to what he sees as unfair criticism of officials.

“I’ve never met an official that went and said ‘I hope this team wins tonight,’” he said. “I’ve never met an official that said ‘I’m going to this game and I’m going to do the worst job I’ve ever done in my life.’” I think we’ve got to keep those things in perspective and know that’s the challenge in front of them. But technology certainly has not helped what people think about officiating.”

Saunders and Messer agree.

“Social media has made it bad for everybody,” Saunders said. “You can go on any social media account on a Friday night or a Saturday morning and you can see a litany of just bad things spoken about the officials.”

“Over the years, the abuse has definitely ratched up,” Messer said. “You would hear things on the sidelines, light-hearted heckling. Now, it’s become more personal. For those on social media, they catch it a lot. From fans, players who are more disrespectful than the past, and coaches, it builds up over time. Hearing things Wednesday, Thursday and Friday makes officials reluctant to work as much as they used to.”

Saunders said his knowledge of fans has helped him “survive” 30-plus years as an official.

“We know that fans don’t know the rules,” he explained. “That’s a typical thing. They think they do, but they don’t. Number 2, they’re generally biased towards 1 team or another, whether their kids are playing or whether they went to school there. The 3rd thing is it’s ingrained in our nature to not like officials. They’re the bad guys, when in fact, we’re just the judges. We’re just the ones in the middle that kind of keep this competition fair.”

A curse and a gift

Ironically, the presence of covid-19 early in the season has inadvertently eased the burden of the officiating shortage. It reduced the number of assignments available due to cancellations.

“I call it a gift and a curse,” Saunders said. “The curse of losing the game and ... for the football officials, we’ve got guys that are working 10-11 Friday nights a year. They’re sitting at home. But there are kids who are seniors in high school. They’re sitting home forever. They’re not going to get another senior season to play. So covid has kind of been a tough thing.”

Both the SCHSL and SCFOA are working to get new, younger recruits. A recent District 5 survey of officials showed a high number of them in the 50 and above age category and just over one-third with more than 21 years of experience.

For all the work involved, those interviewed agreed that officiating is ultimately quite rewarding.

“If you’re looking for some exercise and some mentally challenging kind of things or looking for a brotherhood or a sisterhood, then this is what you would want to come in and do,” Saunders said. “If you’re looking to make a quick 100 bucks on a Friday night, there’s a whole lot of different ways to do it.”

It’s also a job with people from a variety of backgrounds.

“I’ve got emergency room doctors,” Wentzky said of his current officials. “I’ve got lawyers. I’ve got insurance agents. I’ve got guys that manage plants, manage factories. Then, we have folks that do work hourly jobs and we’ve got them all over the map. Men, women, every race, every gender, social economic stature, retirees. It’s probably one of the most homogenous groups of folks you can find in the state.”

“It’s really for everybody if you’re just willing to do it.”

For more information on officiating opportunities, visit https://schsl. org/football-officials or email Charlie Wentzky at charlie@schsl.org.