With the tragic death of an official, I have to ask

[JoelzDad]

Kinda ironic. A buddy of mine and I were just talking last night at the Lancaster game. We were commenting on the officials and how 3 of them were grossly out of shape and their physical appearance confirmed that.
Our question as we talked about it was, isn't there a physical test and fitness standards that must be met to be a high school official? Do you have to stay in a certain condition to keep your job?
I don't have any idea what shape the official who died was in, so I'm not suggesting that his death was any indication of his fitness.
It just got me thinking this morning. Especially after my friend and I had discussed it last night.
Any insight would be appreciated
Again. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the official who passed away.

 

[20Bronco06]

Honestly he seemed kinda aged.i say late 60s but seemed in tip top shape.running up and down like any other referee.he was having a convo with one of the franklin players in between the kickoff and scored td transition.Out of nowhere just collapsed backwards.The PA announcer had to alert everyone because everyone was getting ready for kickoff/timeout time..just a freak death in seeing it in person.people just thought dehydration.But when they started CPR thats when the tone of the stadium changed.Never seen it that quiet at the Armory in my life

 

[bpsdrefromva]

Joelzdad,

I understand how you feel about the officials and there are times when we believe age or physical appearance takes a toll. The sad reality is that the number of officials have declined. I will give you a perfect example. I spoke with an off-duty official who had a game canceled last night and he told me that he had games every day this week, including supposed to have a 4 p.m./7 p.m. double-header last night. He indicated to me that his association is about 60 officials shorter than normal and that's because of a combination of those working not having time and then travel also. Factor in that most high schools don't pay officials until the conclusion of the season and that means they are working on a handshake agreement.

 

[CallMeCoach19]

There is a huge shortage. And I have been at soccer and baseball games where we had to relocate officials to a bench to get some shade and water. The fitness is a factor, but also there is a "old school" vs. "new school" mentality to a lot of it. Some of the younger, fitter refs don't do it to the standard as seen by the old guard (and there is probably merit here). Thus many younger officials aren't assigned as many games or are "ran off." I'm not taking a side of that one...I'm in no way an official.
I think pay is an issue as well. AAU pays out much quicker, so I have many friends who only officiate those meets. There is no regulation on when to pay, so districts could decide to pay at matches end. At least two schools do this already. The check is cut that day and handed over after the match.

 

[THEGOATFROMJMU]

Would you want $60 --- to drive possibly 3-4 hours round trip for a pre-game that takes 45 minutes -- then the game takes 2.5 hours and then post game 30 minutes... That game now just paid roughly $9 bucks an hour plus you have expense: of uniforms, dues, gas, mileage on car and we haven't even gotten to where the fans and coaches yell at you as well. And people wonder why there is a shortage.