2003
SPORTS
OFFICIATING
was held in
Portland, Oregon
on June 21-23 2003
2003 Post Conference
Leadership Day
Gold Whistle Award
Auction Items
V Foundation

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Conference Sessions

Brave New World The Buck Stops Here Code of Conduct It's a two way street Game Accountability
Let's take another Look 24 / 7 / 365 Disciplining Officials What Officials Want Your Legal Rights
Great Ways to Reward
Sports Officials		 A Better Way In Full View

Game Accountability

Moderator: Jerry Grunska, former small college and high school basketball and football referee and baseball umpire

Esse Baharmast, USSF director of advancement and international referee development

Larry Boucher, Kentucky High School Athletic Association assistant commissioner

Randy Christal, major college football and baseball official

Jerry Seeman, NFL officiating consultan
Much of the content of the 2003 Conference focused on off-field accountability of officials, how what officials do in their time out of uniform can have an impact on the pursuit of their avocation. But what about when an official blows a late call during a game? In what ways should officials be held accountable for onfield or oncourt mistakes? How does that accountability affect officials’ performance?

Larry Boucher noted that experience is a big factor in onfield accountability. "Newer officials tend to want to over-officiate," Boucher said. "From a practical standpoint, at the entry level, we have to deal with that while still nurturing them. We’re also more tolerant during the regular season than the postseason. Patience must be meted out; the (newer) officials don’t know the rules as well as they should."

Should officials face some sort of penalty for mistakes in judgment or rule interpretation? Does the importance of the game become a factor?

Esse Baharmast said that if there are doubts about the competence of a certain official, the USSF is likely to take assignments away from the official or move the official down a level or two in an attempt to determine where the problem lies.

The vast majority of officials expect to be held accountable, even welcome accountability. This session showed that officiating accountability doesn’t end when the game starts, rather, that’s where it begins.