Someone decides they might want to become a sports official.
That is a big first step. But almost immediately, the questions begin.
Who do I contact? Where do I register? Is there an association near me? Do I need training before I can work? How do I find an assigner? What equipment do I need? Am I even starting in the right place?
For those of us who have been involved in officiating for years, those questions may seem basic. We know that officiating has its own structure, terminology and network of associations, assigners, state offices, training programs and veteran officials.
A prospective official does not know any of that.
And sometimes the difference between someone who says, “I think I’d like to officiate,” and someone who actually works a first game is simply having another official tell them, “Here’s what you should do next.”
That is the idea behind the NASO Gamesaver program.
And it may be a much smaller commitment than you think.
You Are Not Signing Up to Be a Mentor
One of the most important things NASO wants officials to understand about the Gamesaver program is what the role is, and just as importantly, what it is not.
A Gamesaver is not expected to become a prospect’s long-term mentor.
You are not agreeing to follow someone through an entire first season. You are not signing up for regular meetings, ongoing training sessions or months of phone calls. You are not responsible for turning a brand-new prospect into a polished official.
A Gamesaver is an experienced, friendly voice who helps someone get started.
When NASO connects you with a prospective official, your responsibility can be as simple as sending an email, sending a text or making a quick phone call.
Welcome them to officiating. Ask what questions they have. Explain what their first steps might look like. Help them understand how to find an association or someone in their area who can take them from there.
That is often enough.
Most Gamesaver interactions can take approximately 10 to 15 minutes. If the prospect never responds to your initial outreach, there is no expectation that you continue chasing them unless you choose to.
The goal is not to create a new obligation for experienced officials.
The goal is to make sure someone interested in officiating does not have to figure out an unfamiliar system entirely on their own.
Remember What You Know That They Don’t
Think back to when you first became an official.
Maybe someone brought you into the profession. Maybe you had a friend who already officiated. Perhaps a coach, athletic director, assigner or veteran official told you which meeting to attend and which form to fill out.
If so, you had something many of the people coming through Say Yes to Officiating do not have.
A starting point.
Prospective officials who submit an interest form are raising their hands and saying they want to know more. But interest alone does not tell them how officiating works.
They may not understand the difference between a state association and a local officials association. They may have no idea how assignments are made. They may not know whether certification is handled by a state organization, league, conference or another governing body.
They certainly do not know the people you know.
A Gamesaver does not have to solve every one of those problems. You simply help the prospect begin solving them.
Maybe you know exactly whom they should contact. Great.
Maybe you can point them toward a local association website.
Maybe you tell them to contact their state association and ask for the person who oversees officials in their sport.
Maybe the most useful thing you can do is explain, “Here’s how this normally works. Start by looking for this type of organization, and ask these questions when you contact them.”
That little bit of guidance can turn a confusing process into a manageable one.
You Don’t Have to Live Next Door
NASO will continue to make geography part of the matching process whenever possible. If we can connect a prospective official with a Gamesaver who works the same sport and lives nearby, that can make the connection even more useful.
But geography should not prevent you from becoming a Gamesaver.
The fundamentals of helping someone get started do not suddenly become useless when a state line gets in the way.
If you are a volleyball official in Wisconsin and the person who needs help lives several hours away, you can still explain what a local officials association is, how to search for one, what questions to ask and what a new official should expect.
If you work soccer in Pennsylvania and the prospect is somewhere else in the state, you may not know their local assigner. You probably still know what an assigner does and how the prospect can begin looking for one.
The value you provide is not simply your address.
It is your experience.
We Need Gamesavers Across Officiating
NASO also wants to improve the quality of Gamesaver matches by asking participating officials to focus on the sports they are most comfortable helping with.
In the past, someone might have indicated every sport they had officiated at some point. That could lead to a technically correct match that was not necessarily a good one.
An official who primarily works basketball but occasionally worked another sport years ago may not be the person they would choose to guide a brand-new official in that second sport.
So the question is becoming more focused: Which one or two sports would you actually like to help someone get started in?
That distinction matters.
And while we need Gamesavers throughout officiating, we have a particular need to build deeper coverage beyond the largest and most common sports.
Basketball, baseball and football have enormous officiating communities. But Say Yes to Officiating hears from people interested in many other sports as well.
Volleyball. Wrestling. Soccer. Swimming and diving. Lacrosse. Field hockey. Gymnastics. Ice hockey. Track and field. Water polo. Tennis. Spirit. Boxing. Cycling. Rowing. Sailing. Speed skating. Pickleball. Practical shooting and others.
The smaller the officiating community, the harder it can sometimes be to find the right person when a prospect raises a hand.
That makes Gamesavers in those sports especially valuable.
If you officiate a sport that does not always get the same visibility as football or basketball, do not assume NASO has plenty of people available to make those connections.
We may need you even more.
Why the First Contact Matters
There is a vulnerable point between becoming interested in officiating and actually becoming an official.
The prospect is motivated enough to submit a form, but they have not yet joined an association, attended a meeting, registered for training or accepted an assignment.
Nothing is keeping them in officiating yet because they are not actually in officiating yet.
They are standing outside the door.
That is where a Gamesaver can matter.
You are not expected to carry them through the door. You simply show them where it is.
There is also something different about hearing from an actual official.
A website can provide instructions. An association can provide registration information. A state office can explain requirements.
But another official can say, “Yes, this can seem confusing at first. Here’s where I’d start.”
That human contact can make officiating feel accessible rather than bureaucratic.
You do not have to deliver a speech. You do not need a training curriculum.
You just need to be welcoming.
Maybe You Signed Up Before
NASO is also asking existing Gamesavers to revisit the program.
If you volunteered in the past but have never received a prospect, we still want to hear from you.
If your availability has changed, update it.
If you previously selected every sport you officiate but would now prefer to help prospects only in select sports, tell us.
And if you signed up believing that being a Gamesaver meant accepting a significant mentoring responsibility, take another look.
The role is intentionally much simpler.
NASO needs an active pool of officials who are willing to make that initial connection when a prospective official comes along. Keeping your sports and availability current allows us to make better matches and helps prevent prospects from being connected with someone who is no longer able to participate.
Already being a Gamesaver does not mean your information has to remain frozen forever. The Gamesaver page allows existing participants to update their sports and availability as circumstances change.
Ten Minutes Can Help Create an Official
Officials understand better than almost anyone how serious the shortage of sports officials can become.
We see the consequences.
Games become harder to staff. Officials work too many assignments. Newer officials are pushed into situations before they are ready. Schedules become harder for schools and leagues to maintain.
Recruitment is part of the answer.
But recruitment cannot end when someone clicks “Submit.”
Someone has to help turn interest into action.
That is where Gamesavers come in.
You already possess the information that a prospective official is trying to find. You already understand the landscape they are attempting to enter. You have already taken the steps they are wondering how to take.
NASO is asking you to share a little of that experience.
Not for a season.
Not every week.
Maybe just once.
One email. One text. One call. One welcoming conversation that tells someone there is a place for them in officiating and shows them where to begin.
If you are an NASO member willing to give a new official that first bit of direction, we need you.
And if your sport has a smaller officiating community, we especially hope you will raise your hand.
It takes one conversation to help someone take the next step.
Learn more, become a Gamesaver or recommit as an existing Gamesaver.
