As a crew chief, I have 13 other officials on my crew. I supervise the overall activities of the crew including education and training and game assignments. Some associations have smaller established crews that work games together during the season. Some associations may not have selected crews; instead, an association assigner selects officials from a pool to work games throughout the season.
Regardless of your structure, it’s essential to take the initiative when communicating with your crew chief or assigner. Don’t be “that guy” who never responds and always requires a follow-up Email or text message. As a crew chief, there is one of me and 13 others. It’s frustrating (and time-consuming) to track down and round up stragglers.
Try to respond quickly when you receive your game assignments (in Arbiter or another scheduling tool). If you need more time to figure out your availability, send a note to your crew chief or the assigner and let him or her know your situation and when you can accept or decline the assignment.
In Arbiter the assigner can see the assignment status for each official. The assignment will show as “Published” if the official has not yet viewed the game in Arbiter. As a crew chief, it’s frustrating for an official’s game status to remain “Published” for multiple days. That means the official is not responding to the Arbiter “[Your group] has 1 new game for you to review” Email.
Arbiter will change an official’s assignment status from “Published” to “Notified” when the official opens Arbiter and views the assignment. Arbiter will then change the status from “Notified” to “Accepted” when the official accepts the assignment.
The assigner will select an “accept by” date when he publishes the assignment. When “accept by” dates have passed, the assigner will receive an email with the officials’ names. Then the assigner must independently reach out to that official to see if he or she can work the game.
If you aren’t the type of person who checks email multiple times a day, get into the habit of checking your email more often during the season. Take care of your obligations early (paying dues, taking tests, providing requested information, responding to texts and emails). Don’t wait until the last minute (especially with test-taking). Don’t be the follower who needs to be led around by the hand. Be proactive and meet suspenses without having to be reminded.
When your referee sends out instructions before a game, confirm the Email as soon as possible. If you don’t receive an Email from your referee at least 1 day before the game, contact him or her. If you don’t know, ask.
It seems every crew has at least one official who doesn’t respond to Emails or text messages, doesn’t follow instructions (or understand requirements), and doesn’t respond to assignments.
Don’t be that guy.
Quiz
Read the quiz stem and then choose the best answer(s). (Choose all that apply.)
During a kick try, R30 leaps upright with one foot foremost in the gap between K50 and K51. K50 turns to his right and blocks R30 at the knees. R30 cartwheels to the ground.
- R30 is guilty of hurdling
- K50 is guilty of blocking below the waist
- No foul
Review Rules 2-3-7 and 2-22