cpdogs Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I was wondering if this topic has ever been addressed and the reason for them not being required. Illinois has them at all tournaments(95%). Is it because of money,lack of officials,ect... I've learned allot from officials through the years and I really think they would help Indiana wrestling at the youth level. This has nothing to due with bad calls and everything to due with safety.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinwrestlersmom Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I thought that there was at least one head official at every meet? At least everyone I've been too. But then maybe I don't understand your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpdogs Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Most tournaments up north have kids officiating. I'm wondering why we dont have license officials refereeing our matches. Maybe this is a northern half issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlittlejohn Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 CP, I became the ISWA Folkstyle Referees Developmental Director in November. Since that time I have been working with fellow members of the board of directors to make improvements in this area. Anyone who is interested in making suggestions or getting involved in this effort are more than welcome to sound off to me and I assure you that we will strive for continued improvement in the process. ISWA tournaments are ran by the host clubs and it is the tournament directors' responsibility to aquire officials. That is one reason we have 5 Section Referees to help cover the state and provide assistance in finding and/or training officials for local events. But it is the host club's responsibility to reach out. That said, each club should have an official of its own and those club officials should network together in support of one another's events and develop new/younger officials. Local tournaments are a great training ground in this endeavour. At the same time there is a shortage of active officials in the state. There is a decent number of "licensed officials" but those licenses are useless if they are only for posession and not put to use. For instance, many coaches are "licensed officials" and are therefor included in the roster of officials for the state; but, many of them never officiate. I do believe it is a great thing for coaches to be licensed but it would be a far greater thing if they used them. I understand that they are busy coaching their kids a majority of the time, but, there are times that they could help out at local tournaments. I could go on and on regarding this post but I'll stop here and just ask again that anyone with any ideas, suggestions or desire to get involved contact me or your Section Referee directly. ISWA Section Folkstyle Referees Section 1 Chuck Barnett 219-510-5114 mr_charlie_man@yahoo.com This section includes the counties of Benton, Carroll, Cass, Fulton, Jasper, Lake, Laporte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke, Tippecanoe and White. Section 2 Tyrone Wilson 260-414-7989 tpwilson@comcast.net This section includes the counties of Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Elkhart, Grant, Howard, Huntington, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Miami, Noble, St. Joseph, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley. Section 3 Andrew Willmann 765-499-0153 awillmann@mymail.indstate.edu This section includes the counties of Boone, Clay, Clinton, Fountain, Hamilton, Hendricks, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo and Warren Section 4 Bryan Turner 317-462-9253 coachbkt@yahoo.com This section includes the counties of Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Henry, Jay, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Madison, Ohio, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Shelby, Switzerland, Union and Wayne Section 5 John Gillespie 812-322-3507 john.f.gillespie@navy.mil This section includes the counties of Brown, Clark, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Floyd, Gibson, Greene, Harrison, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Scott, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Warrick and Washington Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat Madness Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I noticed that all the MYWAY tournaments in Michigan have licensed officials and there tournaments run extremely efficient. They are very professional. If we are looking to get better....look North. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Look north yes but look all around Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio. After wrestling in a state with only licensed officials at all events I was surprised to see kids refereeing here. To be honest I don't think I'll have my kids wrestle in the state next year it's worth the drive to the borders until high school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestler60160 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Why I am glad that I do not REF! I could see it being hard to cover every mat at every tournament every week. Say you have 5 tournaments going on at 10 mats at each one, you would need 50 refs to cover it. I do not think it should be trouble getting a head ref to over look a tournament but to cover all would be hard. Second you need to remember that this is a very busy time for them. Most have been at Sectionals, Regionals and now Semi State , which is a LONG and stressful day on a Saturday then drive and spend another 12 hour day on Sunday plus the 40 hour work week, thats tough. Tournament Directors do need to put an age limit on who is calling the match. I have been to tournaments where the kid refereeing is younger then my 11 year old. They are very intimedated at that age with grown ups yelling at them. But that was my 2 cents that is only worth about 1. Enjoy the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpdogs Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Why I am glad that I do not REF! I could see it being hard to cover every mat at every tournament every week. Say you have 5 tournaments going on at 10 mats at each one, you would need 50 refs to cover it. I do not think it should be trouble getting a head ref to over look a tournament but to cover all would be hard. Second you need to remember that this is a very busy time for them. Most have been at Sectionals, Regionals and now Semi State , which is a LONG and stressful day on a Saturday then drive and spend another 12 hour day on Sunday plus the 40 hour work week, thats tough. Tournament Directors do need to put an age limit on who is calling the match. I have been to tournaments where the kid refereeing is younger then my 11 year old. They are very intimedated at that age with grown ups yelling at them. But that was my 2 cents that is only worth about 1. Enjoy the season. This doesnt seem to be a problem in Illinois and surrounding states.. I'm thinking it's all about $$$. Charge $5 more and lets keep the kids safe and parents in check!!! These tounaments make big money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinwrestlersmom Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Why I am glad that I do not REF! I could see it being hard to cover every mat at every tournament every week. Say you have 5 tournaments going on at 10 mats at each one, you would need 50 refs to cover it. I do not think it should be trouble getting a head ref to over look a tournament but to cover all would be hard. Second you need to remember that this is a very busy time for them. Most have been at Sectionals, Regionals and now Semi State , which is a LONG and stressful day on a Saturday then drive and spend another 12 hour day on Sunday plus the 40 hour work week, thats tough. Tournament Directors do need to put an age limit on who is calling the match. I have been to tournaments where the kid refereeing is younger then my 11 year old. They are very intimedated at that age with grown ups yelling at them. But that was my 2 cents that is only worth about 1. Enjoy the season. I totally agree with that. BTW got something in your eye? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestler60160 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I know most want to poke me there so I am given them a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TossYaHard Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I know alot of clubs dont want to spend the 125.00 to 150.00 per ref to be there all day. If they have a small turn out then half of the clubs earnings are possibly spent on refs... I do beleive that there should be at least 1 registered ref required at all iswa santioned meets to walk the mats and watch. I have seen a good number of high school wrestlers do a very good job reffing. What people have to remember is that new refs have to come from some where they just dont get good by mistake. These kids who do ref learn and get to know the other side of the game by being a ref for a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtv2112 Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I think the high school boys do a fine job of officiating, for the most part, at most tournaments. Yes, they can be overwhelmed by the crowd or unsportsmanlike coaches, but for the most part they do a good job and have the full backing of level headed people. I do agree that a licensed official to oversee things is useful, but more importantly is probably a lecture on protecting the kids from injury. I will say that tournaments that use high school kids typically run faster because they have more officials. Those tournaments improve and get better participation in the long run (Jasper and Tell City are two examples). For those that don't want to attend those tournaments, its your loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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