When I heard that the National Federation of State High School Associations celebrates Winter Sports Officials Appreciation Week this week, I knew I had to get out to a game and acknowledge the hard work officials put in night after night so Maine’s student-athletes can compete in the sport of their choice.

So here I am, at Cony High in Augusta for the Rams’ boys basketball game against Messalonskee. No special reason for selecting this game, other than it was easy for me to get to. It’s an old Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference rivalry contest. It should be a good game.

“TRAVEL. TRAVEL!” (Everything in all caps was heard at the game.)

Sorry, a fan behind me thought a Messalonskee player took some steps. As I was saying, this should be a good game. We’re in a decent place as far as basketball officiating goes in Maine right now. Numbers are still down, but according to TJ Halladay, the state’s rules interpreter and a basketball official for more than three decades, Maine entered the 2024-25 season with 430 referees statewide — the highest number since the pandemic hit in 2020. We could always use more, sure, but that’s an encouraging sign.

“FOUL!”

A problem in recent years has been officials aging and retiring, without younger newcomers training to fill the gaps. The average age of officials across all sports is still well over 50. When younger people are asked why they do not consider getting into officiating, or give it up after a short time, the biggest reason given is verbal …

“AND ONE!”

Verbal ..

“BACKCOURT! HOW IS THAT NOT BACKCOURT!”

Verbal …

“WHERE’S THE FOUL, REF?!”

Verbal abuse.

Officiating any sport is not easy. The athletes are moving quickly. There’s a lot going on. You’re expected to make a split-second decision. Was there an advantage gained on that play? In the stands, it looks easy and obvious. It is often neither.

“OH COME ON! BOOOOO! HE WAS MOVING, REF! UNBELIEVABLE.”

The shortage of officials is really seen in football, where a few Thursday night games have become the norm in recent seasons as schools reschedule because there’s just not enough officials available to cover a full slate of Friday night games. Last fall, the Southwestern Board of the Maine Association of Football Officials had 75 officials. That’s down from almost double that number, 147, just 15 years ago. The Southwestern Board is responsible for providing officials to 26 schools in York and Cumberland counties. Each game requires six officials: five on the field and one on the clock. So we’ve seen games moved to Thursday night or Saturday, and sometimes refs from other boards have filled in and helped if their region has a slow slate of games.

“OVER THE BACK! OVER THE BACK!”

According to Jeff Benson, the MPA’s commissioner of officials since 2019, the number of officials this winter is status quo with recent seasons. If any sports are seeing an increase in officials, it’s minor, he said. We’re getting by, Benson said.

“We’re managing the contests thanks to efforts of the assigners and the athletic directors alike with scheduling, and the officials who work multiple contests on some days,” Benson said in an email.

“ALL BALL! COME ON!”

Officiating more than one game a day isn’t ideal. Doing one game is as taxing mentally as it is physically, and you want an official to be sharp at the start of the game right to the finish. Refs who work multiple games a day deserve a big thanks, because that sounds exhausting.

There is some good news. According to Dana Pappas, director of officiating services at the NFHS, the number of officials nationally was up in 2023-24 from 2002-23 in 14 of the 16 sports the organization tracks. The two that saw declines were gymnastics (down 6%) and spirit (down less than 1%). Even more encouraging, seven sports — football, girls lacrosse, soccer, swimming, track/cross country, volleyball and wrestling — were above their prepandemic levels. Also at the end of the 2023-24 school year, 16 states were above their prepandemic number of overall sports officials.

Maine was not one of those states, but there’s signs of improvement nationally that hopefully make their way here.

“TRAVEL! FOUL! FOUL!”

Big kudos have to go to Mike Bisson, the assistant executive director of the Maine Principals Association. For a few years, Bisson has used his social media feeds as a tool to try to recruit new officials. He’s also an official himself, working high school football games. There’s talking about a problem, and actively trying to solve it, and Bisson deserves credit for stepping up and doing more than hand-wringing.

“BLOW THE WHISTLE FOR CHRISSAKES.”

Officials aren’t getting rich. A high school ref in Maine gets around $90 a game, plus mileage. They’re doing it to stay involved with a sport they love. Please, in this Officials Appreciation Week, maybe if you go to a game and need to open your mouth …

“TRAVEL! PLEASE BLOW THE WHISTLE!”

“THAT’S TERRIBLE.”

“HORRIBLE.”

… just say thank you.