One of the certainties of these uncertain economic times is that more people register to officiate school sports in bad times than in good.
MHSAA officials registrations during 2008-09 totaled 12,719 individuals, just short of the record 12,743 who registered in 2007-08 when numbers were bolstered by waiving fees for the first time for new volleyball and basketball registrants to help schools overcome one of the problems created by the switch in seasons for girls basketball and volleyball.
Totals were up in 2008-09 versus the year before in eight of the 14 sports for which the MHSAA registers officials. The big gainer was baseball (up 141), and the biggest decline was in girls volleyball (down 294).
More than 1,500 individuals do not renew their registration each year – an astonishing number – and each year they must be replaced and those new recruits must receive training in order to adequately serve school sports in Michigan. Here are several of the “truths” we’ve learned about recruiting and retaining officials:
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From the Director is the official MHSAA Blog which will touch on pertinent school sports topics periodically throughout the school year from various MHSAA Staff.