not politics
and if the subject were raised, I'd immediately remove myself from contention for such a job: reffing has such a bad name these days that anyone who was brought forth as an 'independent' ref would have to be able to demonstrate the fact beyond question. If the folks doing the selection and suggesting the methodology for choosing told me that my past would interfere with my position, I wouldn't like it, but I'd have to back off, since such a thing would need to start from an absolutely clean slate.
I offered my contacts at NASO and the other information and research that I have put together because I have previously worked on the problem (without finding the necessary funding), alas.
NASO is the premiere national organzation in the states for professional sports officials. Their own history is beyond question and they have been through the kinds of issues we're experiencing in paintball and have developed the criteria for making a successfull organization. Why reinvent the wheel, basically.
Such an organization would have to be paid from funds which were placed in the equivalent of escrow; the reffing org would be responsible for paying the officials - not the event, not the league. Pay would be guaranteed and absent any political shenanigans.
Review of referee performance would be virtually a full time job; we'd need a crew of ref watchers in addition to the refs themselves.
Leagues hiring such individuals would hire the organization - not individual refs. The org would be responsible for assigning individuals to fields and games and events.
Leagues could lodge complaints about performance, unsuitability, contentions of conflict of interest - but it would be up to the org itself to review such complaints and then take whatever internal action necessary: a ref who IS doing his job, whom a promoter has a problem with, has GOT to know that his organization is behind him. A ref whom a team has a problem with has GOT to know that his organization is behind him.
Players and teams and league owners need to know that the referees are responsible to one thing only - the reffing organization.
Refs in such an organization will be working hard but will need support: liason between leagues and the org - if only to resolve rules issues, methodology for effecting rules changes, methodology for assessing fines; knowing that if a ruling is 'banned for life', that the league itself will enforce that rule.
In short, we need a 'third body' - teams being one, leagues/promoters the second and officials as the third. New events coming on board ought to have hiring such an organization be a requirement for their success.
Rancid - in one sense this is political: how are we going to get the industry to recognize that in the long term, footing the bill for refs will gain them more benefit than the short term advantages conferred by having influence over calls and rules?
This is a big nut to crack: I've been down this road twice before: once with NPPL in '93, when everyone voted for having the teams alternate reffing (and what a joke that has become - most of the teams that 'volunteered' ended up being closely associated with the promoter running that event...) and once with another series, where I tried to hire a group of refs who had no connection to any of the teams participating in the event: in that situation, I ended up with a crew I had to pay off and then substituted with members of the rest of my staff, because the original hires came in with an attitude of 'pros must be cheating, after all, they're pros'...
In this case, the money and will MUST come first. Without either, any new effort is doomed to having to try to make it work without all the pieces in place; that will immediately be followed by second-guessing, and then we're right back to where we started from.
I'm starting the call. Now.
I'm calling for a draft of old fogies who don't play competition anymore, who believe they have no conflicts in reffing national events and who have the time to devote to such a job.
I'm calling on the industry to publicly indicate their willingness to fund an independant reffing crew - without requiring on-field sponsorship representation for doing so and with no strings attached to the money.
I'm calling on leagues and event promoters to publicly announce that they will use such an organization once it is available.
I'm calling on teams and players to DEMAND that their industry support such an effort.
I'm up for helping to organize (fool that I am); I've got unlimited long-distance calling for a flat rate fee, so if anyone thinks calls will help, let me know.
I'm up for doing anything that will help get this ball rolling, so let me know.
and I really ain't in the mood for him to tell me nething !
