It’s not so much that there’s an overall shortage in high school officials or referees in South Dakota. The real problem is finding officials for games that are outside of the metro areas.
For high school football this season, there are 409 officials statewide. This is 33 more than what they had for the sport in 2020. It’s where these officials live that is putting stress on games in the state.
“People think there’s a shortage and its’ not a shortage of officials, but it’s part of a location. We need officials everywhere, rather than just metropolitan areas,” explained Randy Soma, South Dakota High School Activities Association assistant executive director. “That’s what makes it tough. If we don’t have a lot of those official’s crews in some of those other areas, it’s a struggle to get those games at a normal time.”
Just this past Friday, Gayville-Volin hosted Avon in one of the more anticipated football games of the week. Kickoff was at 2 pm CT, much earlier than the typical ‘Friday Night Lights’ experience. But an earlier start time allows a crew of officials to work two games in the same day.
Varsity level sports are getting by at the moment in South Dakota. Those mostly affected by the current status of officials in the state are the lower-level events.
“That’s where we’re seeing a bigger need right now, in those lower-level games,” Soma said. “Athletic directors are struggling to find lower-level officials for JV, freshman, and middle school games, and so, we’re starting to cut back on those games as well, because we lack officials.”
This isn’t a ‘problem’ that is unique to South Dakota, however. The demand for officials at the high school level is something being seen nationwide. One aspect that potentially hurts the joy of being an official is the treatment they receive from fans. It is the goal of the activities association, in conjunction with efforts of athletic directors around the state, to help change the culture in South Dakota when it comes to fan treatment of officials at games.
“When people start getting a little upset about things, [athletic directors and administration] go up and talk to them about it to try and curve the attitude that [fans] have towards officials,” explained Soma. “[Officials] are people too, they make mistakes, and they’re doing the best they can. If we don’t have officials, we’re not going to having events. I think people need to understand that these are people who are taking time out of their lives to do some of this stuff to help benefit our kids of South Dakota.”
Those interested in becoming an official in South Dakota can either inquire through their local athletic director, or visit the SDHSAA website.
