From campus to community: WSU trains the next generation of sports officials

Hunter Hartley often leaves work early during basketball season to get on the road. The sports and youth programs coordinator on the Washington State University Pullman campus works as a middle and high school referee and he spends hours driving to towns throughout eastern Washington. It doesn’t matter if the games are during the day, evening, or on a weekend, Hunter is there.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize how much time and effort officials put into it,” says Hunter who last season served as crew chief for the Washington State 1B Basketball Championship. “I worked 70 games in four months last season. Four nights a week I’m on the road and away from my family.”

Hunter says those sacrifices are part of the price for doing something he truly loves. He was first exposed to sports officiating while a student at WSU. This was when he was hired to referee intramural sports for University Recreation (UREC). Now a UREC staff member, he oversees the training of student sports officials, helping to build the next generation of referees.

WSU is known for its large intramurals program as more than 5,300 students participate in over a dozen different sports throughout the year. That’s a lot of games for Hunter and his crew to manage, and none of them could happen without the help of student sports officials—a lot of them. Hunter aims to recruit up to 27 new student officials each year to add to the 23 or so returning officials who become student managers.

A crash course in officiating

The recruits are put through a rigorous crash course consisting of several nights of training—both in the classroom and on the field or court—capped off with opportunities to practice during live scrimmages. During that time, the recruits brush up on the rules of the game, the proper techniques for each player position, learn the signals used to communicate violations, and learn how players, coaches, and teams are penalized for those violations. If that isn’t enough, they also learn how to manage conflict, something Hunter says comes with the territory.

The students are asked to referee intramural games throughout the year, which means they must become familiar with the rules of multiple sports. As challenging as that is, it’s one of the biggest reasons WSU junior Skyler Cheshier plans to return as an intramural referee this upcoming academic year.

“My goal this year is to gain more confidence officiating the different sports,” Skyler says. “But I also have so much fun working with great people. It has become more than just a part-time job for me.”

Tim Lewis, who now works for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, feels the same way about his experience refereeing for UREC. As a WSU sophomore, and having already officiated some high school games, Tim was invited to referee at the NIRSA Region VI Basketball Tournament that was taking place at nearby Eastern Washington University. He performed so well that he was asked to officiate at the NIRSA Championship Series National Basketball Championships in North Carolina. He returned to work both of those tournaments the following year.

Today, Tim serves as the sports committee manager for the Washington Officials Association, making sure the committees for all sports officials across the state receive the training and support they need to be successful.

“None of what I’ve been able to accomplish would have been possible without the training and experience I received in the WSU intramurals program,” Tim says. “UREC provided me with a supportive and fun atmosphere that was perfect for learning and honing my officiating skills.”

Training for the future

Among the officiating skills that Tim has relied upon over the years is how to manage conflict. As he points out, every call a referee makes is going to make some people happy while angering others.

One of the most difficult aspects of the job, especially for inexperienced officials, is dealing with the verbal abuse dished out by players, coaches, and, more commonly, parents. Heated exchanges between the teams, the referees, the coaches, and the fans can easily get out of hand; however, an official with the right skills can usually defuse the tension.

This is why WSU trainers teach student referees effective techniques for bringing down the temperature in heated situations. Classroom learning combined with opportunities to role play allow students to practice their conflict management skills in a safe and supportive environment.

According to Nick Prante, UREC Associate Director, having these skills has never been more important. Negative experiences felt by sports officials across the nation have left many questioning whether being a referee is worth it. That sentiment, coupled with a wave of retirements among seasoned officials, has led to a shortage of referees nationwide.

In an article appearing in Athletic Business that addresses the shortage, Michael Popke writes that according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, about 50,000 high school game officials “discontinued their service” between the 2018–2019 and 2021–2022 academic years.

Nick, who referees youth football in Whitman and Asotin Counties in Washington, has seen the impact the shortage is having on local sports.

“We’ve had situations where we had to ask high schools to move a Friday night game to Thursday or Saturday so we could have enough officials,” Nick says.

While such stories appear to paint a bleak picture, Nick is optimistic about the future of sports and those who officiate them. While conflict will always be a part of sports, he senses the tide is turning towards more civility among participants, parents, and fans. Athletic directors, parents, and youth sport organizers understand that games won’t happen without officials; those groups are actively helping to address bad behavior by fans.

More than anything, the new generation of sports officials who are being trained and are gaining valuable experience in UREC, give him reason to be optimistic.

“Hunter [Hartley], Tim [Lewis], and I were once student referees at UREC, and now that we have graduated and have full-time jobs, we continue to officiate because it is a great way to give back to our communities,” Nick says. “There are great students officiating for us now, and I know many of them will do the same after they graduate.”

For those who missed out on officiating their peers through intramural sports programs, Nick says it’s never too late to start officiating youth and high school sports. Local associations are always willing to take the time to train new officials.