- Officials say that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MHSAA had around 10,000 registered referees across the state. Now, that number sits near 8,600.
- The MHSAA has tried since the pandemic to increase the number of referees.
- Video shows perspective from the MHSAA, as well as a local referee of 40 years.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your Neighborhood Reporter Colin Jankowski. Beyond just the cost and the burnout battle, a game like this one here at Haslett Middle School can't be played without the help of referees. Since the pandemic, there's been a shortage of them across the state. I spoke with officials to learn what's being done, and where the shortage stands.
"In our best years we've been around 10,000," Geoff Kimmerly said.
Geoff Kimmerly with the Michigan High School Athletic Association says those days are gone.
"So our numbers went down, which meant there were a couple of things we had to do," Rob Stanaway said.
Rob Stanaway has seen it firsthand. He's been a referee for 40 years, and is the president of the Capital Area Officials Association.
"We had to look at opportunities where officials would be working more than one game in a night," he said.
And that adds up.
"The average age for a high school official is around the age of 55, believe it or not," Stanaway said. "So when you get a bunch of 55-year-old people out there working, reffing two games a night, and they're doing that three or four times per week, it takes a toll on their bodies after a while."
But that's not the only thing that takes a toll on referees. Both Stanaway and Kimmerly say a constant reason referees have left the profession is treatment from spectators, and that's something the MHSAA has tried to address.
"We need to consider again that officials are human beings," Kimmerly said. "Most of the time they are correct, and almost all of the time they know the rules better than whoever is sitting in the stands. And if we don't have them, we can't play."
WATCH: Neighborhood reporter Olivia Pageau shows us how local families battle burnout in youth sports
Stanaway says in the wake of the shortages, recruiting has been a big focus, with increased pay being an added benefit.
There have also been changes to the MHSAA's registration process to cover significantly more games with fewer numbers.
"Every time an official registers, instead of registering for every sport that official would like to officiate individually, we now tell officials your registration is good automatically for two sports," Kimmerly said. "We have about 1,000 more spots covered because they're doing more sports."
So far, those measures have helped bring the number of refs back to around 8,600.
But despite the progress, Kimmerly says there's still more to be done to make sure young athletes get to stay on the court and the field.
"We are in a better place today than we were yesterday than we were last year," Kimmerly said. "With that said, we still have a lot of work to do."
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