The Life of an Intramural Official
We have over 60 intramural officials on our staff this year with about one third of them being new to our campus and our program.
Being an intramural official is a lot harder job than most people think.
It is tough for a new official to get used to officiating when everything around them is new to them.
The seasoned officials know what is going on for the most part but are rusty from not officiating that sport for about a year.
I know what it is like to be a newbie official and I know what it is like to be seasoned official.
So, I am going to share with you what it is like to be an intramural official.
After being accepted for the job, the first meeting the officials have is right after the captains meeting for flag football, ultimate Frisbee,
and soccer. The first half of the meeting consists of expectations of the officials, paperwork, and some general questions.
The second half of the meeting is much like the captains meeting. We go over all the general rules and the rules for the specific sports.
Then, the officials sign up for what days they want to work and what sport.
That is pretty much all they get for preparing for the intramural season to begin.
They do not get told any mechanics, what to watch for, hand signals, etc.
After studying the rules to make sure they got them right the officials make their nervous, highly anticipated,
anxious walk up to the intramural fields. Upon arrival, the officials are told to set up their fields and wait for the players to arrive.
Every new official is paired up with a veteran official who may or may not be ready for the season to begin.
As the first game gets underway the new official is hesitant and uncomfortable making calls.
They observe what happens to the veteran as they make a call and has about 10 people yelling at him that he/she mad the wrong call.
This only makes the new official more reluctant to call a foul.
So, when the new official sees a call that is iffy, they don’t make the call to avoid being yelled at by half the people on the field.
This only causes the players to be more upset though and yell even more.
Now, the official is thinking that they are going to call the next foul that they see no matter how weak it is.
It never fails though that the call is against the team that didn’t get the call earlier.
This makes the team even madder and the official hate their new job even more.
The official will go home and complain to their roommates and friends how much their first day sucked and wants to quit.
They wake up the next day however and decide to give it another shot.
The new official sticks out the first season as they get easier teams to officiate and it starts to not seem as bad.
At least they are getting some extra cash to spend.
As the new season starts, the official is getting used to the program and feels much better about their job.
But wouldn’t you know it if that official gets the same type of team the first game of the new season as they had for the first game of the first season.
Now again, the official is set up for the rest of the season to second guess their calls or no-calls and doesn’t enjoy their job as much as they should.
It is very hard to work in an environment when you know when you make a decision that half of the people around you are going to think you are wrong.
So, as an intramural participant, please refrain from yelling at the officials during the game.
That will help the officials to call a better game. After the game you can walk up to the official and talk to them about the call.
What would be best though is if you would talk to the supervisor that is working and tell them your opinion and the supervisor,
if they feel it is necessary, will talk to the official about the situation. Simply yelling at the officials will not help the situation out at all.
The officials are not professional and 99% of them will never be professional officials. So, you shouldn’t treat them like they are.
They are college students just like you and me trying to make the right call as they see the game and earn some extra spending money.
University of Wisconsin-River Falls