While watching a basketball game nearly three decades ago, Bill Beasley decided to become a referee.

“I said to myself, ‘I can do this,'” said the lifelong Eagle County resident. “I’m the kind of person who just goes along with it instead of complaining about it.”

Obviously more people need to follow his example.

In recent years, the shortage of officers across Colorado has reached a critical point. According to Chuck Nissen, the Colorado High School Athletic Association’s commissioner for Western Slope officials, the crisis is particularly problematic in Eagle County.

“We really need people to understand our problem and we need help,” said Nissen, who lives in Grand Junction. “There is a really big need that would help schools save money because they ultimately have to pay for people to come from Grand Junction, Montrose and Delta. The shortage is really costing your schools and kids money that they could be spending on something else.”

Ryan Lynch, athletic director at Eagle Valley High School, said he spent 28% more on referees last year than in previous seasons.

“The travel costs are quite high and are putting a strain on our budget,” he explained in an email. “We have some really good, experienced officers in our area, but we desperately need more.”

Nissen said the cause was clear.

“The biggest problem is that young people are not excited about it,” he said. “And the main thing I hear is, ‘I don’t want to be yelled at.'”

If you want stars, you have to have stripes

McKayla Williams knows what it’s like to be cheered on by fans and then booed by them. The 22-year-old former Eagle Valley athlete begins her third year as a referee this fall.

“People don’t like officials very much,” she said. “You hear everything and you have to learn to put it aside and not let it affect you. And you have to always remember that you are doing it for the children.”

Williams – who normally works a few volleyball games and three to four basketball contests a week – joined because she wanted to give back to her local sports community. Although she already understood most of the basic rules of both sports, it was an adjustment to take on certain technical details and make quick, decisive decisions

“It’s also so fast, so the more practice you get, the better,” she said. “I know I’m still very young and I’m learning.”

The shortage has given her – and Beasley – plenty of opportunities to practice. Beasley said he refereed more than 70 basketball games last winter. The 70-year-old also worked 63 baseball games, 35 softball games and one football game every Monday and Friday throughout the fall – in addition to his full-time job as manager of the facilities and grounds crews for Eagle County.

Beasley and George Hudspeth — both of whom refereed Williams’ matches when she was a player — are now her mentors. During halftime and after the match, she soaks up everything she knows about close calls and controversial moments.

“It helps a lot,” Williams said. “Getting advice from officers who have been doing this for a long time and who I look up to – their advice is really great.”

Williams said Beasley and Hudspeth are encouraging, “especially when they know a parent or fan is giving me a hard time.”

“They will get involved,” she said. “And they stand behind me.”

This also applies to the sports directors in the region.

“I’ve tried to stay pretty vigilant about fans even saying anything to a referee,” said Lynch, who plans to bring the issue up in his parent-teacher meeting speech this week. “I’m not sure what’s happened here in the past, but that kind of thing is unacceptable at Eagle Valley High School when I’m here.”

Nissen said the CHSAA has deliberately placed greater emphasis on sportsmanship, particularly in terms of interaction between parents and officials at games.

“People have to understand that the referees are uncomfortable when we constantly abuse them,” said Nissen. “The more we do that, the fewer people we have.”

Beasley said his most important advice to young referees entering the game is to focus on one game at a time.

“OK, so we missed something on this end, but now we go to the other end – forget about it,” he said, describing his attitude during the game. “Do we discuss it at halftime or at the end of the game? Definitely. But you can’t dwell on things like that.”

Williams’ main goals at every game are keeping the kids safe and making sure “everything is clean.” She wants fans and athletes to understand that referees don’t have hidden agendas or a desire for revenge – they just want to referee a good game.

“That’s probably one of the most important things,” she said. “We’re all here to have a good game. We’re not against them, we’re just trying to help them.”

But parental pressure on referees can be even greater in small communities when officials encounter an unpleasant coach or fan at the supermarket the day after the game.

“It seems like as soon as you put on the striped shirt, you’re the target,” Beasley said. “It’s just what it is. It probably bothered me a little bit for the first five years, but not nearly so now. You just look at them and think, ‘If only you knew.’ … A lot of it comes down to people not knowing the rules.”

He said behaviour had worsened over the past decade, especially among players.

“I brought several people on board. I said, ‘Come on, just play a game with me and let’s see how it goes – even a middle school game,'” he said. “After the game – twice – they gave me back the jersey and the whistle and said, ‘I don’t know how you’re doing with this.'”

The problem isn’t unique to Colorado, either. At its second annual Officials Consortium in Indianapolis last January, the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) discussed ways to address the nationwide shortage of officials.

“We hope to see results on the way officials are treated by spectators at events and the general tone about officials in the media and on social media,” said Dana Pappas.Head of Referee Services of the NFHS.

Both Williams and Beasley know they can’t be perfect.

“I’ll be the first to admit that the best seats in the house are the stands,” Beasley said. “You can see the whole game from there.”

Is payment part of the problem?

While the behavior of fans, coaches and athletes is considered the biggest obstacle to recruiting young referees, pay could also play a role.

A 2022 story in The Coloradoan reported that referees in Texas earn between $110 and $160 per game, compared to just $64.72 in Colorado. In January 2023, the CHSAA passed a plan to gradually increase officials’ salaries over a three-year period. While the figure may vary depending on the sport and the number of officials overseeing a competition, most activities will see increases from $85 per game in 2023-24 to $90 this year and $95 in 2025-26. In addition, new nationwide mileage reimbursements were also approved. Payments increased from $0.40 per mile to $0.50 per mile in 2023-24 for trips over 20 miles one-way, $0.55 per mile in 2024-25 and $0.60 per mile in 2025-26.

“I think the per-game pay raise has extended some players’ careers because they feel more valued,” says Nissen, who believes CHSAA’s “You Look Good in StripesThe Action for the Umpires campaign, launched in 2022, has been an even more financially impactful move as it helps pay for umpires’ equipment in sports such as softball and baseball.

Beasley said that while salaries are improving, they are still low compared to neighboring states. Nebraska, for example, pays $120 per football game.

“We had a couple of new commissioners come to CHSAA, former officials, who knew what the shortage was and what the pay was,” he said. “And they made a commitment that we would get that raise as a start.”

“A lot of people don’t do it for the money,” Williams added. “I did it temporarily because I was in college for a while and then I was a stay-at-home mom. That helped me a little bit – you know, I spent the week shopping. It’s definitely not a full-time job. It’s more for the kids.”

Beasley said it didn’t bother him that rookie referees and experienced veterans received the same pay.

“If that’s what it takes to recruit them, I’m in,” he said.

Speaking of recruiting young talent, Nissen said each sports association is responsible for its own recruitment. He also said efforts have been made along the Western Slope to recruit ref reps — a system for training referees — into schools. The idea is to integrate the video training into physical education classes.

“Kids can understand and see what’s going on, and maybe they’ll be excited and want to try it,” Nissen said.

Today, he can identify potential future referees while officiating their games, Beasley said.

“You can see it in the kids,” he said. “Just their behavior on the field: They play the game the way it should be played. They don’t shout at anyone – they just play the game. That’s why they’re out there.”

Nissen said interested people would know after about a month whether the job was right for them.

“If you love the sport you want to officiate, that’s probably the most important thing,” he said. “There are so many people on the Western Slope who are happy to help you handle the game and officiate it and who pay attention to what you’re doing. You’ll meet a lot of good kids, coaches and other officials.”

The love of sport is at the heart of Williams, Beasley and Nissen.

“If you love the sport you want to referee, that’s probably the most important thing,” Nissen said.

“I love working with kids,” Beasley said when asked about his motivation. Williams summed up both ideas: “If you love the sport, it’s worth helping kids who love the sport as much as you do.”