COVINGTON, Ga. — A shortage of referees has become a major issue surrounding Georgia High School Association’s sporting events. 

For instance, this week’s first round state playoffs football schedule had to be rearranged to help with the shortage. And just this year, the GHSA adopted a Super Regional format to play the first two rounds of the softball state playoffs. 

Jimmy Hughes is a referee in the Northeast Georgia Officials Association (NGEA) based in Athens while also teaching at Alcovy High School. Not only does Hughes officiate games, but he also serves as the association’s Assistant Assigning Secretary and the Training Officer. 

Hughes recognized the importance officials have on high school athletics. 

“We keep the game going. I’ve always said, ‘Without officials, it’s just recess,’” Hughes said. “I hope we don’t get to the point where we lose the sanctity of what high school athletics is all about just because there aren’t enough people there to work the games. 

“And with the current trend, I’m concerned about where we’re going to be in five to 10 years.” 

In his 16 years as an official, Hughes has seen three major issues arise that have played a factor in the shortage of referees. 

Lack of youth 

For the NGEA, Hughes calculated that the average age of all the officials is 56 years old. Hughes stressed, too, that the average age isn't decreasing either. 

“The average age of officials is getting older every year, and there’s not a large crop of young officials that are replacing them,” Hughes said. “You see it at Sharp Stadium. There are not a lot of younger guys or girls stepping up and filling those roles.” 

 Hughes recognized that having older officials is a state-wide problem, not just a local one. 

To help combat this issue, referees are pounding the pavement pitching and trying to recruit younger adults. They’ve gone to college campuses to recruit, and Hughes mentioned that in the next few years, they’ll be targeting graduating high school students to throw their names in the hat. 

However, there's another contributing factor to the shortage of referees that has seemed to discourage individuals from giving officiating a shot. 

Sportsmanship by fans

According to Hughes, sportsmanship, or the lack thereof, has caused many people to be discouraged and not commit to being a referee. 

In fact, Hughes personally knows a few people who this has affected. 

“People literally look at it like, ‘Why would I want to get paid $130 to get yelled at and almost abused every Friday night?’” Hughes said. “It has caused several people I work with to hang it up and find something else to do.” 

Social media doesn’t help in this regard either. 

“It’s tough to recruit when they see videos on TikTok or Facebook of people chasing referees off the field or throwing stuff at referees,” Hughes said. 

Hughes mentioned the fact that it is now a requirement for schools to have some type of escort — whether be a Student Resource Officer or administrator — surrounded by the officials when games are complete. 

In relation to having better sportsmanship at sporting events, Hughes puts the onus on the adults to set the example. 

“High school athletics is still an extension of education,” Hughes said. “And if we’re teaching our kids that it’s OK to go out and berate somebody, what are we doing? We’ve got 80 kids on each sideline watching everything going on.” 

Amount of Georgia High Schools

Another part of the problem Hughes believes is the fast growing number of high schools that have been built. 

There are 808 total high schools in Georgia — 525 public and 283 private — which ranks Georgia 12th nationally in total schools. 

“That adds to the list of games and adds to the list of officials that are needed,” Hughes said. 

Responsibilities of a referee

Now, there’s more to being a referee than being on the field or court, blowing a whistle and signaling a penalty or foul. 

First, there’s the preparation piece of taking rules tests and going to camps to assist in being varsity and playoff eligible over the summer. Then each official crew does a film review of each game they officiate to evaluate their performance. 

Hughes believes that the general public is unaware of what all goes into being a referee. 

“A lot of people don’t see us, for a 7:30 p.m. game, that we’re arriving at the school around 5-5:30 so we can get dressed and have a discussion about the responsibilities going into the game,” Hughes said. “It’s not just us rolling in at 7:15 p.m., call this game and go home. Even after the game, we’ll sit around and discuss the game before the film comes in.” 

When it comes to making a call or a non-call by an official in the game, Hughes stressed the fact that referees are humans, too. In fact, when a call is “missed,” Hughes admitted that, most of the time, the referee knows that it was a “missed” call. 

“That’s not something we want to admit, but we do,” Hughes said. “But we want to get it right. We’re not out there trying to get Team A to win over Team B. That’s the big misconception people think, ‘They’re giving Team A all the calls.’ That’s not it at all.” 

What keeps Hughes coming back? 

In spite of the current issues surrounding high school officials, Hughes doesn’t plan on hanging up his whistle anytime soon. 

He still enjoys working and calling games from his referee position. But what really keeps Hughes coming back to officiate each year is something transcends any sport. 

“I always call it the highlight of my week," he said. "There’s just something about Friday night, and I think there are a lot of people who can resonate with that. I always encourage people, you’re going to watch football anyway, you might as well be involved. There’s no better seat on a Friday night. 

Hughes continued by saying that oftentimes, he and fellow officials will hang out away from the officials' scene and spend personal time together watching football or hosting Super Bowl parties. 

Hughes’ pitch to people interested

That is why Hughes encourages anyone who is interested to give officiating a chance. While he does recognize the concerns of many, Hughes is steadfast that being an official is something to be desired. 

“It’s like everything else in society. Ninety-nine percent of what happens are really good things,” Hughes said. “We can’t let that 1% discourage us. We’ve all been yelled at, but I never felt like I’ve been endangered working a game. Everything, for the most part, is fun.” 

For more information concerning referees in the Georgia High School Association, visit https://www.ghsa.net/officials. There, people can find links to the various information available on what all goes into being an official and, if interested, how to register and apply to be a referee. 

Hughes said there could be immediate chances to “plug in” if people are interested.

“With the numbers being what they are, if people want to jump in, there’s a good chance to get working right away,” Hughes said. “It’s not like it was before (where) you have to sit back and wait. You can get going right now.”