Swapping is a good thing for regional tournaments. The interesting thing about the comments is the inconsistency in the "views" of how the officiating is from each region. In this thread alone the casual observer could not make a determination about who was "better" or "more consistent" from one region to the next. Maybe it's just a "fans view" (myself included) that are looking for the differences. It's always easy to pick out a few plays and generalize it to the whole region(s). Just a thought.

If the difference in officiating is that noticeable across different regions, isn't that something that should be looked into by the KHSAA?

It's the same in most sports.

 

In the other thread about this I mentioned that NKY officials tend to look at all sorts of minutiae to call. The refs seem very concerned about what is happening on the sidelines, telling coaches and players to stay seated and really seem to miss what's going on on the court. It's the same way with football. It makes me wonder if the same people are putting on the workshops where officials are instructed.

 

That said I think it's a very good idea to do this. It gets the players and coaches ready for the differing styles of officiating they will see if they advance to Rupp.

Has a lot to do with why the 9th Region teams often struggle at Rupp historically.

 

In the last 10 years the 9th region has been to the final 4 5 times and won it all once.

 

I'm not sure how many regions can make that claim. Maybe it's the other regions officials that are not preparing their teams.

In the last 10 years the 9th region has been to the final 4 5 times and won it all once.

 

I'm not sure how many regions can make that claim. Maybe it's the other regions officials that are not preparing their teams.

 

Really don't want to get into this debate, but your post struck something with me. So, just to play devil's advocate...isn't the 9th region representative at state the one who got through the tournament using someone else's officials? I mean, if anything, it would appear that whoever officiates the 9th region games, seems to be on par with what happens at state, doesn't it?

 

However, all that being said, I think the cream is still going to rise to the top usually, and your good teams are going to advance. Could there be a situation where a certain type of officiating "favors" one type or style of play? Sure. If you only go 7 deep, and they start calling everything a foul, you're in trouble. Likewise, if you're a smaller, quicker team that's used to penetrating and being able to draw fouls, and they let you bang away down inside, you're in trouble.

 

My biggest complaint is one that has already be mentioned. I absolutely hate when officials "let the kids play" for the first 3 quarters, and then suddenly bring the hammer down in the 4th. If it's a foul in the fourth quarter with a minute left, it should've been a foul the first minute into the game...and vice versa. However you're going to call it, be consistent.

There was a lot of complaining about the 6th Region officials in the Montgomery County-Bishop Brossart thread. Other than that, not too much.

The 13th has the 10th and 11th and they have been horrible for both teams.

In the last 10 years the 9th region has been to the final 4 5 times and won it all once.

 

I'm not sure how many regions can make that claim. Maybe it's the other regions officials that are not preparing their teams.

 

I'm taking a longer view here, Clyde. Until Holmes' win in '09, the ongoing story on BGP was how frustrated 9th Region fans were with only having one team win state (SK), despite taking several capable teams to the Sweet 16.

If the difference in officiating is that noticeable across different regions, isn't that something that should be looked into by the KHSAA?

 

Search me. But it is a very different game from region to region. The style of officiating in the 9th Region as opposed to the 5th Region, where I live, couldn't me more different in terms of how much physical play is allowed.

 

Teams from the 9th Region have adjusted in recent years — well, the ones who venture outside of Boone/Kenton/Campbell for games on a regular basis have, anyway.

I think it's a copout for teams that lose.

I'm taking a longer view here, Clyde. Until Holmes' win in '09, the ongoing story on BGP was how frustrated 9th Region fans were with only having one team win state (SK), despite taking several capable teams to the Sweet 16.

 

The problem I would have with your longer view is that officials do not call the game the same way they did 15 or 20 years ago. Styles of calling evolve.

 

I'm on record as saying there is no "region way" of officiating. It's a group made up of individuals. Just go to a meeting some time and listen to debates. You'll see it's not a monolithic group.

I think it's a copout for teams that lose.

 

 

Agreed. Players have to adjust every night WITHIN their region. It should not be any different out of region.

The problem I would have with your longer view is that officials do not call the game the same way they did 15 or 20 years ago. Styles of calling evolve.

 

I'm on record as saying there is no "region way" of officiating. It's a group made up of individuals. Just go to a meeting some time and listen to debates. You'll see it's not a monolithic group.

 

Didn't say it was. But you can't tell me that officials who work together regularly don't develop a synergy that brings them closer together in styles. You can't have one official in a crew calling super-tight and another letting everything go. It leads to the obvious inconsistencies that fans, players and coaches rail about from game-to-game and even within the game.

 

Plus, if there's a big disparity between how two officials see it, you've got a mess of huddles between them and a bunch of overrules on individual calls, which further enrages fans/players/coaches, and creates hard feelings between individuals on the same crew. There has to be some meeting in the middle for the sake of efficiency and expediency, whether intentional or not.

The problem I would have with your longer view is that officials do not call the game the same way they did 15 or 20 years ago. Styles of calling evolve.

 

I'm on record as saying there is no "region way" of officiating. It's a group made up of individuals. Just go to a meeting some time and listen to debates. You'll see it's not a monolithic group.

 

I would invite you to come to Bardstown for some bourbon and games next season to see how different (rough) the 5th Region is compared to the 9th.

Didn't say it was. But you can't tell me that officials who work together regularly don't develop a synergy that brings them closer together in styles. You can't have one official in a crew calling super-tight and another letting everything go. It leads to the obvious inconsistencies that fans, players and coaches rail about from game-to-game and even within the game.

 

Plus, if there's a big disparity between how two officials see it, you've got a mess of huddles between them and a bunch of overrules on individual calls, which further enrages fans/players/coaches, and creates hard feelings between individuals on the same crew. There has to be some meeting in the middle for the sake of efficiency and expediency, whether intentional or not.

 

 

Disagree, Jim.

 

1. Officials in a region do not work as a group or a crew. Yes, they will occasionally work games together but it's probably not as many as you think. Even then you have officials calling it "differently." When many of the rules are subjective you're going to get different viewpoints EVEN in the same game. Those calls never require a conference. You make it and you move on. The only time for a huddle amongst officials is on an OOB call where an official was partially obstructed. You never have a huddle on a foul call. Why would you? The official called what he/she saw.

 

Even with that you never see the "extreme" you refer to.

 

The 9th has had a lot of success in the last decade so IF your contention was once true IMO it is not today.

 

2. My original reply was in response to your (and many others) contention that the style of ball as it's called in the 9th hurts 9th teams downstate. You never have 3 officials from the same conference calling a S16 game so you're always going to have officials with slight variations of styles.