Qualities Of A Good Official

Although officiating involves technical knowledge, there is definitely an art to being 
an effective referee. The artistry displayed by an official in the competitive arena 
depends, in large part, on his or her personal qualities. You might assume that these 
important officiating attributes have been identified and widely used as the criteria
in evaluating officials. But if 100 different sports officiating experts submitted 
their own lists and rankings of essential qualities for an official you could expect 
100 different listings and dissimilar rankings. We will not attempt to rank-order the 
qualities of a competent official nor try to provide an exhaustive list of the essentials.

Here we summarized the characteristics top officials have in common.
1) Confidence
2) Consistency
3) Decisiveness
4) Enjoyment/Motivation
5) Integrity
6) Judgment
7) Poise
8) Rapport


CONFIDENCE
Competent officials have confidence in themselves and their abilities. This 
self-confidence transcends any particular game or situation. Confident officials 
remain in control during adversity. That doesn't mean that they experienced no
feelings of self doubt, but they don't lose confidence in themselves just because 
they made a bad call or experienced other setbacks. Every official has games that
he or she would rather forget, but confident officials don't let that undermine
their genuine belief that they are good at what they do.

CONSISTENCY
Players and coaches expect officials to be consistent. Their decisions should be 
the same in identical or similar circumstances, and they should apply the rules 
equally to both opponents. Inconsistency in officiating is frequently criticized 
by and/or upsetting to coaches and players. Experience has shown that a lack of
consistency creates these and other problems:
Players are always guessing what is allowed and what is not. 
Coaches become frustrated and less trusting of officials competence. 
Officials try to "even up" calls, thereby punishing a team for 
previous officiating errors.
Players simply don't know what to expect when an official vacillates in decision 
making. If an official ignores a foul one time but then calls a foul for the same 
behavior later in the game, athletes and coaches become confused. This uncertainly 
often results in anxiety, frustration, anger, and eventually some negative physical 
behavior by those who perceive they are being cheated.

DECISIVENESS
An official's decisions should occur simultaneously with the action observed, or 
as soon thereafter as possible. This does not mean that you should make all calls 
without hesitation. You might need to take a slight pause to comprehend what you 
have seen. But too long of a pause gives the athletes and coaches the impression of 
uncertainly, and they are much more likely to question a delayed call. Judgment 
calls are not subject to formal protest. Therefore, you can often avoid controversy 
by making quick and decisive rulings. The closer the decision, the more important 
decisiveness becomes.

ENJOYMENT/MOTIVATION
Top officials enjoy their job immensely. This sense of enjoyment and fun is strongly 
tied to a positive mental attitude and feelings of energy. Good officiating requires 
a lot of hard work, dedication, and practice. All this leads to a high level of 
motivation, which is closely tied to enjoyment.

INTEGRITY
Integrity refers to calling a game in an unbiased, honest manner, regardless of the 
reactions of players, coaches and spectators; the time remaining; the score; previous 
calls; or any other potential sources of influence. The best safeguard for maintaining 
your integrity is couched in the adage, "Call 'em as you see 'em." It is extremely 
important to protect your integrity both on and off the court. Although you probably 
are aware of your responsibilities while officiating, you should be equally concerned
about maintaining others respect for your integrity off the court.

JUDGEMENT
Good judgment begins with a thorough and complete understanding of the rules and 
regulations governing a particular sport. Once established, rule knowledge can serve 
as a guide for determining the legality of play. Then, sound judgment gained through 
experience will allow you to meet the demands of a variety of officiating situations. 
The official who continues to study the rules and applies officiating experiences
toward personal improvement will likely become competent. When officials describe 
instances when they exercised good judgment, they invariably find they were:
Totally focused on the game.
Unaware of distractions or able to effectively block them them out.
Unconcerned about previous calls and the subsequent reactions from
those involved.

POISE
Sport competition is generally exciting, and the action is often fast paced and rapidly 
changing. In addition, because of the importance people in our society place on sports,
it is not unusual for emotions and tensions of players, coaches and spectators to run 
high, especially during the initial and later stages of the game. An official must remain 
calm and poised, regardless of what is happening. Although you cannot necessarily control
the emotions of others, you are expected to be in control of your emotions no matter what 
the circumstances.

RAPPPORT
Rapport is the quality of relating effectively to others. Good rapport with others is 
desirable in any line of human endeavor and perhaps even more important in officiating. 
Officials must try to establish good rapport with both coaches and players. As an official,
you are not trying to win a popularity contest, but you are not trying to make enemies 
either. Officials can improve rapport skills by treating players and coaches with courtesy 
and respect. You should expect the same treatment in return.