Shortage of high school referees forces game rescheduling
SACRAMENTO — A shortage of high school football referees is forcing some districts to adjust their schedules for the season.
Some games are being moved to Thursdays or Saturdays to allow fewer referees to officiate more games.
The shortage is a national problem, but it hits California schools especially hard due to the number of schools in each district.
The cause of the shortage is a variety of reasons, but some believe it has to do with parents.
Joe Davidson, a sports writer for the Sacramento Bee, works closely with coaches and referees across the region. He tells CBS13 that a contributing factor to the shortage is the verbal and physical abuse of referees from parents.
"They're excited to be there," Davidson said. "But they're always worried about heading out to the parking lot. They don't know who's going to be chasing after them."
The shortage is causing a few of the regular season 'Friday' night games to either take place on Thursday nights or Saturday afternoons. It's impacting nearly every school district in the CIF Sac-Joaquin conference.
"It isn't like there are a lot of officials that are going to be ready to go in week five or week six. There are just fewer than there were," said Assistant Commissioner for CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, Will DeBoard.
Right now, it's unclear how many Friday games will be changed this season.
