Last week Alex Johnson the Cardinals, Athletics Director made up goodie bags for the officials at the home games this week. Officials have an extremely fast pace and challenging job, especially with the pressure from coaches, parents, players, and students. Officials undertake an important role in the staging of competitions. They provide leadership and guidance to participants, ensuring that the competition is conducted safely and fairly. Qualities such as integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, and respect are integral to the role of the official. This includes how they behave and relate to others before, during, and after the competition, how they present themselves as an official, and how they go about their role. Officials are responsible for their actions and attitudes. People expect the official to be a person they can trust to control the competition. It is important to remember that the competition in which the official is officiating is the most important that day to those participating in it. The physical requirements of an official will vary from sport to sport and within a sport. Some sports require officials to be very active (rugby, basketball, netball), while others are less so (volleyball, athletics, rowing). Adopting a healthy lifestyle will contribute to all officials being in appropriate physical condition. Officiating in some sports will require additional physical preparation that is appropriate for the particular sport. The more active officiating roles require a level of physical fitness that will allow the official to achieve correct positioning throughout the competition, make good decisions, and officiate the competition in a non-distressed physical state. At the end of the day, it's all about the players and athletes. You're there to ensure everyone sticks to the rules and ethics of the game so everyone gets the most out of it. It's not about you – without the participants there would be nothing to officiate.
