Random thoughts on the officials recruitment problems:
1. The motorcycle thing. I've done my share of working other sporting events. I've volunteered at triathlons. But there is no way in hell I'm going to put myself in a position where I'm supposed to be doing something at the same time while hanging on for dear life on the back of a motorcycle. They scare me in a bad sort of way. (compared to the good sort of way where my brain says "let's do that because it's scary!") I'm probably not the only one who feels that way.
2. Lack of the usual/traditional sports development route in triathlon. Look at football, baseball, swimming, basketball, etc. The officials seem to follow the same progression as the athletes go: you start out as a little paid or volunteer at the youth/Little League/Pop Warner/Country Club league events, get your state certification and National Federation rulebook, and you're clear to work high school events. Get some of those under your belt, get a reputation for competence, talk to the right people, and you start working small college events, which leads to bigger college events, and if you're really good, and in the right place at the right time, you can maybe move over to working pro games.
And there is a learning curve if you're going to make it as a zebra. I got my start working junior high volleyball games. Lots of them. I remember very little of volleyball rules these days, but those games taught me how to control a situation, maintain authority without coming across as a bitcah, and how to 'develop an eye' for the process and identify problems quickly, and that carries over into other sports I've worked.
With our tri officials, they don't really get the chance to go develop that eye like the baseball umps do- watching countless 11-12 year olds over the course of a season. Instead, they're dumped into a situation where they have to know all of those things from the get-go.
If I was looking for tri officials, I'd look towards the guys/women who work basketball or hockey games or some other sport where the official is used to making the call while in constant movement. They know how to control a situation, and how to watch for infractions. Those skills will carry over. The tri rulebook can be easily memorized from that point.
1. The motorcycle thing. I've done my share of working other sporting events. I've volunteered at triathlons. But there is no way in hell I'm going to put myself in a position where I'm supposed to be doing something at the same time while hanging on for dear life on the back of a motorcycle. They scare me in a bad sort of way. (compared to the good sort of way where my brain says "let's do that because it's scary!") I'm probably not the only one who feels that way.
2. Lack of the usual/traditional sports development route in triathlon. Look at football, baseball, swimming, basketball, etc. The officials seem to follow the same progression as the athletes go: you start out as a little paid or volunteer at the youth/Little League/Pop Warner/Country Club league events, get your state certification and National Federation rulebook, and you're clear to work high school events. Get some of those under your belt, get a reputation for competence, talk to the right people, and you start working small college events, which leads to bigger college events, and if you're really good, and in the right place at the right time, you can maybe move over to working pro games.
And there is a learning curve if you're going to make it as a zebra. I got my start working junior high volleyball games. Lots of them. I remember very little of volleyball rules these days, but those games taught me how to control a situation, maintain authority without coming across as a bitcah, and how to 'develop an eye' for the process and identify problems quickly, and that carries over into other sports I've worked.
With our tri officials, they don't really get the chance to go develop that eye like the baseball umps do- watching countless 11-12 year olds over the course of a season. Instead, they're dumped into a situation where they have to know all of those things from the get-go.
If I was looking for tri officials, I'd look towards the guys/women who work basketball or hockey games or some other sport where the official is used to making the call while in constant movement. They know how to control a situation, and how to watch for infractions. Those skills will carry over. The tri rulebook can be easily memorized from that point.