I had several people ask me what the circumstances were surrounding the postponement of Tippecanoe Valley's football game against Southwood Sept. 9. The officiating crew didn't show up for the game and it was moved to Saturday night with a new set of officials. The old crew disbanded and failed to inform Valley athletic director Duane Burkhart.

How does that happen?

I came to find out that most officials sign contracts to do football or basketball games up to five years in advance. Schools want to get the best refs they can so they sign them up as early as possible.

Over time, some officials retire or quit and most often the school is given enough notice and they move on to get another official.

There is a website schools can access which shows a list of licensed officials and can find replacements.

That, however, isn't foolproof because there are some refs who continue to renew their license but have stopped doing games according to IHSAA Commissioner Blake Ress.

Sometimes proper notice isn't given. Officials move, get sick, have loved ones who get sick or switch jobs.

Basically life can really get in the way over five years.

So how do you avoid a situation like Valley's where a game has to be postponed?

It's a real inconvenience to players, coaches and fans. Schedules and plans need to be reworked or broken.

Well, to be honest, I don't see a way to remedy the problem completely.

After finding out how the whole process works, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

If someone wants to be an official, they have to pass a written test through the IHSAA.

After passing the test and getting licensed, officials have to work their way up through freshmen and junior varsity contests to gain enough experience and a good enough reputation to get the higher-paying varsity contests.

Officials usually are farmed out from regional officials associations, which serve as a conduit for a school's athletic director and the officials.

The situation can get hairy when you're a rural school like Valley or Whitko. The pool to choose from is smaller.

Schools are also dealing with people, who for the most part, work full-time. Now a good chunk of officials are police officers, lawyers and professionals that have jobs with schedules conducive to working ballgames but being a ref isn't their job.

You can make some money being an official but not enough to where you'll be packing your whistle and uniform into a Louis Vuitton bag.

There also appears to be a slight shortage of new referees. I was talking to IHSAA official and observer Marvin Davis Friday afternoon and he said four people took the test to become a football official in the Kokomo region. A town with a thousand stoplights should have more than four people applying to become football officials.

I'm not saying this is a rampant problem with officials not showing up. I also realize, like being a sportswriter, being a ref is a pretty thankless job.

There are about 7,500 officials that cover all high school athletics in Indiana. Some are just licensed in football or soccer while others are licensed in several.

Basketball and football have an easier time finding refs than soccer or gymnastics do.

The margin of error athletic directors have to operate within in terms of getting officials is a slim one.

Officials, especially in non-revenue sports like soccer and gymnastics, can be spread thin at times.

Maybe the IHSAA should take a more active role in watching over officials but then it becomes micromanagement at its worst.

I think Wawasee's athletic director Mary Hurley said it best.

"There's always room for improvement. It's all about personal integrity."

Unfortunately, you can't police personal integrity.

I know I have a tendency to compare the officiating of high school games to pro games.

I have to remind myself the quality isn't going to be the same.

That's just the way it is.

So next time you're sitting in the stands on a Friday night and can't believe that bonehead call the umpire just made, sit back, take a deep breath and say what Woody Allen once said, "90 percent of life is just showing up." [[In-content Ad]]