Officiating Checklists: Essential Tools and Tips for New and Veteran Officials

A checklist is used to ensure that steps in a process are completed accurately, consistently, and in the correct sequence. We use them all the time in our daily life, whether we’re completing tasks at work, fixing something at home, or compiling information for a report. It makes sense, then, that we would use checklists regularly as part of officiating, both on and off the field. In this post, we’ll give you a couple of examples of both, and hopefully provide you with some ideas and tips about how you can develop checklists of your own that will enhance your officiating skills.

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Pregame Checklists

Packing your bag: While it arguably might be more of just a list, making a list of things to pack in your game day bag, in the order in which you want them to be packed, in the place where you want it to be packed, is the easiest way to make sure that you will always have everything you need for every game you call. Nothing will derail you on game day like forgetting compression gear, socks, or (worst case) your shoes - especially if you have especially large or small feet. While you can always hope that one of your crew members might have extra uniform pieces you can use, you can make your life easier (and ease your anxiety and your packing process) by making a checklist of what goes in your bag and where it goes, and following it to the letter.

Pregame meetings: We’ll talk more about pregame meetings in another post, but part of working a contest successfully is making sure that you take some time before the game to discuss rules, the teams in the contest, how to handle out-of-the-ordinary occurrences, and state and local points of emphasis. Most veteran officials have a physical checklist that they will go through before a contest, while others have memorized their pregame checklist. Often, when working multiple contests, you might only get a few minutes in between, so a pregame conversation might be significantly shorter depending on how much time you have. Each member of an officiating crew should be ready to contribute to the pregame discussion, regardless of their level of experience.

Some things that are generally included in a pregame conversation are:

• Discussion of that year’s rule changes and points of emphasis

• Discussion of points of emphasis discussed at recent meetings, or emailed out from state/local leadership

• Specific points pertaining to either team, players on either team, or either coach

• Out-of-the-ordinary plays from recent games

• What to do if something out of the ordinary occurs during the contest

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In-Contest Checklists

Checklists you use during a contest will be different that those you use prior to the contest, mostly because any checklist you use during a game will be mental. They are helpful in making sure that you fully officiate all aspects of mundane occurrences during contests, things that tend to get you into trouble if you aren’t paying attention as closely as you should.

These checklists will typically be much shorter, since they are addressing something that happens quickly and on multiple occasions during a contest, but they are invaluable, and can help you improve as an official when you create your own checklist to help you make a call correctly that you’ve been struggling with. As a football and basketball official, here are a couple of examples of checklists that I use every time I work:

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Prepared Officials Perform Better

I have used these checklists so many times that they are now second nature; I do them almost without thinking. I know many people who create mnemonic devices to help them remember checklists, and while I don’t do that, it is an extremely effective tool to help you remember a checklist that is going to help you improve your officiating.

As always, we’ll be posting regularly, and we hope you will find it informative, interesting, and most importantly, beneficial to you whether you are an official, an instructor using RefReps, or someone wanting to make sure kids in your community get to play games. If you have ideas for us, or would like to share anything, you can email us at hype@refreps.com.

We’re thankful for everyone who has joined us on this journey, and we’re excited to share more about our plans to train the next generation of GREAT sports officials.

If you’re looking to find out more about our team and experience, visit our About Us page. Until next time!