Thread by @wickychoo

Ok, so, my musings. I don't believe that leagues really understand what logistics their head officials/equivalents have to do in order to staff games or scrims #derbytwitter

Bearing in mind that often leagues cancel or change plans to suit the skaters, but officials are usually last to know about this. And they're normally a disparate group, not an actual team of people, like the skaters #derbytwitter

So, you're told about a game/scrim etc, (hopefully with more than a months notice) and you ask in your league for anyone who wants to officiate. You have maybe a handful of rookies/injured skaters who could NSO #derbytwitter

And you're often met with a barrage of: "oh I'm running the merch stall/door" etc. Or, my favourite, "I just want to watch". So maybe you have 2 willing NSOs (can't speak for refs here, not my wheelhouse)

So, you have 3 NSOs, short of 8. And you have to think, who can I hit up to help me? Who WOULD help me? Who do I know who can fill some of the key roles? What favours can I pull in? Because YES, networking is important

I don't think leagues know that staffing is very much a networking thing. That the goodwill and friendships officials develop incline us to help each other. We suffer the same issues with our leagues. That we have to make choices

Do we call in favours, knowing that an event might be cancelled and that favour is gone forever. Weighing up if it's worth it. Working out whether to ask that official that you maybe don't like, because am official is better than none

So we have to make all these minute decisions that rely on our own personal connections and networks to facilitate staffing a game for a league.
I mean, applications also exist, but are a bit much for a scrim or double header

Honestly I don't think most leagues have any clue that officials network like hell and consider future staffing needs when we go places. Often agreeing to work games for people if they work games for us. Putting ourselves and skills out to tender to help our leagues