FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Basketball Officiating 101
HOW DO YOU I BECOME A BASKETBALL OFFICIAL?
If you are reading this, you are almost there. The next step is simply contact us. We are always looking for new officials, and you could be the next great official to join our officiating family.
WHAT LEVEL OF GAMES WOULD I WORK?
New officials will start out working middle school (7th/8th) grade games with another partner which we call 2-person mechanics. As you gain experience you will have the opportunity to work high school freshman (c-team) games and eventually JV and Varsity level games. High school games are typically worked as 3-person mechanics which means you will have 2 other partners working the game with you.
WHERE WOULD I OFFICIATE?
Games officiated by SCBBO are typically all located within Snohomish County, Washington. We do games as north as Stanwood, WA, as far east as Sultan, WA, as far south as Kings High School in Shoreline, and as far west as South Whidbey High School on Whidbey Island.
During post season play our officials will get the opportunity to work in other regions. Occasionally during regular season play we loan officials to neighboring associations to help with officiating shortages.
HOW MUCH DO I GET PAID?
Officials are paid from the WOA for middle and high school games within 48 hours of a game being completed. We use an assigning software to schedule games and pay officials so you will be required to have internet access.
HOW DO I GET TRAINED?
As a new official you will become part of our Apprentice training program. Apprentice classes begin in October and run 4-6 weeks to get new and returning officials ready to begin officiating middle schools games that start in November. The good news is we will help you though the entire process so you can hit the floor running.
WHEN DO THE SEASONS START/END?
Basketball games for middle school boys begin around the first week of October. Middle school girls begin around the last week of February or first week of march. Both run for about six weeks.
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High school basketball begins the first week of December and runs through the first/second week of February. Playoffs (District/State Tournaments) begin following the season and typically wrap up the first week of March.