Referees reflect in the glasses of Allen Periman, a game official in Union County, during a high school football game between Cove and Enterprise in April 2021.

COVE — A shortage of game officials continues to be an issue as the curtain begins to drop on high school and middle school sports, but the Cove School District is taking steps to ensure officials will be on the field or court this season.

“We actually use high school students as officials for the middle school games,” Cove Athletic Director Brett Dunten said. “This has worked out great for Cove as the high school students make some money but, more importantly, learn how difficult being an official can really be.”

The program is so successful, according to Dunten, there is a waiting list for a chance to get on the court or field as a referee.

In addition to using high school officials, fifth grade students are used in games as the “chain gang” for the middle school football games, providing an opportunity to be on the field and earn a gift card for their efforts.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Oregon School Activities Association has seen a decrease in high school sports officials and referees every year except the most recent school year.

Last year, OSAA had just over 2,400 referees for seven sports and one activity. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, OSAA had over 3,300 officials.

Because of this difference, referees might have to do two games in one day, which isn’t normal if OSAA is fully staffed. Nationwide, 50,000 officials have dropped out, according to the National Federation of High Schools. This same organization reports the average age of a high school official now stands at approximately 53 years of age.

Oregon Athletic Officials Association Executive Director Jack Folliard told Medford TV station KDRV he hopes OSAA can make up some of that gap before the fall sports season starts.

“We’re down almost 900 officials. So, ideally, if we get back up to 3,300, that would be great,” he said.

“We know that’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to take a time.”

Dunten is motivated to make sure games in Cove go off as scheduled.

“For high school events, we have learned to be very proactive,” he said. “We had to move a few games around last year. This season, we are using the football jamboree as a training for new officials.”

Dunten also plans ahead for games in areas not flush with officials.

An upcoming football game involved meeting Myrtle Point in Burns, while on the same day, Powder Valley is playing Lost River, also in Burns.

“Cove and Powder Valley are taking officials to the games. We know the Burns area would be unable to supply referees,” Dunten said. “The Powder Valley athletic director and I will serve as backups in case of a problem.”

One issue Dunten said not receiving media attention is the lack of bus drivers to drive teams to away games.

“Last year saw games rescheduled due to transportation issues, not lack of officials,” he said. “I think Cove is more fortunate than many schools around the state as we have great drivers willing to make the extra effort.”

With numbers continuing to decline and officials aging, Dunten said now is the time to plan for the future. One area he sees as untapped is college students.

“I believe colleges should consider providing college credit to students willing to officiate games,” he said. “For college students, being an official is a great way to make some extra money.”