What Do Umpires, Referees, and Sports Officials Do?

Job Description: Officiate at competitive athletic or sporting events. Detect infractions of rules and decide penalties according to established regulations. Includes all sporting officials, referees, and competition judges.

List of Sports Official Job Duties

• Compile scores and other athletic records.
• Confer with other sporting officials, coaches, players, and facility managers in order to provide information, coordinate activities, and discuss problems.
• Verify credentials of participants in sporting events, and make other qualifying determinations such as starting order or handicap number.
• Direct participants to assigned areas such as starting blocks or penalty areas.
• Report to regulating organizations regarding sporting activities, complaints made, and actions taken or needed such as fines or other disciplinary actions.
• Inspect sporting equipment and/or examine participants in order to ensure compliance with event and safety regulations.

What a Sports Official Should Know

When polled, Umpires, Referees, and Sports Officials say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Types of Sports Official Jobs

• Scoreboard Operator
• Umpire
• Marshal
• Clerk of Scales
• Placing Judge

Job Outlook for Umpires, Referees, and Sports Officials

In the United States, there were 21,100 jobs for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials in 2016.

New jobs are being produced at a rate of 7.6% which is lower than average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,600 new jobs for Umpires, Referees, and Sports Officials by 2026. The BLS estimates 3,000 yearly job openings in this field per year.

The states with the most job growth for Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials are Colorado, Texas, and Florida.

Watch out if you plan on working in West Virginia, South Carolina, or Oklahoma. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Sports Official Salary

Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials Make between $18,220 and $59,240 a year. The median salary for this occupation is $27,020.

How much do Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials make in different U.S. states?

Annual Mean Salary by State

State	Annual Mean Salary
Massachusetts	$47,300
Kentucky	$46,930
Arizona	$42,170
Minnesota	$40,660
West Virginia	$40,450
New Hampshire	$40,220
New Jersey	$39,490
Washington	$39,130
Oklahoma	$37,870
Virginia	$37,390
Maryland	$36,980
Alaska	$36,900
North Carolina	$35,460
Illinois	$34,860
Texas	$34,750
Vermont	$34,400
Kansas	$34,160
Tennessee	$34,010
Missouri	$33,560
Rhode Island	$33,250
Colorado	$32,890
California	$32,780
Florida	$32,630
North Dakota	$32,370
Delaware	$30,960
Wisconsin	$30,860
Louisiana	$30,400
Pennsylvania	$29,750
Iowa	$29,250
South Dakota	$28,850
Ohio	$28,670
Michigan	$28,460
Oregon	$28,300
Nebraska	$27,730
Maine	$26,170
Mississippi	$25,930
New Mexico	$24,440
Georgia	$24,120
Idaho	$22,500
Montana	$22,160
Utah	$21,980
Alabama	$20,110

Where do Umpires, Referees, and Sports Officials Work?

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

College Factual

O*NET Online

Image Credit: Via Wikimedia Commons