Wore my new Red long sleeves today. I left my SS at home as it was 50F (10C) and windy. First time with my new unis. My crew mates both had SS over a long black shirt. Oh well. The center wore black track pants and the other AR wore shorts. I decided on warmth and wore pants. We had lots of back-up. On the sidelines, we had an assessor and an in-uniform policeman. Both were rooting for their sons.
Its almost like I have seen more pinstripes this year... I am talking Yellow short sleeve. The last one was a 15-year old kid. That's just unnecessary!
I think the unfortunate reality is that many younger/newer referees get duped into buying someone's hand me downs because they get told they will sell them at a discount. When the reality is the more veteran official is looking for a quick way to mitigate their costs.
Our trainers told us all to just buy new shirts from OSi or Score. Buy the economy ones and when you make some money you can upgrade. The problem with this is that until recently Score didn't even have anything available and OSI is seriously sold out. If I were a kid with little or no money, I'd buy the cheapest used thing I could find and use it until I made some dosh and shirts became available. For new kids, it's actually kind of perfect, they can get used shirts for extremely cheap, and they can use them for a year and change. Getting certified, uniform, flags, whistles etc... is expensive, so cheap unis is a plus. Our local leagues don't care if refs mix and match, as long as it's the same ancestral line of design. Our H.S. association wants the old style uniforms because they're in a big fight with USSF (I think it's them) for some reason.
I don't think I have ever met a coach who cared about uniform styles, at certain high level tournaments (IE Dallas cup and Disney) the referees will actually wear completely different style kits. Usually americans wearing standard USSF and non us refs wearing Adidas kits, there are other manufacturers though being represented by the referees. Colors will be matched as close as possible.
But the hand me downs are good through the end of next year, by which time that 15 year old, statistically, will have had enough of refereeing.
Then let THEM sell their new jerseys to recoup their losses for trying a new hobby. Not the guy that has been working higher levels and making more money but doesn't want to spend it.
I'm saying if a new ref gives up the hobby then let them have bought the new style and sell it to recoup their costs rather than a veteran sell them some cheap hand me down they are stuck with. More veteran referees are generally making more money anyway so the hit for new jerseys shouldn't be as big on them as the brand new official that has to start from scratch. At least then we are adding more new uniforms into the system rather than keepers no the old ones around longer.
Basic economics, lower initial cost to get into something, the more people who are going to get into it. Old uniforms can be found for free or extremely cheap. Additionally you wouldn't buy a new car drive it awhile with the plan to just sell it if you don't like it. A frugally smart person is going to buy used.
Apples and oranges with the car analogy. Cars are notoriously inconsistent with regard to their depreciation compared to other assets. Regardless, people aren't going to buy used if you are upfront with them and say in a year you have to trash it and get the new one anyway. And what new business owners have you talked to that tell you startup costs are lower than maintenance costs? Moral of the story is if you are selling your old stuff without full disclosure and for any more than $10 you aren't doing it out of the goodness of your heart.
Not my place to tell people how much they charge for their old uniforms. I gave mine away for free, but what other people do with their stuff is up to them. I own my own business, different products can have a range of maintenance cost. Very few start-ups can afford to buy only brand new stuff, your business must have a sustainable business model. You have to weigh the pros and cons. For uniforms and entry level referees there aren't any real cons other than some uptight people looking down on you. There is over 90 percent turnover rate with new referees, additionally the games they will be doing most of the time just need a warm body to fill the position.
While the referee turnover stuff is true my biggest point is that by selling old uniforms to the new referees we only further the cycle of never getting rid of them. They sell starter kits for a reason. Because you get all the updated equipment for a reasonable price and it will stay current longer. Lets face it, it's rarely the new referees that are too stubborn to get with program and update their uniforms. It's the ref that has been doing this so long his uniforms are all pastel colored now from the sun.
The starter kits are junk in my opinion. Ineffective pea whistles, record books that will battery last a season, ref bags that fall apart after a season.
It's not just veterans dumping old shirts. Last time I looked (been a few weeks), several of the suppliers are still selling the pinstripes and still listing the wider stripes as the "new" jersey. Whether getting from a veteran or from a vendor, it's not nuts for the newbie ref who doesn't know if he really wants to do it to buy the cheapest shirt he can that is permissible -- which this year is the old style (whether from a vet or from a site dumping its inventory).
The Connecticut State Referee Committee has ban the old pinstripe jerseys and three stripe socks. Maybe more states should do the same.
In the last six months I came across a web site selling the black shirts with white collars and cuffs as soccer referee jerseys. Only ~20 years out of date.
My local club referee coordinator said No pin stripes, but 2 stripe or 3 stripe socks should match for a crew.
Hmm. The pinstripe jersey has been out of uniform for several years. But as far as I know, the three stripe is equally in uniform to the two stripe -- around here I have rarely seen the two stripe. (Someone in Connecticut getting a kickback from Nike? )
By USSF policy, the uniform for referees is established by the USSF National Board of Directors, not the national referee committee, state referee committees or local assignors.
I can see both sides. The biggest issue is that there were ZERO new style uniforms available for the start of the current season/session. If my 13-year-old twins didn't have an awesome Dad who is reffing with them, they'd have been left in the lurch with only old style uniforms available. A lot of kids also don't have the money up front for the new stuff. I see it as win-win. A vert gets a few bucks for something that's still useful and gets to help a new ref (usually a kid) get started so they can save for the new stuff. Obviously, not everyone is 13 with little cash to spend, but it was the majority of my class. Honestly, I think if OSI/Score had their gear available and in good supply it would even be an issue.