Have to agree with the OP. Here in Ontario the annual registration fee is $80. You don't get an annual badge any more, you don't get an annual id card any more, and apparently LOTG packages are no longer being mailed to referees - they must be picked up at a district office - 200km/125miles from my residence. No recert test either. Wait, what am I getting for my annual $80??? A couple of bucks worth of liability and 'second payer' accident insurance? If only this were true. The last time I waded through the auditor's report from an annual meeting, "referee development" (a catchall - there is no breakdown of referee registration fees vs course fees vs assessments) was a profitable line item netting over 20%. Small town, limited games (115km/70miles to next nearest), and low pay means that $80 takes a significant chunk of earnings. I lost two good young referees this year because they/their parents balked at the expense of taking yet another course vs the season's earnings. (Mini Referee vs Entry Level Referee - a rant for another day). I still do it because I love it, but I think I'm allowed to be pissed off considering I keep getting less for an increasing annual registration fee.
In New Jersey, it was about $50 last year as they have the expenditure of renting out the room at the hotel.
In BC, the recert clinic (3 hours and includes a fitness test) is free and you are given a Law book upon completion. However we have a yearly registration fee of $54.25. A new badge costs $10
Remember, the "profit" doesn't mean the instructor is walking away with that 20%, it just means that the SRC now has some extra money (I'm speaking from what I know in the US, with the states I have privy to). The debate around it being too much for a recreational referee is certainly a valid one. I know in my state, we've taken steps to have a reduced fee for those referees who maybe only do youth (Grade 9). In fact, we wave the course fee for Grade 9 clinics altogether (it's usually either covered by the SRC or a local league). I am still of the position that for those who do this regularly, it is not a heavy burden.
Going to weigh in here from the standpoint of a non-SRA admin... First off, states with lower fees likely have lower fees because there is very little compensation going on with the SRC members. Which is how it is supposed to be. USSF's fee for Grade 8 officials is $40, so anything collected beyond that is typically some sort of state-added fee for state operating costs. Mind you, that $40 is split between USSF and the state, so USSF keeps $20, $20 goes back to your state. As an example, MN charges a $20 state fee on top of the $40... nowhere near you folks in NC (or, from what I hear, E-NY and FL). What I think you will find is that, generally (and I mean that in the broadest sense of the word) states that collect SA fees tend to have more SRC-funded developmental programs. They also tend to have far better continuity in their SRC. Because I'll tell you right now, being an SRA is WAY too much work to do for free. If you don't believe me, ask Law5 (and I have no idea if OR collects a state fee or if Law5 is compensated for the undoubtedly huge amount of time he puts into his position). Compensation for SRAs is often an end-run on the definition of the position as "voluntary." For example, an SRA might hire a spouse to run the SRC office, but the two of them work together to operate the office. And I am sure claims of nepotism and anger about such a practice might abound, but again, if anybody had remotely any idea the kid of crap somebody has to put up with as an SRA, you would back off on those complaints pretty quick. Other ways those state funds get spent include travel budgets for regional tournaments, developmental programs, operating costs for assessments and clinics and referee academies. So here's the counter argument to collecting money for those: why do a select few of upper tier officials gain access to those funds (for trips to Regionals, Dallas Cup, etc.) when everybody pays them? There's a reasonable and a not-so-reasonable answer to that question. The not-so-reasonable answer is that you're right. It's crap that I pay an extra $20 a year in SA fees and a small group of 50-80 referees are the ones who benefit from them by getting a free plane ticket to beautiful Saginaw, MI in June or Dallas in April. But the reasonable and absolutely legitimate counter to that is that those people who get those benefits do so because they have worked their tail off, invested their time and efforts to make themselves better, deserve the support of their state association, and (ultimately) return to the state and serve as mentors, assessors, instructors, etc. to help others improve. Access to these experiences, to the assignment pool for PDL/USL/NASL/MLS brings something back for everybody in the state. Potentially, anyway. So how does one gain access to that state money in states that have higher fees? By chasing it. Ask to get involved in referee academies, State Cup, etc. Bug your SRA or LAC about getting DA games. Find out how you can get to USYSA, USASA regionals, the Armed Forces Cup or Veteran's Cup. If you don't that doesn't mean people like me sit around and bemoan the "masses" that constantly complain about rising registration costs. Believe me, I can see the frustration with it. And I know in some states, these opportunities aren't there. But then again, if you are happy to be a simple grade 8, work HS games in the non-USSF season, handle youth games otherwise, well, this is not the only place where your fees go to support a small population of elite in the same field. Alas, that's how capitalism works. But if those opportunities are present, you have to go after them. You can't just expect to be noticed, you have to make yourself be noticed. You have to be humble enough to take feedback and constantly improve yourself, and never believe you know more than anybody else. After spending the last 3 years in instructional development, what I have learned is that for the grand population of officials, most people just want a rubber stamp on their certification so they can go out and do games. They don't really care if they learn something in their recert class or if they get mentored. They ignore 90% of what they are told in classes. Believe me, I have tried, and I have reached the end of my rope with trying to improve the greater referee population. (And before anybody gets defensive here, my guess is any referee on the BS message boards does NOT fall into this rather large group of people. The fact that you surf referee message boards is indication enough that you care about being a better referee.) My personal feeling is that it's the job of the SRC to provide many different types of programs designed to help referees improve and make those programs available to anybody who is willing to devote the time and energy to using them. If MN is to provide a referee academy program, there have to be levels within that program so that a beginner might participate just as much as a state 6 with national aspirations. Now those state fees are truly available to all. But it's not the SRC's job to try to drag all 1000-10,000 referees in their state to a higher level. I have about 35 instructors at my disposal, the SDA has about 25 assessors (only 10 of whom are state level or higher), and we have 4000 referees in MN. I'm sorry, but if 3000 of them don't care if they have to wear their socks up, there are not enough of me to go around and fix it. Even if there were, we have too many games to staff, so the slackers will get games regardless of how I feel about it. So ultimately, I have one recommendation for those of you who think you pay a lot of registration fees: challenge your SRC to provide opportunities with those funds to help you improve, and then take advantage of it. I'll be very honest, I do not see those fees decreasing anytime in the near future. You might as well start working as hard as possible to take advantage of the programs those fees fund. (And if your state's SRC is corrupt, well, sorry )
Go to http://www.guidestar.org/Home.aspx. Find your state's Form 990, which is an IRS form that non-profits are required to file each year, and take a look at your financials. Once you know where the money is coming from and going to, you can decide if the $90 fee is out of line. I agree the fee is high for the casual or youth referee.
vetshak, that was one of the most accurate rants/vents I've ever seen! I'm from a smaller state, smaller instruction staff, smaller ref population, but yes, MANY don't care, they'd be happy with a rubber stamp each year for annual training, they just don't care. Our SRC has now started a formal mentor program open to EVERY ref in the state, but they have to sign up for it, we'll see how many take that initial trivial first step of sending email to the SDI/SRA. There's no way in hell you'd get me to be the SRA or SYRA. No thanks!
I agree. I'd write more, but I'm about to leave for a SRC board meeting. And, just for the record, I am not paid in any way shape or form for what I do as SRA. We have three part time (very part) people who do the paperwork stuff, none of them referees, past or present. Entering registrations and dealing with the people who don't do it the easy way (e.g. forgetting to sign the form, not marking the criminal conviction question, etc.) taking care of those who don't end up with a book, card and badge for whatever reason, scheduling, staffing and supplying clinics, entry level or otherwise, etc. is way too much work for anyone to be doing without pay. In my experience, once you get over 1,000 referees, you must have paid help. Otherwise, you burn out your volunteers and the chumps who do volunteer don't know what they're doing, so things get screwed up, people don't like you and it goes down hill from there. I know a guy who became SRA in another state only to discover that he simply didn't have the time to answer phone calls, do all the paperwork himself, etc. He lasted three months. No wonder some SRA positions end up vacant for months and sometimes even years.
I don't think there's enough beer in the world to get him to do it. I know there isn't enough vodka to get me to do it. Hell, just doing HOD duties at regionals, president's cup, and the ODP tourney is enough to guarantee I would never ever take the SYRA job.