In response to South Dakota’s sports official shortage, the University of South Dakota has partnered with the South Dakota High School Activities Association to train more officials across the state.
With just a little over 1,600 officials in South Dakota, the state’s referee shortage continues to be a pressing issue, and with the existing pool of officials continuing to age, the Activities Association saw a need to get younger people involved in officiating. Recognizing a potential in college students, the Activities Association contacted USD, specifically the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management to collaborate on implementing training courses for students.
While this is the first college in the state to offer classes to train, it is happening at the high school level, specifically in Pierre. Steve Steele, the head football coach for the Governors and also the director of Hockey for the Oahe Capitals is teaching a “Fundamentals of Officiating Class” at Riggs High School. In the class you’re learning how to officiate all South Dakota high school sanctioned sports and Steele says it has been a success. He says they’ve had a lot of guest speakers come in which include licensed officials in the state…
Steele says this is good pathway to keep kids involved in athletics…
Steele says it’s good for everybody whether they come away liking the idea of officiating or knowing it’s not for them…
In the spring 2024 semester at USD, students across campus can enroll in two different two-credit, hybrid courses: officiating volleyball and officiating football. After completing the courses, students will have the opportunity to officiate real high school and club sports events, providing them practical, hands-on application of their training while allowing them to earn extra income. The end goal for both programs is to help eliminate the shortage of officials and help high school athletes and lower enjoy the games they play without the worry of finding officials.
