Some ISU students are blowing the whistle on intramural sports at Iowa State.

The Department of Recreation Services is looking for student referees for spring intramural sports. Randy Heimerman, personal coordinator for intramurals, said the referees build conflict resolution skills through their work, as well as the ability to make split-second decisions.

“Reffing also teaches time management like any other job would,” Heimerman said. “In some cases, students can work 10 to 12 hours a week at different games.”

Linda Marticke, intramural coordinator, said training is simple for most activities. However, some sports, such as wrestling and hockey, take more than just training. Students have to be experienced in the sport and its rules.

To get started, beginning referees need to be trained to know where to stand and when to blow the whistle, as well as other general rules of the games. In some cases, directors will call teams to form a practice game for new referees to train.

Scott Koch, senior in marketing, has been officiating basketball games and events since his freshman year at Iowa State. He said students should be aware of the psychological sides of the games as well.

“You have to be confident in yourself because you get a lot of crap. I know that I am never going to make all the right calls all the time,” Koch said.

Having experience in the specific sport also helps, but it is not required. The more rules and skills in the sport, the more important prior experience is.

“I played basketball in high school, and I know how the players feel. I know that after the game, it’s really not going to matter,” Koch said. “It’s too easy if it’s not an exciting game.”

Starting out at the intramural level can lead to bigger assignments in the future, Marticke said.

“Some who started out here are now doing part-time reffing at area high schools,” Marticke said.

Besides ISU intramural sports, Koch has been a referee for middle school and high school basketball games around the Des Moines area and many events for the Ames Park and Rec.

For students who like to be involved in sports, there are many benefits to refereeing, Marticke said.

“The benefits of reffing are that students get to be involved in and be around sports all the time. It is a fun way to meet people with the same interests,” she said.

Heimerman agreed that meeting people is a great benefit of refereeing.

“I think some of the benefits of being involved with intramural sports are the friendships that are made over the course of a season,” Heimerman said. “The best part is you have a front-row seat for games.”

Marticke said another benefit is the pay. Most referees are paid above minimum wage at $5.75 to $6 a game. Sports that require extra training pay more.

Koch said he has met many people through his experience refereeing area games and has found that some middle school and community activities pay more than $20 a game.

Both Heimerman and Koch said getting as much experience as possible in the referee field will help any beginner official.

“For someone starting out, understand that players and fans are going to yell and get upset with you,” Koch said. “Ask the veteran officials anything, to learn as much as you can.”

Referees for intramural hockey, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, broomball and softball will be needed this semester. Training sessions and games are starting soon. For more information, call 294-4980 or go to 2220 State Gym.