Ohio facing shortage of sports officials

The Ohio High School Athletic Association is reporting that their organization is down nearly 800 officials compared to last school year.

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Statistics from the OHSAA going back to the 2010-2011 school year shows a significant decline from 16,600 officials in 2010 to 14,000 now.

Football, basketball and baseball official numbers have seen significant drops since 2010. Additionally, baseball has seen a reduction of more than 1200 officials since 2011.

In a 2017 survey poor sportsmanship and mistreatment was the top reason for officials calling it quits.

If you are interested in becoming a high school official for any sport you can visit officials.myohsaa.org and browse certification classes in your area.