Some people believe sports officials are a necessary evil. And then they go out and act on that belief. Others believe that the best-officiated game is when you don't even know the refs are there. And then they go out and act on that belief. Still others believe the health and well-being of our games depends mightily on having men, women and young people competent as officials but also enthusiastic about the experience. They want to act on that belief but don't know where to turn.

Without doubt, the lion's share of attention on officiating focuses on the correct or incorrect calls officials make. In our culture, we search for truth with a capital "T" in all aspects of our professional and personal lives, and sports is far from exempt from such inquiry. In fact, I make the case that since sports is simply "life with the volume turned up," we should not be surprised of the need and sometimes the obsession to make sure all the calls are the right ones. Then, God forbid, if an official makes a bona fide mistake, many believe that official needs to be punished and done so publicly.

Most college-level games are broadcast on cable or network television and just about all of them are videotaped for later review. Video and digital technology in the right hands are wonderful tools for training and evaluating officiating performance. The upshot is, today it is impossible to work a game and not have the folks know "you were there."

Under the regime of negative scrutiny in which sports officials now find themselves, it should not be surprising to learn there is a growing shortage of officials, both in the quantitative sense and in the qualitative sense. Overlay that with the sobering reality of the steadily increasing number of assaults against officials and the concern should grow. In our minds, the problem is of such magnitude that the annual NASO national conference in June 2001 in Norfolk, Virginia, has as its theme the recruiting and retention of officials. The entire three-day conference will focus on the ways and means to expand the pool of competent officials.

Organized sports desperately needs more caring and competent individuals to don the black-and-white shirt. So, one needs to ask about the reasons why someone would willingly accept

and carry out an officiating assignment.

Officials are compensated for their efforts in two ways: monetary income and "psychological income." In the amateur ranks, including collegiate contests, the men, women and young people who officiate do not do it because of the money. At the high school, recreational and youth levels, most certainly the officials do not work games for the money. That leaves psychological income as the remaining source of compensation. With each passing year it has had to make up a larger and larger share of the officiating compensation pie. Strangely, though, while organized sports keeps purse strings tight with respect to compensation for officials, it has paid little attention to the psychological income potential that exists.

The epidemic of bad behavior we now witness at sporting events far and wide clearly is not a good marketing campaign to lure sane people into officiating. The lack of support for officials is also of epidemic proportion, in my opinion. At the same time it must be said that excellence in officiating is rather poorly defined and, hence, poorly rewarded.

Organized sports seems ambivalent about what it wants from us. We are asked to enforce the rulebook but then quickly exhorted to not be too technical. We are asked to accept criticism in the media by coaches and administrators while at the same time enduring the gag rule imposed on virtually all of us. We are asked during the game to act as a "coach" to the young players but then accused of favoritism by the opposing side. What do you want us to do?

In order to solve those problems, sports administrators can do a few things:

Declare what you expect officials to do and who you expect them to be. When they meet those expectations, recognize and reward them.

Accept and embrace the principle that a key outcome of any game or match is character building for the participants and that officials play a significant role in that construction.

Publicly support officiating as being not only a necessary but a noble undertaking, one that builds lifetime skills that we as a society highly prize.

Not only utter words of support for officials, lobby on their behalf for better game fees while at the same time ensuring that they have the best and safest working conditions that can be reasonably provided.

Support current state legislative initiatives that call for severe penalties for anyone who assaults an official.

Resist the urge to use the media to vent negative feelings about officiating performance. Use those instances to serve as a beacon of civility, especially in those infrequent cases when officials have in fact made an error.

Urge athletes to go into officiating as a logical continuation of their playing days.

Spearhead efforts to provide forums through which officials can share their perspectives with participants, coaches and fans.

Yes, we desperately need more refs -- you need them, too. But there is hope. Candidates are out there, but they are smart enough to stay out of harm's way until they receive signals they are wanted and valued and that they will be properly compensated and protected as they carry out what we as a society have asked of them.

Barry Mano is the president of the National Association of Sports Officials.