[EricH]

Originally Posted by bdaroz

As a Rookie Mentor on a Rookie team I hesitate to wade into this, but I do have a question....

It seems clear between the 2015 and 2016 games the referees jobs have gotten clearly more difficult, mostly because of the number of things they must watch and keep track of now.

As to the question: Has the GDC increased the number of referees from 2015 to 2016 to handle this change?

I'll preface my response with: You should watch 2014. Referees everywhere breathed a sigh of relief when 2015 came out. I'd like to think 2012 and 2013 were somewhat easier than 2014 (didn't ref those two so I can't compare as well). 2016 is harder still due to sightlines.

But the answer to your question is both yes and no. Many events try to have one extra ref "on staff" so they can carry on with a full on-field crew if someone has to drop out, or more usually to give refs a break every so often. Some head refs would put that "extra" ref on-field for key matches like playoffs. That "extra" position is now an official one, and with a full crew can be manned and still have a ref taking a break.