Being an athlete is not the only way to experience the thrills of a sports game first-hand. Referees and sports officials usually spend more time in the field or in the arena than athletes themselves and are often just as instrumental to the outcome-and enjoyment-of a game. Pursuing a career in sports officiating requires a love of the sport, an eye for detail, and patience, among a host of other qualities. This exciting volume details the keys to...

"Good call or bad call, referees and umpires have always had the final say in sports. Bad calls are more visible: plays are televised backward and forward and in slow motion. New technologies -- the Hawk-Eye system used in tennis and cricket, for example, and the goal-line technology used in English football -- introduced to correct bad calls sometimes get it right and sometimes get it wrong, but always undermine the authority of referees and umpires....