CHSAA unveils plan to increase officials pay; Central alumn sets record

The proposal includes an increase in overall pay over three years beginning in the 2023-24 school year, according to a Thursday article on CHSAA’s website. The plan will increase pay by 48% by the third year. The front-loaded plan includes a 33% increase next year.

To accommodate the increase, CHSAA also approved an increase to school budgets for each sport. Those gradual inclines range from 40-60% per sport, according to the Officials’ Fees Committee Report.

CHSAA also approved an increase in reimbursement for travel miles. The first increase is by 10 cents to $0.50 per mile for travel more than 20 miles one way next school year, $0.55 per mile in 2024-25 and $0.60 per mile in 2025-26.

There’s a national shortage of high school sports officials and Colorado is no different.

People tend to leave the gig, which for many is a labor of love, because of low pay and behavior of spectators and coaches.

The CHSAA report addresses behavior under its “informational items” section, stating “Sporting Behavior is an issue that must be addressed by the school’s Administration/Game Management. Officials need to take care of the players and coaches on the playing area and Administration/Game Management needs to take care of the fan’s behavior.”

Cardenas breaks record

Central High School alumnus David Cardenas set an Adams State record on Saturday.

Cardenas completed the 800-meter run in 1 minute, 53.26 seconds at the Wes Lavong Open in Alamosa. That set a record at the ASU High Altitude Training Center by 0.29 seconds. The previous best was set in 2014.