Until recently, the schedule for basketball officials had what we are calling a “seven-person crew” set to referee an upcoming high school game in Southwestern Montana.

It would have been some sort of record for the Butte pool of the Montana Officials Association, breaking what is believed to be the previous record of a “six-person crew” from earlier in the season.

No, the schedule did not call for more than the customary three licensed MOA officials for the varsity game. But all three of the officials are pregnant women and due to give birth this spring. One of those officials is carrying twins.

So, there would have been seven beating hearts moving up and down the court, all to make it possible for your children and grandchildren to be able to play a high school basketball game.

Unfortunately, the referee closest to her due date had to back out of the game, but we will still have a “six-person crew” since the referee carrying twins is still scheduled.

That all three were still on the schedule just a hand full of days before the game, however, tells us about the toughness and dedication showcased by these three remarkable young women.

They are certainly making some of us men who have turned back game assignments because of soft-tissue injuries feel like complete wimps.

The three pregnant women were not scheduled as a gimmick or to garner some publicity. They were not scheduled as any kind of joke.

No, they are scheduled because we desperately need officials.

The scheduling of the very pregnant women to referee a high school basketball game highlights the severe shortage of officials that we feel in Montana and around the country.

Sadly, we really are not far from the day that we will see games canceled because of a lack of game officials.

On Saturday, we almost had to do just that. We did not have enough officials to cover all the games on the schedule for the Butte pool. Luckily, the Dillon pool had enough officials to cover our two games that day in Sheridan.

On that one day, our coverage included four games at Butte High, three games at Butte Central, five games in Anaconda and six games in Boulder. We have days just as busy coming up on the schedule, too.

To make matters worse, we had nine officials who could not work on that busy Saturday, for various reasons. One official worked two games in Boulder, even though she was feeling so sick that she could hardly stand up.

That came after our weekly Monday study club meeting when our scheduling crew looked more stressed out than Jerry Seinfeld when he traded apartments with Kramer in the Kenny Rogers Roasters episode. We could not even joke about having to miss Saturday.  

The Butte pool is hardly alone in being stretched so thin. Just about every pool around the state and across the country is facing the same stress.

Two days before our busy Saturday, we had a mix of Butte and Helena officials work games in Boulder. The Helena pool has escaped the pregnancy epidemic, but it could not escape the injury bug.

Even before the injuries and pregnancies, our official pools barely had enough refs to cover all the games. Most of us have been overworked, and hardly any of us are pain free at this point in the season.

Since I am available to work games early in the day, I have practically lived in my official uniform this season. One stretch saw me work eight of nine days. Including four junior high games on a Sunday, I refereed 17 total games in that span.

That might not seem like a lot to some of those college-age officials who work all day every day of those travel tournaments. But, at 50, I feel like Brett Favre after his brutal 2009 season with the Minnesota Vikings. Everything hurts, and it hurts all the time.

So, if it looks like I’m sore as I shuffle up and down the court, it is because I am.

This is my third year as an MOA official. After years of writing columns to encourage others to become officials — in any sport — I was talked into trying it myself.

The only thing I was equipped with was some very thick skin and a love of basketball. I have loved the sport ever since I first watched television and saw Larry Bird play for the Celtics.

Growing up, my heroes were high school basketball players.

I wasn’t good enough to play varsity high school basketball. I might be the only person to ever get cut from the Butte High and Butte Central basketball programs.

Officiating, though, just enhanced my love for the sport. You get a better vantage point than anyone on the benches or in the crowd, and the coaches cannot take you out of the games — no matter how badly they might want to.

Officiating is a blast. It is especially fun when you get a close game. Even though you might be tired, you hate to see the game come to an end. The same could be said for the season.

Refereeing also makes me want to watch hoops more when I’m lounging on my couch, trying to recover from the latest round of back-to-back games. Many nights I find myself watching college games between teams I have zero rooting interest in.

I also watch tons of videos of officials making correct and incorrect calls, trying to become a better official. I even watch video of my own games, even though it is tough to watch.

I run like Mose Schrute, only not nearly as fast.

Refereeing high school hoops has made me look forward to March Madness again. When I worked as a full-time sportswriter, I was always so sick of basketball by the time the high school season ended. So, I hardly ever watched the NCAA Tournament over the last 25 years.

Hopefully, more people will join our official pool, and soon. If you live outside our area, hopefully you will join your local pool.

Judging by the number of times we hear, “travel,” “3 seconds” and “that’s over and back” at every single game, we clearly do not suffer from a lack of people who know the rules. Or at least people who think they know the rules and aren’t afraid to make a call from up above.

Our pool is aging faster than the line for an early-bird special in Miami. We are in serious need for some new officials, especially officials who are on the right side of 50.

While I don’t know many referees who do it for the money, the money is not bad. It has to beat working in the service industry as a second job. Since you have a say in which games you take, the hours are somewhat flexible.

That makes it perfect for a side hustle to help you afford the high price of eggs.

So, think about joining our pool. Send me an email or hit me up on social media, and I will tell you when and where our study club meets on Mondays. You can start coming now to get ready for next season.

If you think you cannot do it, you are probably wrong. If you are tough enough to post something political on Facebook, then you have thick enough skin to handle the criticism.

If can jog — and sometimes slowly sprint — up and down the court, then you have the physical ability to pull it off.

If I can do it after years of marathon training wearing out my hips and lower back, then you probably do it, too.

Seriously, just about any excuse you might think of was thrown right out the window the second our “seven-person crew” went on the schedule. Your excuse is still gone now that the crew is down to six.

Unless, that is, you are pregnant with triplets.

 — Bill Foley, who only looks like he’s pregnant with triplets, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.