Part I Editor's Conclusion

Part I sets the foundation for understanding the management of sports officials. In this chapter, we highlight some of the key findings and contributions from Part I. One key finding is the critical role officials play within sports (without them, competitive sports would not exist), yet our understanding of officials is lacking. Another important contribution is the need to effectively manage sports officials, which includes recruitment, retention, and competition assignments. Unfortunately, many Officiating Coordinators are not qualified or trained on how to effectively execute such tasks. The third important—though not surprising—highlight is the lack of qualified sports officials worldwide. Based on the chapters, we offer three recommendations that ought to aid sports officiating organizations in managing the officiating workforce.