Does your state use 5 or 6 man mechanics?

[GeorgiaBlue]

I am constantly amazed by the amount of states still using 5 man mechanics.  I see state championship games across the nation and see only 5 officials on the field.

Here in Georgia, we have been using 6 man for roughly ten years, and I see a need to go to 7 soon (I think the only thing holding us back is getting 7 paid).

What state are you in?  Do you use 5 or 6?  What holds your state back from going to 6?  Is it lack of officials?  Lack of pay?  Resistance to change?  Other?

[HLinNC]

NC is five man until the regional & state finals when we go to 7.  In the small area we service, there is no way we could work 6 or 7 man crews during the regular season unless there were a below average number of games.

[NorCalMike]

In California we use 5 man mechanics. It would be great to have 6 or 7 but the schools aren't going to pay for it.

[maven]

Ohio is 5 all the way through state finals.

[Rulesman]

In California we use 5 man mechanics. It would be great to have 6 or 7 but the schools aren't going to pay for it.

Arkansas...and what he said.

[TNofficial]

TN runs five man mechanics except for the last three rounds of the playoffs where we use seven man.  Regular season games can use seven if agreed between the local association and the home team.  Our association will only use seven if the home team is willing to pay for the two extra officials because it wouldn't be fair to the schools willing to pay us to provide seven to non-paying schools.  Other associations will occasionally run seven even without the extra pay just to get some reps at seven man mechanics before the playoffs. 

Many people seem to believe that TN will eventually move to seven man for all games based on safety issues.

[Atlanta Blue]

As GeorgiaBlue said, we have been 6 man for years (with rare exceptions).  With the way teams are faster, spreading the field and passing more, I don't see how 5 man can adequately cover the field anymore.  And on kicking plays, 5 man is at a HUGE disadvantage.  Schools weren't given a choice whether they wanted to pay for it or not, it was dictated, as was the price.  That's what it costs to have a game, deal with it, or play all road games.

Same with basketball, 2 man mechanics can't keep up with a Varsity game.  There is a huge advantage with 3, which we also went to years ago.  The only sport where we haven't kept up with progress is baseball, where almost all games until playoff time are still 2 man.

[Etref]

In Texas most regular season games are 5 man. Very few 7 man during the season, mainly due to numbers of officials and schools wanting to pay.

In playoffs,it is 5 man till the championships and then 7 man is an option given to the coaches. Many coaches do not want 7 man because they perceive there will be more fouls called.

[NorCalMike]

As GeorgiaBlue said, we have been 6 man for years (with rare exceptions).  With the way teams are faster, spreading the field and passing more, I don't see how 5 man can adequately cover the field anymore.  And on kicking plays, 5 man is at a HUGE disadvantage.  Schools weren't given a choice whether they wanted to pay for it or not, it was dictated, as was the price.  That's what it costs to have a game, deal with it, or play all road games.

AB,
Totally agree with what you say about kicking plays. With the NFHS Mechanics on free kicks, there is a lot of space that goes uncovered. And field goals and PATs as the U, I have between 10 and 18 players crashing into each other with no one else there to help cover.

[Magician]

In Indiana, individual crews contract directly with ADs.  Until a couple years ago some crews would form with 6 guys and schools would agree to either pay all 6 or pay for 5 and the crew would split it 5 ways.  When they got to the playoffs they could only work 5 so they knew going in who would be the odd man out.

The IHSAA issued a statement indicating only 5-man crews can be worked during the regular season.  One of the justifications was the schools complained about feeling pressured to pay for 6. They also claimed they don't teach 6-man mechanics.  Ironically they don't teach 5-man mechanics either since they don't do any teaching.  The football commissioner has also said he would prefer 7-man over 6-man.  The schools would probably push back for financial reasons, but I also know it likely won't happen until we recruit more officials.  We barely have enough to cover the first round of the tournament now so expanding to 6 or 7 for all crews would be a numbers issue.

[VALJ]

I don't think it's a state issue here in VA.  Our association uses 7-man crews for the largest schools (with whom we've been able to negotiate it), and 5 man crews out in the country (where so far they've been unwilling to pay for 7).  The country schools seem (from a non-board member position) to be unwilling to pay both the game fee and the travel stipend for the 2 extra officials. 

Playoff time, it's 7 all the way for any games that we assign.  I think that the state does mandate 7 for the playoffs.

[Ralph Damren]

In Maine, during regular season the majority of schools use 5 for varsity. There are still several schools that only use 4 and all schools only use 3 for sub-varsity. Once into postseason, 5 - man is mandated with 7 used in the state championship. In the state championship games, board officials are also hired for : DMG (downs marker guy - gender neutral), LPM (left poleman), RPM (right poleman), CM (clip man), OT (official timer) and TAA (timer's able assistant).

[Rulesman]

In Maine, during regular season the majority of schools use 5 for varsity. There are still several schools that only use 4 and all schools only use 3 for sub-varsity. Once into postseason, 5 - man is mandated with 7 used in the state championship.

I have a hard time understanding how a 7-man crew can be effective for one game when it has not been used all season long. It's not like you can learn the keys and mechanics with a snap of the fingers.

[ALStripes17]

Alabama

Almost all games are 5-man from Junior High up through Varsity (some JH games run 4 man)

In regards to playoffs, we use 7-man for all five rounds -  EXCEPTION: in the first round, both teams can mutually agree to use a 5-man crew.

7-man mechanics are hit heavily at district and state camps at the beginning of the season.

We also have Thursday night games here in Central Alabama (played in Cramton Bowl) that use 7-man mechanics every week of the season, both for individuals to get on-field, as well as for others to watch and "take notes."

[stevestod]

In Vermont we use 5 man Varsity,  6 man in Semis and Finals, 4 man in JV and Frosh.  The schools will not pay for 6 man for the season.  Does any state pay for mileage? We get paid one way for JV and Frosh games and both ways for Varsity.  The mileage is shared by all schools that play football (34 schools).

[FLAHL]

In FL, we have 5 man for the regular season and the first week of playoffs.  We go to 7 man for the 2nd round of the playoffs through the state championship games.  It would be great to have 7 (or even 6) for all games, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

[Ralph Damren]

I have a hard time understanding how a 7-man crew can be effective for one game when it has not been used all season long. It's not like you can learn the keys and mechanics with a snap of the fingers.

We've used 7-man for the last 3 years and found it  easier then that of 6 man state crews that we had been using for the prior 15 years. We supply all the officials involved with 7 man mechanics manual a week in advance and tell them to expect an extra long pregame. The problem we discovered in going from 5 to 6 and now 7, is keeping the line wings awake / focused /active after the ball has gone into deep wing territory.

[Ralph Damren]

In Vermont we use 5 man Varsity,  6 man in Semis and Finals, 4 man in JV and Frosh.  The schools will not pay for 6 man for the season.  Does any state pay for mileage? We get paid one way for JV and Frosh games and both ways for Varsity.  The mileage is shared by all schools that play football (34 schools).

In Maine, we receive up to two mileages per game, as some officials may be coming in different directions. We get the rate declared by the state for it's employees ($ 0.46/mile this year) up to 100 miles round trip and half thereafter. The home school is responsible up to the state championship where the state pays. Factors in considering who gets mileage : (1) Are you the referee? (2) Are you leaving from a common meeting point? (3) Does your car hold 5 - possibly  broad beamed  zebras ?, (4) Do you enjoy /supply a enjoyable "post game review" on the trip home?

[Rulesman]

The problem we discovered in going from 5 to 6 and now 7, is keeping the line wings awake / focused /active after the ball has gone into deep wing territory.

To my point exactly. Nothing replaces the actual experience on the field. You can't learn this stuff - and do it right - when all you have is a book and a week to read it. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for 7 man, but unless you are using it all year long you are putting the officials in a tough spot. They're spending most of the game trying to figure out where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to be looking at, instead of doing what they're being paid to do.

[GeorgiaBlue]

Going from 5 to 7 for playoffs seems like going from 8 man football to 11 man football in the playoffs.  Seems like everything is new and the quality of the officiating would suffer.  Granted, I'd rather see 7 man in a state final than 4, but it seems odd that it becomes a standard.

FWIW, I also abhor MLB utilizing extra umpires in playoffs.  To that end, I also despise instant replay (that's another thread.....)

[bossman72]

PA

We use 6 man for regular season.  I think some of the rural areas of the state only use 5.  We go to 7 man for the district championship game and throughout the rest of the state playoffs (3 more games after that).

Honestly, 6 man is awesome.  The only part where 5 man might be a little better is with 6 man, you don't get a look at the deep middle pass.  But really, how often do you see deep middle passes in high school?

The jump from 5 to 6 isn't bad.  The old timers will have to break some of their habits and there will be a learning curve, but there are no circumstances in 6 man where you have to leave an area of the field "exposed" like you do in 5 man (see punts, field goals, kickoffs).

[Ralph Damren]

Granted our 7 in the state games are not as smooth as the crews in NCAA, be we feel the extra sets of eyes gives us stronger coverage than 5 (or in some cases 4) man. We stress to the wings & deep wings to be sure they form a rectangle or "at least look like you know what you're doing". Their lack of smoothness is visible to the official in the stands when they relay the ball to the umpire for spotting  but beyond that, they seem to work a credible game.

[AlUpstateNY]

NYS is divided into 14 geographic sestions, which each decide crew size.  After 20 years of "negotiating" schools, in our section, now have the option of requesting either 4 man, or 5 man crews, for home games during the regular season.  For a number of years the State Tournament has been played with 5 man crews.

That same "negotiation" provided this past year that schools also now have an option of requesting 4 man crews for sub-Varsity levels.  For the bulk of that "negotiating" period we've operated 3 man crews, deployed in a goalline formation of R, LM with the U station as the opposite wing, with the R responsible for the action in the center of the field.

[COLOUMP]

During the season, Colorado uses 5-official crews for all (varsity) 11-man games; 4-official crews for all 8-man & 6-man games. Post-season requires 5 officials for all games.

I understand that Colorado will experiment by using 5 officials for all varsity games beginning with the 2014 season. At $56 per game, this should not cause a problem for schools. Basically, an extra $225 per season to have better field coverage should be easy for any budget to absorb.

[sir55]

Mississippi uses 6 man for class 4,5, and 6; 5 man for 1,2, and 3 with the schools option for 6 man. South State/North State and Championship games for all classes are 7 on the field and the
 25 second/ECO. Play offs pay mileage for two cars. No milage during regular season. For JV and junior high games, we use 4 or 5 on the field (same number as class) and ECO. We also use 7 in the north/south all star game with officials running the clocks and chains