UNION COUNTY — Jennifer Stephens, a volleyball official for the past 30 years, remembers a time when the Union, Wallowa and Baker county region was flush with high school volleyball officials.

The La Grande resident said it was sometimes hard for less-experienced officials to get the match assignments they wanted because the region had almost a surplus of referees. The days when the Northeast Oregon Volleyball Association, which provides officials for high school matches in Union, Wallowa and Baker counties, had plenty of referees are a distant memory.

The association is down to 16 officials this season, up two from a year ago but still well short of the optimum 20 to 24 officials needed, said Karen Howton, of Island City.

This means local volleyball officials will be stretched thin again this year, keeping the pressure on officials

“Last season, I was officiating five or six days a week. By the end of the season, I was dead tired. It is grueling. It is easy to get burned out,” Howton said.

Stephens agrees the shortage puts great pressure on officials.

“We are on the run from the start of the season until the last playoff game,” she said. “I don’t get to see much of my family during that time.”

The shortage of officials means that high school athletic directors will again be busy rescheduling games when many teams are set to compete at home on the same day.

“You have to be flexible so everybody can play,” said La Grande High School Athletic Director Darren Goodman, adding that, for example, on Tuesdays when La Grande, Baker and Powder Valley high schools are all set to play at home, he will try to move La Grande’s game to a Monday or a Wednesday.

Imbler High School Athletic Director Mike Mills also said a lot of schedule juggling is done to make sure the referee shortage does not prevent any matches from being played.

“There is a lot of give and take,” he said.

Heidi Justus, commissioner of the Northeast Oregon Volleyball Association, credits athletic directors with being very accommodating.

“The athletic directors are really great to work with,” she said.

Justus said the shortage of officials is partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that prior to the pandemic, the Northeast Oregon Volleyball Association had 16 to 18 officials. Some who stopped officiating during the pandemic have not returned, she said.

Stephens believes one of the best ways to address the shortage is to encourage younger members of the association to recruit their friends, such as those they play intramural volleyball with.

When encouraging people to step forward, Stephens believes it is important to concentrate on the contributions people will make as officials — without them, she said, girls will not experience the joy of playing high school volleyball.

“We need to focus on the excitement of helping girls do something fun, which helps keep them in school,” Stephens said.

Howton, who has officiated volleyball for 21 years, also said she is driven to keep going because of what it means to the girls playing, student-athletes she gets to see grow up right before her eyes, while officiating not only high school but also middle school matches.

“I love every one of them,” she said.

The camaraderie officials share is also cherished by Howton.

“You have fun traveling together. You get to know each other well. Some of my dearest friends are volleyball officials,” she said.

Volleyball officials are paid about $67 for matches involving schools in the Class 4A to 6A enrollment classifications and about $64 for games of schools in the smaller 3A and below classifications. It’s not a lot, but Stephens said it is a sum people like college students would welcome.

“What student could not use a a few extra dollars in their pocket?” she said.

The Northeast Oregon Volleyball Association provides training for everyone who wants to become an official. It is now signing up people for training prior to the 2023 season. People who are interested in serving as officials for the Northeast Oregon Volleyball Association should send an email to Heidi Justus at neovba@gmail.com.