OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Jesse Beers, a Fredonia teacher and softball coach, is also an accomplished high school wrestling referee. He claims he is not receiving the assignments he deserves because of increased travel costs.

Jesse Beers is never one to sit out when he sees an inequity in the world of athletics. From advocating for more paid coaching positions to new athletic fields at the Fredonia Central School District, where he is a teacher and a softball coach, Beers always lets his opinions be heard when his teams or students are impacted.

But now, he’s standing up for himself, too.

Beers is one of the highest ranked wrestling officials in Section VI, the athletic governing body of public school athletics in western New York. He is a member of multiple referee associations, spanning from Chautauqua County to east of Buffalo.

With referee shortages across sports nationwide, the demand for highly qualified referees is higher than ever. But this year, Beers has noticed a difference in the amount of assignments he receives, and it’s in the opposite direction of what one might expect.

As a member of two major officials organizations, the Southern Tier Wrestling Officials Association and the Niagara Frontier Wrestling Officials Association, Beers has seen a notable decrease in assignments outside of Chautauqua County. In previous years, Beers – a Fredonia resident – would frequently travel outside of the county to officiate matches and tournaments. This year, however, the offers are very limited.

“It’s not because of my officiating ability that I’m not getting assignments,” Beers said.

In his career, Beers has officiated the New York State tournament and the State Dual Meet Championships on multiple occasions. He has also served as the head official for the Section VI Championships 10 times.

Beers, and at least one other official in Chautauqua County he’s spoken with, are now only receiving assignments within the Southern Tier coverage area and slightly beyond. Eden High School is the nearest school to Chautauqua County in the Niagara Frontier coverage area, followed closely by Lake Shore. Those are the only schools Beers has been assigned to outside of Chautauqua County this year, when in years past, Beers frequently received assignments in Clarence, Hamburg, Lancaster, and Williamsville.

Beers only has five total assignments from the Niagara Frontier League, where other officials he has spoken with claim upwards of 20 assignments. Beers also noted that an official on the other side of the outskirts of the Niagara Frontier coverage area has seen his assignments “virtually cut in half.”

“People wonder why you can’t find or keep good officials. Look at all the things we have to deal with,” Beers said. “… It’s getting to the point where I’m asking why am I doing this?”

Officials are assigned to events and compensated for travel through a formula calculated by arbiter.com, the scheduling site Section VI uses for officiating purposes across sports. Beers claims the system is inconsistent, especially from year to year, and Section VI has not provided an adequate response.

“I don’t know how, all of a sudden, a distance from a school from somebody’s home last year could have been a certain amount, and now, all of a sudden, this year it’s not,” Beers said. “We continue to ask people at Section VI … and of course, nobody has any answers.”

Beers claims a $20 travel stipend for out of county officials, tacked on top of the regular compensation as negotiated in the contract between the Association and Section VI, is a deterrent to him receiving regular assignments outside of Chautauqua County.

“It’s very obvious,” Beers said. “… I think they are trying to nickel-and-dime officials about this travel fee, and no one seems to care.”

When he asked Section VI Executive Director Mark DiFilippo directly if he looked into the assigning of referees or if the $20 travel stipend was playing a factor in the assignments, Beers said, “Of course, he would not respond.”

Beers cited previous run-ins with different administrators at various points in his career as a teacher, coach, and official when referring to the response – or lack of one – he received.

“I know when I’m getting the cold shoulder. I know when I’m kind of being asked to go away,” Beers said.

Beers even tried to receive the information through the Freedom of Information Law process, but because Section VI is not a government agency, that process does not apply.

“I do know this: generally speaking, people that are innocent don’t hide stuff,” Beers said. “It’s pretty obvious what’s going on and they don’t want to address it.”

Beers was an accomplished wrestler when he was in high school at Westfield Academy, placing in the Sectional tournament twice. He was a runner-up his senior year. Beers then continued on to wrestle collegiately at SUNY Brockport. He was a starter on the 1992 NCAA Division III National Championship wrestling team at Brockport, alongside County Executive P.J. Wendel, who was an All-American.

With his wrestling background and his experience as one of the top softball coaches in western New York, Beers is frustrated on behalf of the athletes he believes are not getting the highest quality officiating because of financial constraints.

Officials are ranked by coaches throughout Section VI after the season. The highest ranked officials are selected for the Section VI tournament. State tournament officials are also selected based upon rankings. Beers believes the ranking of officials will be skewed, both for this postseason and in future years, if things do not change.

Beers feels by not spending as much time outside of Chautauqua County, his ranking will be unfairly judged, while other officials who are continuously assigned to the same few programs will also have skewed responses. To that point, Beers asked, “How are they evaluating me if they have never seen me?”

Beers continued, “This is not on the coaches at all. Myself as a coach, I don’t care how much we’ve got to pay the officials, I want the best umpires for my games. … By not having the best officials, you’re hurting Section VI. You’re hurting the kids.”