USAWA

Eric, that’s a good point on the strongman deal, I’ve been a judge/loader/spotter/cheering section/scorekeeper/announcer before and when you wear one hat that would be nice if you were dressed up and another hat that requires you to get down and dirty….well, I’m dressing for the dirty job first.

For both a funeral and a sanctioned meet I don’t think a suit and tie are needed but I do think having a neat appearance and nice clothes are appropriate. I think jeans would be ok as long as they are somewhat new. At my church t shirts and jeans are fine.

I agree if that’s “normal” attire. Clean jeans, etc, heck, even if it’s biker church (and yes, we did a strongman show at biker church one time and all of them were dressed like hells angels!!!). But if I go to a Church where everyone dresses up or has a dress code, then I’m gonna respect that.

I also don’t think a suit and tie is necessary for a judge, but looking like you know what you are doing is a plus. I recall working at a powerlifting meet and we were all required (staff) to wear gym shirts that had “staff” on them. Gave the whole meet a solid feel like there was something big going on.

I’m not gonna nit pick, just curious where people stand on the issue. I just wonder some times if, as a society, we aren’t dumbing down every thing to the point where nobody cares.

…oh, and at my Church, I wear a suit and tie when I’m part of the service (duty elder, usher, reader) and if I’m not, I just dress clean and while we typical have a lot of suits on Sunday, we’ve NEVER turned anyone away by how they dressed.

I grew up wearing our nice clothes to church on sunday. I didn’t actually have a suit growing up and always felt under-dressed in slacks and a dress shirt and wished my family had enough money to buy me a suit. I mean there is a term called your “sunday best.” But now, I’ll drive past a church on sunday and see kids in shorts and a tee-shirt and think it’s gone too far.

I’m a lawyer and I can’t believe what some people where to court these days, there are actual court rules stating I must wear a coat and tie but some judges are pretty relaxed on attire of others, though I will say I have seen some people kicked out of court for their dress.

Yhe best was in Platte county when a judge looked at a fellow in a KU shirt and told him to come to court dressed proper next time and upon looking confused, the judge said “this is Tiger country boy, don’t wear that Jayhawk crap in here” and then just laughed at him.

I do like the image of judges dressed in a way to set them apart from the crowd, whether that be jeans and matching tee-shirt or a suit. I watched some of the powerlifting out at the Arnold this year and those judges were in suits if I recall correctly and David Webster was dressed in his finest Scottish attire as judge of the strongman.

I think in church or at funerals you should dress accordingly, this doesnt mean a suit and tie neccessarily, but a a kept/neat appearance shouldnt be that hard to do. As far as the judging I could care less what the guy in the chair is wearing as long as its not offensive, I saw some judges who were dressed sharp last weekend at the USAPL comp, and 2 out of the 3 were pretty poor in my opinion, this said if Im judging in a fed and they requre I wear clothes according to a dress code then I would gladly abide, If I was not willing to then I should not be officiating for them.

ST

I am old!- and as for both funerals and judging meets,I think dressing in nice pants/jeans and collared shirt is appropriate.Remember,some individuals have little to no money for nice clothes.Should they be denied their right to pay last respects?Many,many times,I have been asked to judge at a meet at the last second and when I am competing,so I am not attired the most professionally.

My dream plan for when it is time to go ashs to ashs and dust to dust,is to just dump mine in the nearest receptacle with no big to do made of my passing!! Of course,my family,if they are still around,might have something else to say about it!!

mark ,i agree. some years ago, i had the fortunate experience of sitting on a hiring board for our PD. one of the applicants showed up in cut off shorts and a tank top. IMMEDIATE REJECTION!!

the next candidate came to us in blue jeans and a button down, long sleeve shirt, recent hair cut and shave. big improvement but i was not impressed. when i voiced my concern as to this candidate taking our board and the JOB seriously enough to dress for it, one of the senior officers spoke up and said, simply, “maybe that is the best he has!”

point taken! point stored for later use. moral of story…IF YOU HAVE GOOD DUDS, WEAR THEM AND SHOW RESPECT! if you don’t, do the best you can!!

reminds me of a story we read in grade school a hundred years ago.

bank robber in england found a cops uniform and was going to use it as a prop to rob another bank. he becomes so enamored by his new outfit and the respect others show him becasue of it, he winds up ARRESTING his partners and taking them to jail!! lol

the name of that story was “CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN”.

I would like to point out that we were dirt poor when I was a kid, I got one pair of shoes and three changes of clothes every year when school started and we lived for a time in a house with an outhouse. We were invited to a wedding one time and I was growing like a weed and borrowed some shoes two sizes too big and pants that were 2″ short of my ankles…well, it wasn’t pretty. I remember getting a dirty look at the fancy Church we went to. I KNOW when someone is trying and thats all I can ask, but when you see some kid with his $50 t shirt and $100 jeans sagging around his knees and his rapper hat sideways then I got issues. People thumb their noses in different ways but when it happens, generally I know it.

I really don’t make a big deal about things, just curious what other guys thought.

I think it depends on the type of meet and the level of the meet. I have done a lot of refereeing at USAWA local meets, a USAWA national meet or two, and local Olympic lifting meets. At the few Senior Nationals in Olympic lifting I have attended, I can’t recall a referee not wearing a coat and tie, but these referees, such as Peary Rader and Dave Mayor, were not competing. At USAWA meets the referees are also usually competitors. Yes, a competitor could change into a coat and tie but the atmosphere is just different. I have never worn a coat or tie when I served as a referee, nor do I recall any of the other referees doing so. A few times I have attended Olympic lifting meets as a spectator and gotten roped into serving as a referee. Once I got a free meal out of that — McDonald’s type. 🙂 I would never attend a funeral without a coat and tie, however, as I believe doing so is disrespectful.

This has been a very interesting discussion!!!

I agree with EVERYTHING said, and at times think it dates me. Every generation seems to get more lax in appearance than the previous. I am going to present this to the USAWA Executive Board and see if things can be improved. In the USAWA, most all officials are also competing so requiring formal attire would be difficult to enforce (it’s hard enough to get a judge). However, the USAWA could afford to buy a few nice collared shirts with our logo, and “certified official” on them to have available at meets for judges to put on when they are sitting in the chair (especially at Nationals and big meets). Of course, if certified judges wanted to buy shirts with their name on them that could be done. Good idea??? Al

Al,

We have used referee shirts in the past at USAWA meets. I know that I still have at least one somewhere (gray-colored, as I recall). I don’t recall the exact lettering on it but I know that “referee” was part of it.

Tom

Tom, Do you know when that was done? I know I haven’t seen any “Official shirts” since I have been involved.

I would say it is time to have them made again. Al

That’s a GREAT idea. Because even if you are lifting, you could slip on your USAWA shirt and judge and then slip back out of it and lift. Kinda like SUPERMAN!

I know a lot of the Iawa-uk guys have a blue collared shirt that looks nice. I think we should get some made.

It must have been circa 1990, Al. I can’t find mine yet (these things happen when you move!), but I believe they were gray with black lettering (“USAWA referee”, or something like that). I will be more specific when I finally find mine, assuming that I do so.

Thanks Tom.

The IAWA(UK) does have their own “officials shirts”. The organization owns them and has them available for the officials on meet day (if they don’t own their own). It makes the officials look very professional as they sit in the chairs. Little things like this just add to the image of the organization. Al

I want to wear a old wife beater tank with USAWA written in Sharpie.

ST

The USAWA Executive Board has just approved (by majority vote) purchase of new USAWA Officials Shirts. I think this is a great idea, and from the support on this issue here on the discussion forum, I feel the membership does to. The USAWA has had Officials Shirts done in the past, and some of the long-time officials have them, but there are LOTS of new officials who DO NOT have them. I was thinking of having around 20 made. This would give some the USAWA could sell to those wanting their own, and some the USAWA could have as “loaners” at meets. I want to have enough made that myself and Denny could each have a “set” in our possession for meets around here and back east.

I really believe our Officials Program in the USAWA is stronger now than it has ever been. This is just one more little step in improving it. Al

Okay, I found my national referee shirt and I was close with my guess. The shirt is very light gray with “U.S.A.W.A” in large black letters about three inches above the top of the shirt pocket, and “National Referee” in smaller letters on the next line.