2018 USA Games Special Olympics--Basketball Officials

With my friend and mentor, Joe Mitchell

July 1-6--Seattle, WA--Officiating is an avocation that takes a strong willed person.  Why on earth would you put yourself in a situation that demands perfection, where coaches and fans are prone to yell at you no matter what you do, you are always 'on the road' and the "pay" is no where near close to paying for your time or expertise??  However, officials, no matter what sport, have a commitment to their sport.  They have a desire to maintain and enforce the sport's traditions, rules and integrity.  Officials do not care who wins or loses, their job, through the administrating the rules, is to make sure both teams have an equal and fair opportunity to win.

The 2018 USA Games Special Olympics brought together 31 officials, both from the Washington state area and National Officials chosen from the US.  All volunteering to make these games run smoothly.  The officials working these games have the understanding of how the game is called.  We work diligently to properly enforce the rules.  Many in this group have worked together for years and have developed a friendship and bond.  We all care about the game and want to make certain each player is treated fairly so each athlete can perform to the best of their ability.

This is my fourth USA games participation with many years of international participation, too. All of us have years of college and high school experience as well as years of Special Olympics competition.

In between working games, I was able to make some photos of some of the other officials.  Click on the photo to see the high resolution.  

Sarah Sowers 

Jim Bueler

Jeremy Colter

Geoff Weatherbie

Joe Mitchell 

Pete Pannell

Will Asmond

Keith Lampel 

Keith Lampel, making a new friend

Player relations, always trying to make a good impression

There were 31 basketball officials, local and national officials 

 Photography Copyright 2018 Laurence L. Levin
All Rights Reserved.  No uses without written permission.
www.LLLevin.com
Instagram @larrylevin 

Sports action photography is fun, its anticipation, quick focusing, and a camera that can shoot consecutive shooting.  The Nikon D850 with its quick focusing, excellent resolution and exposure controls, help me make some fun images.  The action shots were made with the Nikon 70-200mm lens