The decline has been happening for several years but I hope we are finally reaching the bottom. For some reason there is NO accountability for poor officiating. No performance reviews, no evaluations, no grading and a good ole boy assigning system has resulted in the same crews doing the same tournaments year in and year out. If you passed the test, went to two meetings and clinic, and have a pulse you got a regional. Some of the new guys are being left home for state while some of the worst officials we have will be in Hays, Salina, and Wichita. Everyone is going to make mistakes but it is no mistake when you are so out of shape you can't get into position or worse yet you never wrestled and have no idea where to be based on the action in front of you. It seems to be taboo to make suggestions to them to improve and once a new official gets on the inside he is forbidden to discuss quality of fellow officials. Apparently an official can ask for feedback but it isn't "PC" to tell them that they are not getting it. It has now sunk to the point where everyone is afraid to say anything because of retaliation by officials. Officials are making decisions based on who the coaches are or if parents are yelling from the stands instead of what is happening on the mat. To me it is pretty simple, there is a dome over the mat and NOTHING outside of that dome has any impact on the action. The match is about the kids and for the kids. Any official who is not doing this for the kids needs to stay home this weekend and let someone else who respects the 100's of hours of blood, sweat and tears this kids give and the freedom they sacrifice to be the best they can be. To take a power hungry or cavalier attitude towards these matches is just unacceptable. Wrestling has improved, coaching improves, and officials need to take measures to get better too. Two officials are retiring this weekend, Kevin Hewitt and Bob Workentine. They are leaving without being pushed and they are two of the best still on the mat. Others need to follow suit and we, the wrestling community, need to get our young athletes who give up the sport to put on a striped shirt and whistle to give the future generations a higher level of on the mat arbitration!