ABSTRACT
Sport is an important part of our social fabric and culture. In World Cup events, it is the norm rather than the exception to see crowds donning team colors and loudly rejoicing when their athletes are on the verge of defeating an opponent. In sport, competence is equated to performance, and for sport officials, performance is frequently evaluated and critiqued – rightly or wrongly – in the court of public opinion. While officials may learn to normalize such critique over time, perceptions of competence are most readily developed when meaningful feedback is provided by trusted supervisors and mentors. Officiating organizations wishing to improve officials’ retention and prolonged engagement in the activity must provide an environment that promotes positive beliefs and feelings of perceived organizational support (POS). To create positive levels of POS for officials, everyone in their organization – sport administrators, paid employees, volunteers, and others – will need to continually invest time and effort into multiple activities.
