Development of the Referee Retention Scale

Building upon the current sport officiating research, this study puts forth the Referee Retention Scale (RRS). Through a three-phase process, the researchers developed a valid and reliable scale to predict sport officials’ job satisfaction and intention to continue. The first phase consisted of instrument development, while the second phase included field testing of referees (n=253). After EFA and Rasch analysis, the resultant refined scale from phase 1 and 2 was then administered to 979 referees in phase 3. Phase 3 results using CFA indicated that the 7-factor, 28-item RRS was a valid and reliable tool for measuring and predicting referee retention. The results highlight the importance of considering a variety of factors associated with the referee experience, which include Administrator Consideration, Intrinsic Motives, Mentoring, Remuneration, Sense of Community, Lack of Stress, and Continuing Education. A discussion on how the RRS can help administrators manage and retain sport officials is included