PENDLETON — Dorothy Smith has worked volleyball matches by herself this season, and on one particular day, she officiated an early afternoon match in Irrigon, then hustled up the road to be in Pendleton for a match that evening.

Such schedules are not the norm, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are frequent adventures for not only volleyball officials, but for those who also work football and soccer games.

“We have officials that work a noon game in Spray, then drive to Heppner, Arlington or Ione for a night game,” Heppner football coach Greg Grant said. “I don’t think people realize what they do. We play junior high and junior varsity games during the week and they are there. I joked at the start of the season, ‘name your price.’”

Smith, president of the Blue Mountain Volleyball Association, is one of 18-20 volleyball officials who officiate matches in Umatilla and Morrow counties. Because of COVID, the number of officials this season is down to eight.

“It has been different because we couldn’t invite new referees,” Smith said. “We have had to use veteran referees. Some are teachers and can’t get the time off when we need to staff early matches. I worked some solo matches. When there was a sub, I signalled them in, marked it on my card and put the whistle back in my mouth. During a timeout, I get down and check the book.”

While the working conditions are not ideal, Smith said all of the officials have the same goal in mind.

“We wanted to get the girls playing,” said Smith, who is in her 16th season of officiating games. “The girls have been so good. If their mask comes down when they go up to hit a ball, they are good about adjusting it. It’s hard to play with them on. They are working hard and sweating. I had one girl hyperventilate.”

Smith said the players also have been good about sanitizing their hands every time they leave or enter the court.

With limited or no fans, Smith said she has seen an uptick in parents volunteering to run the score clock, be line judges or sanitize the volleyballs just so they can watch their daughters play.

“In Pendleton, they had sign-up sheets for parents,” Smith said. “They are coming together to make sure their kids get to play.”

Darla Huxel, commissioner of the Blue Mountain Volleyball Association, said she appreciates the work of the athletic directors in being flexible to change times to make sure all matches can be covered.

“The ultimate goal is to let the kids play,” said Huxel, who is in her 41st year of officiating.

While volleyball matches typically consist of two officials, football requires at least a four-man crew for 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A games, and five-man crews for 5A and 6A games.

That stretches the Blue Mountain Football Association pretty thin. Most seasons, the association has 25-30 officials to put to work, but because of COVID, this year’s manpower is about 18 men.

George Gillette, who has officiated football, basketball and baseball for the better part of 50 years, said because of his age (70) and COVID that he hasn’t been able to help out with football this year.

“It has been challenging for our commissioner,” said Gillette, who is the commissioner of the Blue Mountain Basketball Association. “Mike (Lieuallen) has been changing schedules daily, if not hourly. A lot of guys are doing more than yeoman’s duties with two games a day, three or four days a week.”

In addition to that, officials need to keep abreast of the COVID protocols for games.

“All of us working as officials are concerned about ourselves, the players, coaches and fans,” Gillette said. “We are dealing with health protocols we have never had before, and they change weekly.”

Weston-McEwen coach Kenzie Hansell said he appreciates everything the officials have done this season.

“Because of the officials, we are allowed to play,” Hansell said. “They do a great job. The Weston-McEwen TigerScots appreciate all that the officials have done to allow us to have a season.”

Grant echoed the sentiment.

“They came to us before the season and asked us to help them out,” Grant said. “This is a partnership. I told them we’d play on a Wednesday night in a Walmart parking lot if we could. They have been big advocates for our players being able to play this year. We really appreciate them.”

Smith and Gillette both say every sport, from baseball to volleyball, needs more officials. People are retiring, health issues force them to step down, or they have had enough of unruly fans.

“We are looking for people,” Smith said. “Volleyball is usually 8-12 weeks, and it goes by really fast. It’s great for former high school players who are going to college. They can make enough to pay for a semester of school.”

Gillette said he is scheduled to work one baseball doubleheader. It’s what fits into his work schedule at the Milton-Freewater Municipal Golf Course, where it has had its best year of business in several years.

“We are extremely short on officials for football and baseball,” he said. “We need some younger guys to step in.”