First Choice Officials (Chicago, IL) is a referee assigning organization that coordinates officials for youth basketball games and tournaments. Before adopting Refr, First Choice relied entirely on manual processes to manage referee assignments and payments. Schedules were maintained in spreadsheets and had to be repeatedly sent out to officials with each update.
There was no centralized system at all – “we used to send updated spreadsheets to referees every night for every minor update… and it was just messy”. Payments to referees were also handled manually through third-party apps (like Venmo and Cash App), consuming significant time and effort. This patchwork approach led to confusion, disorganization, and inefficiency in daily operations. Sarah Brendel, who oversees operations for First Choice Officials, recognized these pain points and sought a more streamlined solution.
Before implementing Refr, First Choice Officials faced several operational challenges:
Every change in the game schedule required sending out a new spreadsheet to all officials. This often led to officials referencing outdated schedule versions, causing confusion. With no real-time system in place, keeping everyone on the same page was difficult, and errors were common.
Paying officials was a cumbersome, manual task. Assignors had to track game counts and send payments one by one via personal payment apps. Sarah noted that at the end of each day they would manually issue payments, which was “a lot of work on us”. Using tools like Venmo/CashApp also introduced limits and workarounds (even requiring multiple accounts to avoid transfer caps). This manual payroll process was time-consuming and prone to error.
Any last-minute changes – for example, a court assignment switch or a no-show official – had to be communicated by sending individual text messages to the affected referees. If a referee needed to move to a different court, the staff would text them “Hey, we need you to go over to court 3 instead…”, then repeat the process for each person involved. This was tedious and risky, especially during major tournament weekends.
Referees had little transparency into their assignments and earnings. Many officials were unsure about how much they were scheduled to work or when they would be paid, unless they meticulously read through spreadsheets or asked the organizers directly. Leading to wasted time for assignors, and constant frustrations for officials.
Large tournament weekends magnified these issues. Coordinating hundreds of game slots by spreadsheet and handling dozens of payments manually made big events chaotic and stressful. Felix Harper – the lead assignor for First Choice – would receive constant phone calls, and the team spent late hours on Sunday juggling last-minute schedule changes and cashing out payments. The manual ‘Sunday payout’ was “a major task” that added to their weekend stress. Simply put, the administrative burden during tournaments was overwhelming without an automated system.
Refr Sports provided an all-in-one platform that directly addressed First Choice Officials’ challenges, streamlining both scheduling and payments. After adopting Refr, Sarah and her team saw immediate improvements across the board:
All game assignments and pay information are now consolidated in one app. Officials can log into the Refr mobile app and see all their games in one spot, along with the corresponding pay for each game. This single source of truth eliminated the confusion of navigating multiple spreadsheets. Importantly, referees can also view their pending payments and fees in-app, giving them full transparency into what they will earn and when. Instead of being surprised by ad-hoc payouts, officials know what their payout will be and when they will receive it from Refr.
Refr’s automated push notifications keep everyone up-to-date without the need for manual follow-ups. The app alerts officials instantly about new assignments, changes, or cancellations. This means when a schedule change happens, officials are immediately informed through Refr. The staff no longer has to individually text every official for a change; if an official doesn’t show or a court location changes last-minute, the update is pushed out through the app and the officials see it right away. The automated communication has drastically reduced the back-and-forth that used to happen over phone and text.
Refr automates the entire payment process for games. Once games are completed, the system automatically calculates and schedules the payments to each official. All payout details are visible to the officials in advance – they can see the amount they’ve earned and the exact date it will be deposited. This clarity is a stark improvement from the old Venmo routine. It’s now hands-free – once Sarah inputs the game data, Refr takes care of disbursing funds, eliminating errors and saving hours of work.
With information readily available, officials themselves have become more self-sufficient and accountable. They know to check the app for their schedules and payment status, rather than relying on constant reminders. In fact, the switch to Refr encouraged a cultural change: “we’ve actually had them become more responsible with the app – hey, check your games, if you don’t see an assignment you’re not going to get it… if you’ve covered a game, you now have all the information you need about it”, Sarah tells her referees. Officials now proactively update their availability and report changes, since they can see their assignments live and understand that if something isn’t in the app, it’s not official. This transparency holds everyone accountable and reduces last-minute surprises.
During big tournament weekends, Refr truly proved its value. The platform drastically reduced the chaos by automating scheduling and payouts. Sarah can bulk upload the tournament schedule into Refr, and all the courts and games are immediately covered in the system. Officials get their assignments in the app and any mid-event changes are seamlessly communicated. Come Sunday, the team no longer scrambles to calculate and send dozens of payments – Refr’s automated payout system takes care of it. As a result, even large events have become incredibly smooth with much less stress on the staff. As Sarah reiterates, Refr lifted a huge burden: “All the courts are covered… there’s nothing else to do,” which has “taken a load off of stress” for everyone involved.
Overall, First Choice Officials transformed its operations by embracing Refr’s modern assigning and payment system. What used to be a fragmented, manual workflow is now a streamlined digital process. The case of First Choice highlights how moving off spreadsheets and into an integrated app can save time, reduce errors, and lower stress for assigning organizations. As Sarah Brendel’s experience shows, the right tools not only make the administrators’ jobs easier, they also empower the officials with clarity and accountability – a win-win for everyone involved.
