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‘There’s a phrase we use when we go out there: We’re the third team … And we’re the only team out there that doesn’t care who wins or loses.’

Patty Richter, Three Village

“In 2014, my neighbor approached me and said, ‘You’re into sports — have you considered sports officiating?’

“In junior high, I did a bit of officiating … and I’d played volleyball and coached varsity volleyball, so I signed up for a class. Then, when a soccer class came up that summer — I’d played soccer all my life — I took that one and started officiating in 2014. Then I took the basketball class. And then a friend said, ‘You played softball,’ so I took the softball course.

“I love being out there. I love staying in the game. I love staying active. I love the challenge of the new rules — they modify the rules every two years, and we have to stay certified.

There’s just not a lot of females officiating female sports.

“I became only the second female varsity softball umpire in Section XI’s history … Section XI is the governing board for Suffolk County sports. There’s just not a lot of females officiating female sports. And that’s probably why I only recently stopped officiating girls’ softball and volleyball — because it’s so important for those athletes to see women officiating. And I’m always encouraging young players to get into refereeing.

“I have three people I’m working on now recruiting. I tell them not to let what they hear from the stands influence whether they’ll do this. That’s the hardest part for new officials — not letting the ‘noise of the gym’ get into their heads.

“Right now, I’m officiating girls’ soccer, girls and boys basketball, girls lacrosse, and I’ll be certified soon for field hockey. I do public and CYO [Catholic Youth Organization] high school games, and I began officiating NCAA Division III junior college in 2019. I was also part of WCBOO [Women’s Collegiate Basketball Officials Organization], where I was vice president.

“There’s a phrase we use when we go out there: We’re the third team out there. And we’re the only team out there that doesn’t care who wins or loses. But we’re all working toward the same thing — officials, players and coaches, we all want to have a great game.

“The bottom line is we’re all doing it because, one, we love the game, and two, we’re doing it for the student-athletes. Without us, there aren’t going to be any games. And that’s when the student athletes get hurt.”

Interviewed by Rosemary Olander

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