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General items of interest to all officials that don’t fit in the categories above.
Recruiting & Retention: What Worked…What Didn’t
By Scott T. Glass
Nearly every officials association in the country is experiencing serious membership shortages. Recruiting new officials is a complex, deliberate organizational task...
Doors Opening Wider
Clockwise from top left: Amanda Bender, Maia Chaka, Kelly Dine, Sara Woods, Kaili Kimura
By Tim Yonke
In what could be a blueprint for women seeking...
Our Guide to High School Replay
Since its regular season introduction to pro football officiating in 1986, replay has found its way into nearly all of the major professional sports. Even the so-called beautiful...
Why Teachers Make Great Officials
There has always been a sizable contingent of teachers within the officiating community. Part of the reason is circumstances; teachers are finished with work and often available to handle...
Spark the Fire to Create Lifelong Officials
We need more officials, plain and simple. The not-so-simple part is figuring out how to spark the fire in new recruits that will keep...
Know More About Teams To Make Situations Easier
Many of us have checklists that we ponder in the days or hours leading up to a given contest to make sure we’re ready to officiate. We make sure...
Camp Preparation Do’s and Don’ts
You can stand out at an officiating camp best by doing exactly what your prospective boss expects in everything that matters. What matters? Here...
How to Recruit U30s
Even before the pandemic, state high school athletic associations faced a significant shortage of officials across the country, which was affecting games. Heavy recruiting...
The Facts Behind Bad Sporting Behavior
Sports and American culture — the two are practically inseparable. Young children through those in their golden years get a thrill from the engaging...
Defining the “It” Factor
Rules knowledge, mechanics and making the right calls are important. Missing any of those elements can break your career, but having them won’t make...
Alaska’s Officials Brave Harsh Weather To Get the Job Done
They practice their craft closer to Siberia than to Seattle. Their dedication helps stoke the fire and keep alive beneficial activities that might otherwise...
Why I Love Officiating
No matter what sport or level we work, we are bonded. We are drawn together by a passion for officiating those outside the industry...
Is There Still Room for Personality In Signals?
In the old days, style and flair in officiating was easy to recognize. It was prevalent in a lot of games. Today, most assigners...
Rule Changes That Changed Everything
Officiating standards and practices have changed considerably over the course of time. So have the rules all of us are expected to know and enforce. The evolution of the rules...
NASO Survey: Diversity & Inclusion
The NASO National Officiating Survey asked questions that focused on diversity and inclusion topics. The 2017 survey of 17,487 officials provides invaluable insights into...
Pastoral Care in the Officiating Community
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s COVID-19’s reach expanded globally during the spring of 2020, people and the organizations of which they were members scrambled to adjust to everything...
Subject to Interpretation
Anyone who has ever attended a local association meeting knows rules debates can be intense.
“Discussions” over minutiae in the rulebook or casebook are often...
Transition Game
Basketball has taken Ka-Deidre “Didi” Simmons around the globe. After a stellar collegiate career at Seton Hall University that saw her graduate as the...
Can We Improve the Culture of Sports?
“I did not like being a referee one bit, and I’m very happy to be done with it. It was very stressful, and I...
Time to Get It Right
Officials are taught to maintain focus and concentration from the moment they walk on the field or court to the final whistle and sometimes...
Master of the Rules
Mastery of playing rules doesn’t just mean ‘knowing’ what a rule reads
Rod Serling might have put it this way:
Imagine you’re attending your final year...
Drone Protocol
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n more than 40 years as a referee at the high school, college and professional levels, Bruce Maurer has seen his share of the...
The Top Officiating Stories of 2020
Pro Sports Delay Seasons
Professional leagues such as the NBA, NHL and MLS put the remainder of their 2019-20 seasons on hold in March when...
Inventive Incentive
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ate last winter the math became clear for Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) State Commissioner of Officials Brian Gessner.
“We’re not doing a very good job...
