Hot Topics

General items of interest to all officials that don’t fit in the categories above.

Hot Topics

Hot Topics
General items of interest to all officials that don’t fit in the categories above.

Inventive Incentive

L 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...

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...

Should Sports Officials Be Suspended? 

Officials strive to do the right thing, enforce the rules correctly and administer the game properly. But inevitably, mistakes will happen. Sometimes it’s an error in...

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...

2023 Sports Officiating Summit historic success

The 2023 Sports Officiating Summit put on by the National Association of Sports Officials in Riverside, Calif. from July 30-August 1 was an event...

Sarah Thomas to Receive Inspire Award

The award will be presented in Atlanta on Tue, July 30, during the Celebrate Officiating Gala, sponsored by Fox 40 International.

NFHS Executive Director Weighs in on Support of Officials

Dr. Karissa Niehoff needed no prompting to address the elephant in the room. “We’re definitely supportive of the great work that our officials are doing,...

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...

Military Intelligence

Bob Delaney, vice president of referee operations and director of officials for the NBA, sees something special in officials with military backgrounds. Teamwork and trust...

Comments Don’t Reflect Reality

The times have changed in sports and officials know it all too well. In the past the things people said to us while we...

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...

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...

Be Prepared for Officiating After Covid

How will you feel when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and the games resume? Ecstatic? Relieved? Anxious? How about prepared? We will be experiencing a new normal in many...

Mentoring Programs Can Combat Shortages

Taking a page out of corporate America's playbook in a bold, aggressive step to mitigate the officials shortage in the state, Oregon has recently...

More Players, Fewer Officials Point to Trouble Ahead

The NFHS reports a 16 percent increase nationally in the number of boys playing high school soccer in 2018 compared to 2009. While this may thrill soccer enthusiasts, it’s...

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...

2023 Gold Whistle Award: Violet Palmer

Violet Palmer, coordinator of women’s basketball officials for the Pac-12, West Coast, Western Athletic, Big Sky and Big West conferences, received the 2023 Gold...

Pastoral Care in the Officiating Community

A 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...

Get Great Series: Better by Next Year

If someone told you a they had a way to get better by next year, would you do it no matter what it was? ...

Rushing in to Assist

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria tore through the northeastern Caribbean. The deadly Category 5 storm hit Puerto Rico especially hard, causing billions of dollars...

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...

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...

Embracing Technology in Sports

No matter what sport you officiate, or even at what level, technology has become an integral part of sports. You have heard the popular expression, “Get...

Can Coaches Openly Criticize?

When a Missouri girls’ high school basketball coach publically said negative things about the officiating after his team’s playoff loss last season, athletic administrators...

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