FHSAA Officials Leadership Conference

The FHSAA Officials Leadership Conference will be held in Gainesville on Friday, June 11, and Saturday, June 12, 2010. This is a change from what has been published in the 2009-10 Officials Guidebook. The host hotel will be the Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville and the host site will be Oak Hall School. Specific information (i.e. registration information, hotel rates, etc.) will be posted on the Contest Officials Webpage as it becomes available. This year we will be adding a field/court component for the sports of Volleyball, Softball and Football. These “hands on” training sessions will take place on Friday, June 11. Also, please be advised that registration for the conference is open to all FHSAA officials and is no longer restricted to association presidents and/or leadership. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail jrohrer@fhsaa.org. Otherwise, watch the FHSAA website for updated information!

Officials Association of the Year Nominations Forms Available

The nomination form for the 2010 Officials Association of the Year is now available. Click here for the form. Nominations must be received by the FHSAA Office no later than Friday, April 30, 2010. Submission and contact information is included in the nomination form.

Officials Advisory Committee Nominations Open

The FHSAA is accepting nominations of candidates for the Officials Advisory Committee for the 2009-10 election year. Officials from local associations that are based in FHSAA Administrative Sections 2 and 4 are eligible for nominations. See list of eligible associations from 2 and 4 below.

Candidates must be officials in good standing, registered in the same sport as the seat for which they are being nominated, and be nominated by their primary local officials association. Each local officials association may nominate one official for each sport in which they are sanctioned by the FHSAA.

Nominations will be accepted through July 30 for fall sports, Sept. 15 for winter sports, and Jan. 10 for spring sports. Click here to nominate.

BASEBALL SECTION
A-1 Officials Association 2
Broward County Athletic Association 4
East Coast Umpires Association 4
Greater Miami Athletic Conference 4
Mid Coast Officials Association 2
Mid-Florida Officials Association 2
Mid-Keys Officials Association 4
Monroe County Officials Association 4
Orange Baseball Association 2
West Central Officials Association 2

BASKETBALL SECTION
A-1 Officials Association 2
Broward County Athletic Association 4
Central Florida Officials Association 2
East Coast Basketball Officials Association 4
Greater Miami Athletic Conference 4
Mid Coast Officials Association 2
Mid-Keys Officials Association 4
Monroe County Officials Association 4
West Central Officials Association 2

FOOTBALL SECTION
A-1 Officials Association 2
Broward County Athletic Association 4
East Coast Football Officials Association 4
Mid Coast Officials Association 2
Mid-Florida Officials Association 2
Monroe County Officials Association 4
West Central Officials Association 2

SOCCER SECTION
Big Sun Soccer Referees Association 2
East Central Florida Referees Association 2
Greater Miami Athletic Conference 4
High School Soccer Officials of Central FL 2
Mid Coast Officials Association 2
Mid-Keys Officials Association 4
Monroe County Officials Association 4
Pasco Hernando Referee Association 2
Soccer Referees of Palm Beach County 4

SOFTBALL SECTION
A-1 Officials Association 2
Broward County Athletic Association 4
East Coast Umpires Association 4
Greater Miami Athletic Conference 4
Mid Coast Officials Association 2
Mid-Florida Officials Association 2
Mid-Keys Officials Association 4
Monroe County Officials Association 4
West Central Officials Association 2

VOLLEYBALL SECTION
A-1 Officials Association 2
Broward County Athletic Association 4
East Coast Volleyball Officials Association 4
FOACF dba Florida Professional Offls Assn. 2
Greater Miami Athletic Conference 4
Lake County Volleyball Officials Association 2
Mid Coast Officials Association 2
Mid-Florida Volleyball Officials Association 2
Mid-Keys Officials Association 4
Monroe County Officials Association 4
Ocala Division of Volleyball Officials Association 2
Sugarsand Officials Association 4
West Central Officials Association 2

WRESTLING SECTION
Broward County Athletic Association 4
Greater Miami Athletic Conference 4
Mid Coast Officials Association 2
Mid-Florida Wrestling Association, Inc. 2
North Central FL Wrestling Officials Association 2

Important dates to remember

Rules video presentations
Baseball: Feb. 10-Feb. 20
Softball: Feb. 8-Feb. 20
Track & Field: Feb. 15-Feb. 22
Flag Football; Feb. 9-Feb. 18
Water Polo: Feb. 8-Feb. 19
Lacrosse: Feb. 6-Feb. 15

NOTE:  You MUST log in to your FHSAA registration account at https://officials.fhsaa.org/  to access the online rules video.

Exam Schedule
(Baseball, Track, Flag Football, Water Polo, Lacrosse)
Feb. 19-March 2: Online Closed Book Exam
March 1: Written Exams (Lacrosse is online ONLY)
March 4-March 9: Online Open Book Exam
March 19-March 23: Online Makeup Exam

Exam Schedule
(Softball)
1/29-Feb. 10 Online Closed Book Exam
March 1 Written Exams
Feb. 12-Feb. 17 Online Open Book Exam
Feb. 27-March 3 Online Makeup Exam

Click here to access the online testing center:  https://testing.fhsaa.org/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fdefault.aspx

WRITTEN EXAMS: All written exams will be conducted at 6:30 p.m. A $15.00 sitting fee will be billed online after the exam. Payments can be made in advance by mailing a check or money order to; FHSAA, 1801 NW 80th Blvd., Gainesville, FL 32606, Attention: Written exam sitting fee.

ONLINE EXAMS: It is recommended that you check your online testing login prior to the test date to ensure that you can gain access to the Online Testing Center: https://testing.fhsaa.org. Your online testing login IS NOT the same as your FHSAA login. Therefore, your registration to officiate DOES NOT automatically register you in the Online Testing Center. Returning officials, if you are having difficulties logging in, please utilize the "Need Help Logging In?" option first. Otherwise, you may contact us via email at officials@fhsaa.org for assistance.

Again, the testing site is: https://testing.fhsaa.org

Officials who take both the closed and open book exams will forfeit their closed book test grade.

Spring registration deadline is Jan. 4, 2010. Registrations received after this date will incur a $10.00 late fee.

Corrected NFHS Volleyball Officials Mechanics & Procedures

This is an updated NFHS Volleyball Officials mechanic/procedure that came out after the Officials Leadership Conference and Online Rules Presentation. It includes:

R1 Responsibilities – Coin Toss Deciding Set
Rule 5-3-4d

•       Rule 5-3-4d no longer requires the teams to remain on the end lines during the coin toss for the deciding set.
•       This change will facilitate the teams moving to the benches for water, wiping of perspiration, etc. and time to start getting instructions from the coach.
•       The sequence of signals for the set point and then preparing for the coin toss for the deciding set shall be as follows.
•       First referee whistles to stop play, signals the violation and will drop his/her hand then signal point to the opponent.
•       The hand is dropped, whistle and signal end of set and send the teams to the endline for the end of that set.
•       The first referee then, using the accepted informal signal for captain, will signal and call for the captains.  The captains shall report immediately.
•       The first referee then whistles and releases the teams to their benches.

Click here for the corrected slides in a Power Point presentation.

Important Dates to Remember

FALL SPORTS

Football, Swimming and Diving: Online rules video presentation’s available July 31-Aug. 12
Volleyball: Online rules video presentation available August 4-14

NOTE: Officials’ Rules Presentations are now separate from Coaches’.  Be sure to watch the correct video!

http://tech.fhsaa.org/eclassroom/

Exam Schedule

• Online Closed Book Exam’s Aug. 21- Sept. 1.
• Written Exams (Football and Volleyball ONLY), Aug. 31 @ 6:30 p.m. (A $15.00 sitting fee will be billed)
• Online Open Book Exam’s, Sept. 3-8
• Online Makeup Exam’s, Sept. 18-22

It is highly recommended that you check your online testing login prior to the test date to ensure that you can gain access to the online testing center. Your online testing login IS NOT the same as your iFHSAA login. Therefore, your registration to officiate DOES NOT automatically register you in the online testing center. Returning officials, if you are having difficulties logging in, please utilize the "need help logging in" option first. Otherwise, you may contact us via email at officials@fhsaa.org for assistance.

http://testing.fhsaa.org

Online makeup exams will be available to those officials who did not achieve a grade of 75% on their initial exam and those who have not yet tested.

Officials who take both the closed and open book exams will forfeit their closed book test grade.
Fall registration deadline is Aug. 5th. Registrations received after this date will incur a $10.00 late fee.

West Coast Officials Association Named 2008-09 FHSAA Officials Association of the Year

The West Coast Officials Association of Tampa was named the 2008-09 FHSAA Officials Association of the Year at the June 5-6, 2009, Officials Leadership Conference in Orlando.  The WCOA is made up of nearly 350 active football and basketball officials and should be commended on this great honor, as well as their dedication to FHSAA sports year after year. The organization's President is Tom Powers and the Vice Presidents are Jeff Albers and Ben Heugel.

Officials Registration Open as of June 8

The FHSAA is now accepting registrations for the 2009-2010 school season.  Returning officials, log in to iFHSAA to renew your registration online.  Interested in becoming an official?  Visit www.becomeanofficial.org today for step-by-step instructions on how to get started.  All registrations must be received in the FHSAA Office no later than the deadline dates listed below.  Please contact Carrie Hardee at chardee@fhsaa.org with questions.
Registration deadline dates:
August 5, 2009 -  Football, Volleyball and Swimming & Diving
October 1, 2009 -  Basketball, Soccer and Wrestling
January 4, 2010 - Baseball, Softball, Track & Field, Water Polo, Lacrosse, Flag Football

Did you know?

The FHSAA invites four local associations to send a representative to our office each year to review the officials test questions at the FHSAA's expense? This process has been in place for nearly 15 years for the sports of football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, wrestling, baseball and softball.

The test question reviewers are given about 400 questions from old NFHS tests, as well as collection of multiple choice questions, marking each question as:
1. Good question — use it

2. Good question if you make the following word changes (they mark these changes on the question itself)

3. Poor question — do NOT use

These test reviewers also submit 10 new multiple choice questions and go through the same process with these questions.

This year, each official can print the 50 questions the computer randomly generated for them. As in the past, if there is a test question that is found to be flawed, we will throw it out. One of the advantages to the online testing is, only those officials who were given the particular question will have their scores adjusted. To access your test status, log in to the online testing center and click on the test history button on the left side of your home page.

Makeup Exams (Baseball, Softball, Flag Football, Track & Field, Water Polo, Lacrosse)

Officials who need to take the online makeup exam may do so March 20-24.  Officials eligible to take the makeup exam are those who scored below a 75% on the initial test or those who have not yet tested. The makeup exam is a closed book test and will be the final testing opportunity for the 2008-09 spring season.  Click here to be redirected to the online testing center: https://testing.fhsaa.org

For all registered FHSAA spring sports officials

The online rules video presentations and exams begin this month (February) for spring sports. ALL registered FHSAA Sports Officials are required to participate in both the online rules video presentation and exam. Failure to comply will result in financial penalties and suspension. If you’ve registered, but have since found that you are unable to commit to the sport, a letter of cancelation to the FHSAA Office is needed in order to avoid fines from becoming assessed. Cancellation notices MUST be received in the FHSAA Office prior to the conclusion of the online rules video presentations to be honored without penalties. Send cancellation notices to chardee@fhsaa.org.

Schedule of online rules video presentations:
Click on the following link to be redirected to the online rules video presentations and READ instructions carefully: tech.fhsaa.org/eclassroom

2/10-2/20 BASEBALL
2/9-2/21 SOFTBALL
2/12-2/21 FLAG FOOTBALL
2/16-2/23 TRACK
2/11-2/22 WATER POLO
2/11-2/21 LACROSSE

Schedule of online exams all sports:
Click on the following link to be redirected to the online testing site: testing.fhsaa.org

2/20 – 3/3 Online Closed Book Exams
3/4 – 3/10 Online Open Book Exams

3/2 Written Exams (A $15.00 charge will be billed after the test)

NOTE: Officials who attempt to take both the online open book and online closed book (or written exam) will be credited with their online open book exam score.

If you are a returning official to the online testing site, you will simply log in with your username and password. Otherwise, please fill out the brief registration by clicking here and create a username and password prior to accessing the online tests. It is highly recommended that you test your log in and/or submit testing registration in advance to assure assess when tests become available. Please do not wait until the last day.

Solicitation of 2009-10 FHSAA field clinic hosts

For Sanctioned Officials Associations only:
If your association is interested in hosting a field clinic during the 2009-10 school year, please complete the information sheet (click here) and return it to the FHSAA Office, c/o Carrie Hardee, no later than April 1, 2009. EXCEPTION: FOOTBALL, NO LATER THAN MARCH 3.

This deadline has been established to allow the FHSAA time to select host associations and also plan for curriculum meetings required to train local clinicians. The FHSAA will review all the applications received in the office after April 1 and will then choose from the list of potential hosts accordingly by sport and their geographical locations. Once the hosts have been determined, all associations will be notified.

Associations who are selected will be required to send its lead clinician to the FHSAA Office for a one-day workshop. At this workshop, the FHSAA will go over all the necessary steps that shall be taken in conducting an informative, organized, successful, fun and, most of all, educational clinic. Associations that fail to be represented at this orientation workshop are subject to forfeiture of their approval to host.

If you have any questions, please fee free to contact the FHSAA Office at (352) 372-9551 ext. 290.

Calling for a Cure

The FHSAA is supporting the fight against Cancer by forwarding the following information to FHSAA registered contest officials.  The "Calling for a Cure" campaign for the 2009-10 sports season requests all FHSAA registered contest officials that use a whistle in their respective sport to go to www.foundationsresourcegroup.com and order a Pink Fox 40 Whistle for $5.00; the whistle will then be shipped directly to the contest official.  Foundations Resources Group / "Calling for a Cure" invites participants to make a voluntary donation of a percentage of his/her contest fees.  The donation itself is intended for the targeted weeks of participation, but officials may make alternative arrangements if interested.  This will be coordinated between the contest official and Foundations Resource Group / "Calling for a Cure".  All funds raised in this effort will be donated to the American Cancer Society in the name of your local officials association. During the designated weeks for participation, the FHSAA has approved the use of the "pink whistle" while officiating FHSAA sanctioned contests. Designated weeks for participation are:

• Week 16, October 19-24, 2009
• Week 28, January 11-16, 2010
• Week 39, March 29-April 3, 2010 (wristbands at baseball/softball in lieu of whistles)