PLEASE KEEP CHECKING YOUR EMAIL AND ARBITER CONSTANTLY: Those are where the latest updates and announcements will be. As we already know, the situation changes minute by minute, so please make sure to stay up to date on the latest information!
PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOUR ARBITER – THERE ARE A LOT OF UNACCEPTED ASSIGNMENTS!!
ONLINE RULES REVIEW MUST BE COMPLETED BY FRIDAY!! (Aug. 21)
A MESSAGE FROM GKCOA PRESIDENT, BRIAN VERMAN:
It has been a very unusual start to the officiating year to say the least. As most of you know we opened the GKCOA fiscal year on May 1st and began accepting payment of dues for the 2020-21 school year. Normally the registration period runs 5/1 through 8/1 of each year. Our GKCOA Bylaws establish a $15 late fee after August 1st of each year; however, at our August meeting the Board of Directors approved a waiver of the late fee for the current year given the uncertainty surrounding our profession and sports in general. MSHSAA has also waived the late fee for 2020-21 for the same reasons. It is up to each member to decide for themselves whether or not they are willing and able to officiate during the coming season based on their own personal views, health, and family situations. Once that decision has been made by the officials we encourage you to register. Although there is no late fee this year, we still must ensure our membership for which we assign games are registered and in good standing with both MSHSAA and the GKCOA. Therefore, for our Fall sports the GKCOA Board established a deadline of Friday, August 21st to be registered with both MSHSAA and GKCOA. If you have not yet completed your membership renewal with MSHSAA and/or GKCOA you must do so before 8/21/2020 or any assignments that you may currently have will be reassigned to other GKCOA members so that we may begin the season with certified and registered officials assigned to each contest. Here is the link to the online renewal form: https://gkcoa.formstack.com/forms/renewal. For our Winter and Spring sports, although we encourage you to register as soon as possible, the same process will apply. A date will be established in a similar manner and communicated in the coming months. To check your GKCOA Membership and MSHSAA registration please sign-on to ArbiterSports with our group number — 103075 – Greater Kansas City Officials Association then click on “Profile” in the black ribbon bar. On the left under “Account” click on “Custom Fields”. When this page is displayed please look at GKCOA Dues Paid for 2020/2021 Season and Registered in State. If these two fields are populated with information you have paid your membership fee and are registered with MSHAA for the sports listed. Not all Basketball information has been updated at this time. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your membership status please contact Joe Bardwell, Treasurer, at treasurer@gkcoa.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the overall process or policy, please reach out to me to discuss your particular circumstances.
MORE MSHSAA NEWS
You may have seen a number of posts/emails/notifications/articles this past week regarding MSHSAA providing options for schools regarding moving fall sports to the spring. Feel free to read those at your disposal, but the bottom line for us is this (as of the time of this Sunday newsletter…as we’ve said, things could change tonight or beyond):
The Suburban Conference is staying the course for now—no schedule changes in all sports yet. For the non-Suburban Conference schools in GKCOA, we have not heard of any schools wanting to switch fall sports to the alternate season yet. If we do, we’ll let you know.
The Suburban Conference put out this statement to their administrators and coaches on Fri., Aug. 14:
On Thursday, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors met to discuss and consider potential adjustments to opportunities for member schools affected by restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the discussion, the board took action to grant relief to by-laws and board policies allowing for the scheduling of alternate Fall and Spring sport seasons for schools unable to participate in the traditional Fall sport season as well as late entry, if needed, into the Winter sport season.
This action DOES NOT cancel the traditional sport seasons, AT THIS TIME. However, with the ever-changing environment schools must continue to communicate with their local health departments.
The Suburban Conference of Greater Kansas City has not taken any action at this time relative to the MSHSAA announcement. The conference is actively seeking additional clarification from MSHSAA and our county health departments to best inform a decision. When all the necessary information is gathered, a decision will be made by the entire membership of the conference.
So, as we’ve said many times before, please stay engaged with the latest news so that you are up to date on the most recent developments that may have direct impact on our jobs as officials.
FROM DON SLEET: I’ve been asked about the end-of-set mechanics in the cases where we will not be switching sides. We will still have 3 whistles: one for the set-ending fault, one for end-of-set (with crossed arms signal) and one to direct the players to their bench. If we aren’t switching sides, in my opinion, we will use the same signal we use prior to a deciding-set toss and at the end of the match (open-hand sweep dismissing them to their bench). Of course, if we are going to switch sides, we’ll use the same signal as always.
Also, there are two more MSHSAA mechanics clinics in the area (dates and times below). Make sure to register at http://www.mshsaa.org!
MAKE SURE WE ARE PROPERLY ACCEPTING ASSIGNMENTS IN ARBITER
The assignors have noticed that a number of assignments have gone unaccepted and therefore cancelled because they believe that people don’t properly accept their assignments from their schedule page. The video below shows how to accomplish that.
PART II EXAM INFORMATION
The MSHSAA Part II Exam is now available…make sure you complete it and pass it (90% or better) by Sept. 7. The only major issue we’ve seen thus far is an error on the question, “The number of the uniform top shall be placed no more than ___ inches from the shoulder seam, or centered below the bottom edge of any neckline ribbing, placket or seams on the uniform top.” The answer should be 5 inches, but the website marks it as incorrect. Dixie Wescott has let MSHSAA know about the error, and it should be fixed soon. So, if you missed it, you actually didn’t!
If you have other questions, please let me know or bring your questions to the next meeting on Aug. 23.
NEXT GKCOA MEETING ON SUN., AUG. 23 – YOU HAVE HOMEWORK!!
GETTING BETTER AT IDENTIFYING ROTATION ERRORS (Wally Hendricks) – 35 minutes
SERVE RECEIVE ROTATIONS FOR A 5-1 OFFENSE TUTORIAL (Elevate Yourself) – 15 minutes
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS:
MSHSAA EMAIL TO REFEREES REGARDING POTENTIAL NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTS
PREPARING TO OFFICIATE THIS SEASON DURING A PANDEMIC
As you prepare yourself to officiate this season, in addition to the written recommendations and guidelines, there are some unwritten items you may want to consider:
Also, remember there are items that we do not have to worry about–we have enough to do without inserting ourselves into places where we don’t belong. The administrators on duty and the teams generally need to police such items that aren’t directly in our NFHS rules book.
TOURNAMENT CREW CHIEF CHECKLIST
If you are listed first (Referee 1) in Arbiter for a Saturday tournament, congratulations–you are the crew chief! Here is a list of responsibilities that you need to follow:
HERE ARE OTHER DATES TO KNOW:
Fri., Aug. 21: MSHSAA online rules review DUE
Mon., Sept. 7: Part II exam DUE
Fri., Sept. 11: MSHSAA post-season application DUE
DR. KEN CORUM 