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!
KEEP YOUR GEAR HANDY AT ALL TIMES! It would be a good idea to keep your uniform and gear handy at all times (like in your car) just in case you might get a last-second call to officiate–it’s probably going to happen more than once this year!
PART II EXAM DUE TOMORROW!
The MSHSAA Part II Exam is now available…make sure you complete it and pass it (90% or better) by TOMORROW (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!
MSHSAA POST-SEASON APPLICATION CHANGES – EMAIL FROM MSHSAA ON AUG. 31
This is a reminder that the window to submit your postseason application to officiate (district/sectional/state) volleyball opened on Friday, August 28th.The window will close at midnight on Friday, September 11th.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic ‘Class and District Assignments’ will not be released until WED., SEPT. 23 (KEN’S EDITORIAL COMMENT: this date was just changed from Sept. 18 via another MSHSAA email sent on 9/4/20–things are changing constantly!!). In addition, there will be no state-wide drafts held this year for districts. We are going back to the prior model of every manager securing and calling their own officials. Our office will email the entire officials draft list to the district managers to review for selection purposes. District Managers will also be instructed that no phone calls are to be made to any official prior to 6 a.m. on October 6th.
Once you have submitted your application you can log in and view/change any information prior to midnight on September 11th. To do this select the ‘Postseason Forms’ link under the heading ‘Miscellaneous’ and then volleyball if you are registered to officiate more than one sport. You can view your ‘Postseason Application Summary’ answers and if there are any changes please select the ‘Postseason Application Form’ link and you will be taken through the questions again. Once you have made your changes remember to select the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page.
Reminder: In order to be eligible to officiate postseason you must have successfully completed the MSHSAA Volleyball Online Rules Review, the NFHS Volleyball Part 2 Test and have officiated at least 10 matches last year.
After the window closes any changes in your dates should be forwarded to the MSHSAA office. If you have any questions, please contact our office at 573-875-4880 and ask for me or my assistant, Jennifer Bethmann. Thank you.
Davine Davis, MSHSAA
IF YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE POSTSEASON APPLICATION – DOUBLE CHECK TO SEE IF YOU HAVE COMPLETED AVAILABILITY FOR SECTIONALS AND STATE – MSHSAA EMAIL FROM SEPT. 2:
On the 2020 Postseason Volleyball Application on MSHSAA website, the Sectional and Final site information was inadvertently omitted from the original list of dates. It has since been updated and republished. If you are interested in working a sectional/quarterfinal and/or final site please go back in and update your application. If you have any questions please contact our office. I apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate everyone who has marked their availability to work this season! Have a great Labor Day weekend. Thank you.
Davine Davis, MSHSAA
ONE OTHER MSHSAA CHANGE
MSHSAA has pushed back the date for schools to choose between a traditional fall season and the alternate fall (spring) season to Thurs., Sept. 17 (it was Sept. 11). That is why the date above regarding the release of class and district assignments was delayed.
Also, a team still might be able to switch after Sept. 17 to the alternate fall season if they are forced to stop playing (for instance, by the health department) and if they haven’t competed in more than 40% of their total matches and if they have MSHSAA Board of Directors approval.
EMAIL FROM MARK BUBALO – SUBURBAN CONFERENCE ASSIGNOR – AUG. 31, 2020
Well we made it through the first Friday of FB and we have a full week of VB as well as lots of underclass games this week. Please stay safe and healthy and follow all protocols and guidelines that MSHSAA and the conference ADs are putting out there!
Volleyball Officials — Remember that you are scheduled to do BOTH the JV and the varsity games for the assignment listed in Arbiter.Even though I list them all as varsity games, they are BOTH JV and varsity with the start time listed as the start time for the first (JV) match. Of course, the varsity follows immediately after the JV match. The conference agreed to start as many games as possible at 5 p.m. (JV) instead of 5:30. However, some schools have had to stick to a 5:30 p.m. start because of gym space or other reasons… just make sure you check the start time and get to the school well ahead of it if at all possible.
Also, remember that several years ago, we started designating the Ref 1 as the official in charge for the night and the Suburban Conference coaches expect R1 to be in the chair for the varsity game. This also eliminates any controversy between the two officials as to which contest (JV or V) they will be in the chair or on the floor.
Please do not change your position when you get to the match because you both agree to do so. ONLY make a change if you consult with the home varsity coach and AD. Generally, the rule to follow here is DON’T MAKE A CHANGE!
Finally, one last reminder… if you have to decline a game you have already accepted, for any reason, and it is withing 48 hours of that contest, I EXPECT YOU TO CALL OR TEXT ME! Please do not assume that I will get an email in that 48 hour time period. ALWAYS TEXT OR CALL ME if a change has to be made within 48 hours of the game. THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING THIS GUIDELINE DILIGENTLY!
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE CALL ME AT 816-564-7567. THANKS.
Mark Bubalo
mark.bubalo@gmail.com
ARBITER BREACH
You may have received email or snail mail notification that there was an information breach at ArbiterSports. If you are concerned about your information, please call 1-877-296-5652 during their business hours of Monday-Friday 8am-10pm central time or Saturday-Sunday 10am-7pm central time to discuss your options.
NASO SUMMIT AT HOME VIDEO SESSIONS
The National Association of Sports Officials is an association that GKCOA is a member of and previously having sent representatives to their national convention. This year’s convention is virtual and FREE anybody that signs up. We HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to register to have access to some of the great volleyball specific content below:
HANDLING UNSPORTING CONDUCT IN VOLLEYBALL: https://www.sportsofficiatingsummit.com/athome/sessions/sport-session-volleyball-unsporting-conduct-ignore-warn-or-penalize/
THE ART OF PREVENTIVE OFFICIATING IN VOLLEYBALL: https://www.sportsofficiatingsummit.com/athome/sessions/sport-session-volleyball-art-of-preventive-officiating/
VOLLEYBALL LINE JUDGE TRAINING: https://www.sportsofficiatingsummit.com/athome/sessions/sport-session-volleyball-line-judge-tips-and-techniques/
THE VALUE OF A STRONG R2: https://www.sportsofficiatingsummit.com/athome/sessions/sport-session-volleyball-r2-mechanics-and-interactions/
Plus, there’s a lot of general officiating topics and sessions for many other sports at this website: https://www.sportsofficiatingsummit.com/athome/program/#Day-1
Please check it out!
ASSIGNOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
Some schools which originally had their C Gold in an Aux Gym, are moving this match to the Main Gym/Field House for a couple of reasons:
1. Social distancing in smaller gyms may not work as well as the Main Gym. 2. Main Gym matches allow the school to Live Stream matches so folks can view.
In these instances, schools are moving up start times by about 30 minutes to start the C Gold match. These same officials will now be staying to Line Judge JV and V. We have had great responses from officials about being flexible on matters like this! Kudos to all!
With all the uncertainty, it could be possible (maybe even probable) that you will have to let David and Don know the day of a match that you cannot work (especially due to illness)…please be professional and CALL THEM ASAP to ensure that they are aware of the situation and to give them enough time to find your replacement.
- When working in a location that requires masks, officials must wear masks at all times, as well. When blowing a whistle, droplets can be expelled with greater force than normal speaking.
- Don says that if you want a laminated clock countdown protocol sheet or a laminated partner prematch sheet traditionally handed out at his MSHSAA mechanics meetings or at in-person GKCOA meetings made by Nancy Willig, please contact Don at drsleet@sbcglobal.net and he’ll get one to you.
A STORY FROM KEN
I have already worked a match where one coach got host administration involved to pause the match, and the administrator walked on the court to tell an opposing player to fix her mask. Again, that is the job of administration. If a coach asks you to take care of a mask, please refer the coach to the administrator on duty. If the administrator isn’t readily available, we shouldn’t be delaying the match excessively while the administrator is being found. Keep playing until the administrator becomes available to address the situation. If the administrator asks you to take care of a mask, politely indicate that MSHSAA only authorizes administration to handle such situations. This is another good reason to make sure you know who the administrator on duty is shortly after you walk into the gym that night.
OBSERVATION
We are proud of our officials and want to see improvement all the time. To that end, members of the leadership team among others go out to Saturday tournaments to watch and help referees improve. This is not an official MSHSAA evaluation, but just an opportunity for improvement. Most likely, you’ll get some written feedback and a conversation about your strengths and areas for improvement. We were able to observe over 50 referees last year, and we hope to continue that process this year. We haven’t decided which tournaments we will observe yet, so stay tuned. More information to come.
DROP BOX QUESTION:
I thought of a question concerning the line judges during Covid-19 with the benches staying the same for possibly 5 sets. Should the line judges switch so they are not just with the one team for 5 sets? Usually the teams switch each set. With teams staying put, should the line judges be the ones to change?
ANSWER FROM KEN: There’s actually some merit to the idea from the standpoint of fairness and not having each line judge essentially calling one team’s lines for the entire match if the teams don’t switch sides. I have had similar discussions with NCAA coordinators about this, and the reasons why it wouldn’t be a good idea deal with the fact that line judges usually require familiarity and comfort with their atmosphere to really do their job well. It sounds simple to just switch corners each set and call it good, but the lighting, the backgrounds, the angles, etc. might be all different on the opposite corner and takes a little time to make those adjustments sometimes. Plus, the first referee may want a certain line judge in a certain corner for the match. So, I agree that it’s an idea that might have some legs, but there might be more unintended consequences in the end.
EMAIL FROM KENNY SEIFERT, MSHSAA – SEPT. 3, 2020
Safety and security has always been a primary concern for the Association. This concern not only includes the safety of students, coaches, fans, administrators, but also for sports officials. It is extremely important that all MSHSAA Officials have a good understanding of how to protect themselves in the case of an “active shooter” scenario at a sporting event. It is our intention to provide information and guidance which will assist them in this situation.
The link included with this message is for a presentation that discusses the important role and responsibilities, as well as the expectations for school administrators in helping with the protection of the officials at the contest. It is our hope that all Officials, Principals and Athletic Administrators will give their undivided attention and take the time to watch this 8 minute power point presentation, in order to be prepared in the case of one of these unfortunate events happening.
https://www.mshsaa.org/resources/video/Active Shooter Video.mp4
Please refer back to this message to review the presentation. There will NOT be a link provided on the MSHSAA website.
NEXT MEETING – SUN., SEPT 13 – HOPEFULLY IN PERSON (SITE TBA)
If we meet in person, we will let you know of the location ASAP–it might not be centrally located, but we would still like most of you to attend in person! We will still Zoom the meeting, but it will look differently since the meeting will be designed to be in person and might not be as beneficial as being there face to face. Stay tuned.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS:
RULES INTERPRETATION REMINDER
If you have a rules interpretation question, please contact Dixie Wescott at (d.wescott@sbcglobal.net) – do not contact MSHSAA or NFHS directly!
Know who your assignor is–remember Mark Bubalo assigns Suburban Conference dual JV/varsity matches and some tournaments. GKCOA assigns middle school, C-Gold/Silver, varsity line judges, some varsity tournaments, and some varsity/JV matches outside the Suburban Conference. When you have a question about an assignment, make sure to look in Arbiter to see who actually assigned it to you before you send questions to the wrong assignor! (see below to tell the difference)
KNOW YOUR ASSIGNOR
PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOUR ARBITER – THERE ARE A LOT OF UNACCEPTED ASSIGNMENTS!! Also, if you’ve been removed from any assignments recently, it may be because you haven’t paid your GKCOA or MSHSAA dues. Scroll down to GKCOA president Brian Verman’s email below regarding the GKCOA Board of Directors position on making sure you are paid up in order to be assigned matches. If you have questions, please let Brian know or make sure to fill out your renewal form at https://gkcoa.formstack.com/forms/renewal to be reinstated to the matches on your schedule.
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.
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:
Mon., Sept. 7: Part II exam DUE
Fri., Sept. 11: MSHSAA online rules review and post-season application DUE
DR. KEN CORUM 