8 Officiating

This section describes procedures for becoming certified as a referee or scorekeeper in the Ohio Valley Region, the various levels of certification, and regulations for hiring officials.

A list of certified officials in the Ohio Valley Region current as of publication of this Handbook is provided for reference in Appendix 8.9. The online version at www.ovr.org reflects day-to-day changes and offers expanded contact information as well as sophisticated search and e-mail capabilities.

See also How to Become a Certified Volleyball Referee in the Ohio Valley Region and Vicinity, available online at http://www.ovr.org/off_rules/howto.html, for additional information on high school and college officiating, organizing bodies, and publications.

8.1 Becoming an Ohio Valley Region Official

Any interested person who intends to register or is registered with the OVR can become an official. The candidate is expected to attend a referees' clinic, take a written examination, and receive a passing grade as a first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper during a sanctioned match from a member of the region's rating committee.

See also the Junior Officials' Development Program, documented in section 7.11.

8.1.1 Player Referee Requirements

Each adult team, including first-year teams, is required to send at least two players to a player referee clinic each year (given in January and February). Only player referees and professional referees will be allowed to officiate the pool play of adult sanctioned tournaments in the OVR. Player referees wishing to become professional referees must go through the process described in the paragraphs below.

8.1.2 Professional Referee Requirements

Any interested person who intends to register or is registered with the OVR-USAV may become a professional referee. The Ohio Valley Region actively seeks out skilled high school and college referees who wish to work during the USAV season. All professional referees must attend the annual pre-season clinic held in early December each year. This all-day clinic covers the rule changes for the upcoming season, both the scorekeeper and referee test, and has a special session for beginning officials. For those existing OVR referees with valid reasons for not attending the pre-season clinic, make-up clinics are scheduled in January and February of each year. All clinics and rating tournaments are announced in our newsletter and posted on our website. First-time professional referee candidates must pass evaluations by OVR rating team members as first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper at a rating tournament held in January or February of each year. If the first-time candidate does not pass on his/her first attempt a second evaluation is allowed during the same season. If the candidate fails after two attempts during the same season, however, the candidate will have to wait until the following season. All professional referees must be certified also as scorekeepers with a rating of Provisional or above.

8.1.3 Additional requirements at each level

Provisional Referee Candidates

• Must pass ratings as a first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper during a rating tournament.
• Must take the Form A, open-book, in-class test each year and correct the test to 100%.

Provisional Referees

• Must be rated as a first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper every three years.
• Must take the Form A, open-book, in-class test each year and correct the test to 100%.
• Must officiate at least one tournament every three years in a paid, professional capacity.
• Each year a letter will be sent to any Provisional Referee who has not met the current requirements. If a Provisional Referee fails to meet the current requirements of clinic attendance and testing two years in a row he/she will lose their certification. This will not affect their status as a player or coach.

Regional Referee Candidates

• Must have been an active Provisional Referee for two full seasons, with few exceptions.
• Must have met or exceeded Provisional certification requirements
• Must score a 90 or above on the Form A, closed-book, in-class test and then correct the test to 100.
• Must pass ratings as first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper during a rating tournament by at least two raters on the upgrade rating team. An upgrade rating team member must be a Junior National, National, or International Referee. A Regional Referee candidate who fails any one of the evaluations on the first try, may, at the discretion of the Head Rater, be re-evaluated during the same rating tournament. After re-evaluation, however, if the candidate still does not pass, he/she will have to wait until the next season.
• Must be willing to take on collegiate and USAV assignments.

Regional Referees and Retired National Referees

• Must be rated as a first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper every five years.
• Must score 90 or above on the Form A, closed-book, in-class test each year and correct the test to 100%.
• Must officiate at least one tournament every year in a paid, professional capacity.
• Each year a letter will be sent to any Regional or Retired National Referee who has not met the current requirements. If a Regional or Retired National Referee fails to met the current requirements two years in a row he/she will lose their certification. This does not affect their status as a player or coach.
• After two or more years of inactivity as a Regional Referee, he/she must start at the Provisional Referee level with the two year requirement waived for upgrading to Regional.

Junior National Referee Candidates

• Must complete both the regional and national applications by their respective deadlines.
• Must attend a special rating session in early January.
• Must have been an active Regional Referee for at least two seasons, with few exceptions.
• Must be an above average Regional Referee.
• Must have exhibited professionalism in all refereeing situations.
• Pluses: refereeing in Division I women's college, major juniors' tournaments, men's college.

Junior National Referees

• Must be rated as a first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper every five years.
• Must take the Form A, closed-book, in-class test each year and correct the test to 100%
• Must be an active participant in the Region to be considered "in good standing".
• Must be all specified requirements listed in the current USAV Guide.
• For those Junior National Referees who are not "in good standing" in the Region, a letter will be sent by the Referees' Chair to the Associate Vice President of Administration of the Officials Division or other appropriate contact at the National level.

National Referee Candidates

• Must be an existing Junior National Referee recommended for evaluation at the NIRSA Championships or an invited PAVO (formerly ABO) National Referee

National Referees

• Must be rated as a first referee, second referee, and scorekeeper every five years.
• Must take the Form A, closed-book, in-class test each year and correct the test to 100%
• Must be an active participant in the Region to be considered "in good standing".
• Must be all specified requirements listed in the current USAV Guide
• For those National Referees who are not "in good standing" in the Region, a letter will be sent by the Referees' Chair to the Associate Vice President of Administration of the Officials Division or other appropriate contact at the National level.

International Referee Candidates and International Referees

• See the USA Volleyball Official Guidebook for up-to-date requirements.

8.1.4 Additional requirements for professional scorekeepers

All professional referees must also be certified as scorekeepers at least at the Provisional level. Specific requirements for each level are given below.

Provisional Scorekeeper/Provisional Scorekeeper Candidates

• must attend a yearly clinic
• must take open-book test each year
• must be rated on a live match once every two years

Regional Scorekeeper Candidates

• must be a Provisional Scorekeeper for at least two years
• must be rated on two live matches by two separate members of the scorekeeper rating team

Regional Scorekeepers

• must attend a yearly clinic
• must take an open-book test once every three years
• must be observed on a live match once every five years

Junior National and National Scorekeepers

• must be a Regional or Junior scorekeeper
• must attend an approved Junior National scorekeeper clinic
• must successfully complete the written and practical scorekeeper examinations
• must attend a Boys' or Girls' USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championship at least once during each 3-year period and score a minimum of 6 matches.

National Scorekeeper Candidates

• must be a Regional or Junior National Scorekeeper
• must submit the application signed by the Scorekeepers' Chair and the Commissioner in a timely manner

International Scorekeeper Candidates

• Contact the Regional Scorekeepers' Chairperson for information.

8.2 Officials' Clinics

The OVR will hold the mandatory officials' clinic 3 times each December, supplemented with make-up clinics in January and February. These will be posted on our website and listed in our newsletter. There is no charge for the December clinics, and they are open to anyone interested.

8.3 Dues for Officials

Officials' memberships are from November 1 to October 31. An e-mail will be sent in August or September of each year to all officials who were registered in the previous season. The initial deadline for renewal of dues is October 15. For those that fail to renew by that date, a reminder letter will be sent with a final deadline of the date of the pre-season clinic in early December. Those who fail to renew by that date will be allowed only to register as a player or coach and not as an official for that season. Registration fees and forms to Stephen J. Donahue. Upon receipt of the dues, the Region Office will mail a current rule book and a registration card to the official. Each professional referee will have an OVR number that indicates that they are Provisional (MPO for male, FPO for female), Regional (MRO/FRO), Retired National (RNO), Junior National (MJN/FJN), or National (MNO/FNO) Referee. If an official is also a player and/or a coach, he/she will use this number on the team registration and tournament entry forms.

8.4 Officials for Sanctioned Tournaments

8.4.1 Officials for Sanctioned Adult Tournaments

Only player referees or professional referees will be allowed to officiate the pool play of adult sanctioned tournaments in the OVR. Only professional referees will be allowed to officiate the pool tiebreakers and play-offs of adult sanctioned tournaments. All officials working in a paid capacity in an adult tournament will receive a minimum of $75.00 or the amount of the tournament entry fee (whichever is greater). Open and AA tournament playoffs should be officiated by those with a rating of Regional or above. There must be one paid professional referee per playoff court in an adult tournament. To be hired by the Referees' Chair to work the Adult Regional Championships, you must have a rating of Regional or above. To be hired to work a Rating Tournament, you must be a member of the Rating Team.

8.4.2 Officials for Sanctioned Juniors' Tournaments

All officials working in a paid capacity at a juniors' tournament will receive a minimum of $135.00 for a full day of officiating. Those who work less than a full day may be paid a lesser amount. A full day is considered to be from 30 minutes prior to the first match through the last match of the day. To allow for rest breaks for all-day referees, a minimum of 1.5 referees per court per site must be hired. For example, two referees for a one-court site, three referees for a two-court site, five referees for a three-court site, etc. In the event of fewer referees than required, the tournament director will evenly distribute the missing official(s) pay among the referees who worked the event.

Only current USAV members with a Provisional, Regional, Retired National, Junior National, or National USAV rating may be hired to officiate at sanctioned junior events. 16's Open, 17's Open, and 18's Open tournaments should be officiated by those with a rating of Regional or above. In a situation where not enough professional referees are available, the following may be hired with permission of the Referees' Chair (in priority order): 1. Former USAV referees or current USAV player referees; 2. PAVO (formerly ABO) college referees; 3. high school referees. If it should be necessary to hire any non-certified personnel, they must join the Ohio Valley Region with at least the $5 one-event membership. This one-event membership may be used only for one tournament per season. Officials who observe non-compliance or abuse of any of the policies listed herein should immediately notify the Referees' Chair.

8.5 Officials for Collegiate Matches

Women's collegiate matches use NAGWS rules. Women's collegiate officials must attend a pre-season collegiate clinic and pass the jointly approved Form A test. A listing of clinics is posted on our website and listed in our newsletter. A listing of assigners for women's college matches is available from the Referees' Chair.

Men's collegiate matches use USAV rules. A listing of assigners for men's college matches is available from the Referees' Chair.

8.6 Publications

The Official Word contains current information for volleyball officials on topics such as rule changes, officiating techniques, upcoming events, and opportunities for rating and training. It is published as a joint effort between the USA Volleyball Officials Division and the Professional Association of Volleyball Officials (PAVO). The Official Word is published five times a year and is sent to all National and Junior National referees and scorekeepers. Back issues of The Official Word are available at www.usavolleyball.org/officiat/word.htm.

The OVR Officials' Forum, moderated by Brian Hemelgarn (hemelgarn@ovr.org), provides tips, tricks, rule discussions/interpretations, techniques, and OVR regulations as they pertain to officiating in the region. The forum is distributed by e-mail to all certified officials in the region, and it is archived at www.ovr.org/off_rules/forum/.

8.7 Officiating Forms and Documents

The OVR website contains all forms necessary for scorekeeping, rating officials, and reporting results on the Documents & Forms page (www.ovr.org/forms/). Of particular interest to officials are:

8.8 Summary for Officials

For additional information, please check our website at www.ovr.org or check the latest issue of our regional newsletter. If you still have questions, you may contact the Referees' Chair, Rick Laskey, at 937-372-8878 or laskey@ovr.org.

8.9 USA Volleyball Referees Certified in the OVR

The following list is excerpted from the list of Certified Officials in the OVR. For brevity, only e-mail addresses are given here. Additional contact information, updates, and detailed search and e-mail capabilities are available through the electronic version of this list, www.ovr.org/officiating/officials.php.