NASO’s 2008 Sports Officiating Summit — Officiating to a Standard: Define It, Develop It, Deliver It — has lined up an impressive list of officiating leaders from across the country. Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to the thoughts and ideas of many of the leaders and to network with so many other influentials within the industry.

Held this year July 27-29 at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland, the annual Summit will once again draw attendees from all levels of officiating. The attendees will listen to the nation’s best and brightest debate and inform on some of the hottest topics in the industry.

National Basketball Referees Association and World Umpires Association leader Lamell McMorris will open the educational aspect of the program. His address will outline the importance of unity and explore the standards officials face in and outside the lines. “It is vital right now for the officiating community to be united in how it presents itself and what it chooses to stand for,” said McMorris.

Mary Struckhoff, National Federation of High Schools associate director and NCAA women’s national coordinator of women’s basketball officiating, joins with NHL’s Stephen Walkom and Arizona Interscholastic Association Commissioner of Officials Gary Whelchel to discuss the importance of standards in officiating and how such standards should be implemented.

Raymond Jacobs, senior vice president for Kroll, gives the complete and comprehensive look at the numerous options of background screening available within the industry today.

NFL official John Parry, NBA referee Monty McCutchen, NCAA women's basketball referee Lisa Mattingly and NCAA football referee Steve Shaw discuss the various traits needed in all top-level officials. They’ll help relate the personal standards that each has developed over the course of their careers.

2008 NFL Super Bowl referee Mike Carey breaks down some of the finer moments from his crew this past season and how those plays define the standards his crew uses on the field. NCAA umpire Dave Yeast breaks down training video used by umpires and how to utilize incorporate video into your next training session.

Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Dan Ross and Hank Zaborniak will outline some of the ways the OHSAA has used to increase its recruitment and retention of officials. They will also outline some of their findings in a recent expansive survey of high school officials.

As a participating sponsor, the OHSAA is excited about capitalizing on the Summit in its own backyard, the first such Summit held in the “Buckeye state.” “The thing that is most exciting about the theme is that I get hundreds of calls a year on how to get better or what am I looking for in officials that get assigned to tournament games,” Zaborniak said. “With this theme, we can provide officiating leaders not only with a set of standards but they can get information back to the rank-and-file official on how to get better and reach those standards.”

In addition to the great slate of session speakers, experts will be available at the Summit vendor room to share information with attendees on some of the latest and greatest items and technology related to officiating.

Don’t miss out on hearing from some of the best and brightest in the industry. You won’t want to miss the opportunity. For more information on Summit registration and accommodations at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel, contact NASO at 800/733-6100.

Has your association ever entered into a handshake agreement? It seems to happen a lot in the officiating business — but it often seems to be the source of much trouble.

Take this example: A league enters into a handshake agreement with an officials association to handle all the league’s games. The responsibility for handing out game assignments is given to the association assigner, with the league paying little attention, if any, to who is working a particular game. And everything seems just fine.

One way to spice up a meeting is the use of audio and visual (AV) materials. Officials look forward to unique and interesting presentations. AV materials are an effective way to accomplish that. No one wants to hear a member stand in front of a meeting and read out of the rulebook. It’s boring! Rulebooks are filled with confusing language — it’s your job as a presenter to sort through that language and create a presentation that illustrates key points and principles for your audience. If you need to cite a rule reference or quote a brief passage from a rulebook once in awhile, fine — just don’t make the rulebook the bulk of your presentation. Have members read their rulebooks between meetings as a preparation for each presentation. The success of an AV presentation relates directly to the equipment and material used. Overhead projections crudely done minutes before the meeting look sloppy, are difficult to read and show that the presenter didn’t care enough to devote time to the project. Quality material is essential.

For every quality rating system, there are quality observers. Most observers are veteran officials whose “eyes of experience” are used to mold younger officials into better ones. Observers may or may not be currently active, but all must be up-to-date with current techniques and rules. There are key elements to look for when rating officials: consistency, signaling, positioning and no-calls. Officials see numerous plays each timeout, regardless of the sport. A good observer looks for ... (Click here for the rest of this FREE story at the NASO-ON website)  

Membership in NASO-ON provides a helping hand to officials associations, no matter how big or how small, in accomplishing everyday association management tasks. Just as NASO is an educational association for individual sports officials, NASO-ON effectively provides educational resources and management tools to leaders.

To date, more than 1,100 officials associations are active members of NASO-ON. Several states — including Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington — provide NASO-ON membership to all recognized local officials associations.