NASO, MHSAA Postpone Officials Summit
February 1, 2021
Second Half
The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), in conjunction with the MHSAA, has made the decision to postpone the in-person Sports Officiating Summit that was scheduled to be held in July in Grand Rapids.
As Summit sites for the annual conference have already been determined for the years 2022-25, the Summit will return to Grand Rapids in 2026.
Additionally, the in-person events surrounding the Officiate Michigan Day scheduled for July 31 and Aug. 1 have been cancelled for this year. However, the MHSAA remains committed to providing Michigan officials a quality virtual event July 31, including many of the same sessions scheduled for the live event.
Those who have registered for OMD 2021 will be provided a refund over the coming weeks. More details regarding the virtual OMD will be released soon.
“While this is certainly disappointing news, we are more committed than ever to provide MHSAA officials with an excellent virtual, cost-free alternative,” MHSAA Assistant Director Brent Rice said. “We are already in development of a program that will include great officiating content and presenters and allow MHSAA officials to interact with one another and celebrate high school officiating in Michigan.”
Click for more from NASO.
Be the Referee: Communication
December 17, 2015
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains the expectations for officials working with coaches during basketball games.
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment - Basketball Communication - Listen
The most challenging task in officiating any basketball game for referees is effectively working with coaches. In a perfect world, coaches would simply ask questions on plays they had questions or concerns about and the official would simply respond with a description of what he or she saw on the play.
The very best basketball officials keep the communication with coaches during a game a conversation, not an ongoing argument. Officials need to always be in control of their emotions, answer questions from coaches honestly and head off behavior early that is argumentative and unprofessional. Coaches and officials working together makes for a much better game as everyone in the gym – players, media members and spectators – take their cues for how coaches are acting. When coaches are professional with officials, the entire atmosphere is so much more positive.
Past editions:
Dec. 10: Basketball Excessive Contact - Listen
Nov. 26: Pregame Communication - Listen
Nov. 19: Trick Plays - Listen
Nov. 12: 7-Person Football Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 5: Make the Call: Personal Fouls - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Demographics - Listen
Oct. 15: Make the Call: Intentional Grounding - Listen
Oct. 8: Playoff Selection - Listen
Oct. 1: Kick Returns - Listen
Sept. 24: Concussions - Listen
Sept. 17: Automatic First Downs - Listen
Sept. 10: Correcting a Down - Listen
Sept 3: Spearing - Listen
Aug. 27: Missed Field Goal - Listen