June 23, 2000

NASO Opens National Conference to Improve Officials’ Training
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — President Bill Clinton has not been summoned, but leaders of the sports officiating world are gathering here in Colorado Springs beginning today for three days of meetings to address a growing concern in the sports world — how to train and improve sports officials.

"There is a need to develop practical and technologically up-to-date training programs for every level of sports officiating and that’s why we’ve brought together the absolute crème de la crème of the industry," said National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) President Barry Mano. Nearly 19,000 sports officials from all levels of the profession belong to the association that is headquartered in Racine, Wis. The meetings are being conducted at The Antlers Adam’s Mark Hotel.

Attending the summit are the directors of officiating for the four professional sports of baseball, basketball, football and hockey as well as representatives from the collegiate ranks, high school and the recreational levels.

"We began the discussions on how to address the critical issues affecting this profession over a year ago when we created the Officiating Training Alliance (OTA)," explains NASO Chair Ed Rush. Rush is also the Director of Officiating for the NBA.

"The purpose of the OTA is to identify the needs of the profession and to develop a clear and concise plan to address those needs in order to improve officiating. We know we can have a positive impact at every level in the immediate future with this effort"

While the 16-member OTA panel meets in private, officials from across the country and from several international locations will participate in other educational sessions conducted by NASO.

They will participate in specific educational sessions geared towards discussion about officiating issues and concerns. Specific topics include: identifying the six most important challenges in the training of officials; analyzing the value of national training programs, teaching character and applying its principles in daily officiating responsibilities; dealing with the complexity of training volunteers and specifically identifying the characteristics critical to developing quality officials at all levels.

For part of June 23, both groups will participate in a special panel presentation lead by ethics "guru" Dr. Michael Josephson, founder of the CHARACTER COUNTS! program.

In addition to educational activities, NASO will present its coveted Gold Whistle Award the evening of June 23, at a banquet hosted by Fox 40 International. This year marks the 13th year the Gold Whistle Award is presented to an official who has demonstrated community involvement "above and beyond the call of duty." The 2000 honoree is former NFL referee Tom Dooley, who is being honored for his development of the Matthew 25 Fund, which benefits several educational organizations including Virginia Military Institute.

The organization is headquartered in Racine, Wis.