September 19, 2000

Sports Officials Conference Announced for 2001
(RACINE, Wis.) — The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) today announced its plans to conduct a national conference on sports officiating. "Successful Officiating 2001" will be held June 15-19, 2001, in Norfolk, Va. The Norfolk Waterside Marriott will be the host site.

The conference will draw officiating leaders from the major professional leagues, collegiate, high school and recreational levels. Discussions will center on the recruiting and retaining of officials and other critical issues affecting the industry.

"The success attained in Colorado Springs earlier this year warrants our continued investment in developing educational programs and conducting meetings with officiating leaders at a national level," said NASO President Barry Mano. "NASO’s unique position in the officiating world makes it the natural host of such an event."

This is the first time NASO has conducted an event in Norfolk. The association last conducted its conference on the East Coast in 1995, in Washington, D.C. The 2001 event is the 19th national conference conducted by the association in its 21-year history.

The conference’s focus will be on NASO’s primary mission — improving officiating. Improvements are addressed in many ways and the issue of recruiting and retaining officials is a critical concern nowadays. According to data obtained by NASO, the number of officials is declining at the high school level, yet the number of games scheduled have increased. This has placed an enormous burden on assignors and local association’s to provide competent officials.

In addition to the conference meetings, NASO will present its coveted Gold Whistle Award and several other important activities will occur in conjunction with the event. Among the planned activities: the NASO Golf Classic, the semi-annual meeting of the association’s board of directors, the annual membership meeting and the fourth gathering of the Officiating Training Alliance (OTA).

For more information contact NASO Conference Coordinator Bonnie Schwartz at 262/632-5448.