|
|
|
August 15, 2002
It’s Not Who is Right…
…But why is it sometimes so difficult to get it right? In many sports, more than one official is used for each contest. In many situations, however, officials are hesitant, or sometimes flat-out refuse, to get help from other partners.
There are a few different reasons most officials do not want to ask for help. Among them:
• Officials don’t want to feel like they can’t do their jobs correctly. Some officials view their job as being one of personal authority and power. With that comes the feeling that the official can handle anything that comes his way. If that official asked for assistance from a partner, his invincibility would be shattered.
• Officials don’t want to place their partners in precarious positions. That type of official refuses to get help because he is convinced his partner didn’t see anything because of other duties.
• If an official asks for help, the teams will be questioning his authority for the rest of the game. You can bet that, if an official gets assistance and changes his call, the offended team will ask for help on every close play.
• Officials don’t want to ask for help if the coach requests it. Just because he’s begging doesn’t mean he deserves attention.
Forget the reasons. The reasons officials give for refusing to get help from partners are generally selfish. After all, isn’t getting the play right the most important factor?
Here’s a "true confession" from youth baseball umpire Cifford Vaught of Point Mugu, Calif.: One harrowing experience while working behind the plate taught Vaught to go to his partner for help in certain situations. Said Vaught: "I took a pitch right off the mask that the catcher didn’t even get a glove on. I was really stunned and the mask flew off my face. Worst of all, I lost track of the ball and the rest of the play. Unfortunately, runners were going and I blew a call. …Both sides came unglued. I called both coaches together to try to get things straight, but one coach started in by apologizing to the other coach for all the bad calls I’d been making against their team. I lost it. I told them both to shut up and play ball. I do believe if I’d simply gotten together with my partner, it would have been a lot different. You can’t get caught up in self-importance as a plate umpire. The game is more important."
Certainly, getting help in unwarranted situation can cause many problems. For example, you’d never hear a plate umpire ask the base umpire if a pitch crossed the plate!
Getting input from others. Third and 12 from team A’s 32 yardline. Team A, the visitors, trail 22-17 with just over eight minutes to play.
Team A’s quarterback fires a pass over the middle to a falling tight end near the first down marker. The umpire and the linesman on the six-man officiating crew signal a catch and are racing to spot the ball. No problem, right? Wrong! The back judge sprints in with a strong whistle and an even stronger signal: No catch. Now what?
The referee arrives on the scene amongst a sea of confused players. Upon arrival, he says, "What have we got?" The umpire says, "I saw him catch it." The linesman concurs. The back judge leaps to his own defense: "I saw the ball go through the receiver’s arms, back between his legs and touch the ground before rolling over." With that, the referee asked each official if he was 100 percent certain. "Yes."
The referee then asked the remaining two officials what they saw. Though not as confident as the other two, the line judge and the side judge both said they were leaning toward a catch. The referee, faced with a tough decision because he didn’t actually see the play, correctly got as much information from as many different sources as possible (not counting team A’s quarterback!). The ruling: A completed pass.
Who was right or wrong is not the issue. The dynamics of the play warranted the referee to "get help" before making a call. As Vaught said earlier, "The game is more important."
Team A was short of the first down, punted and later regained possession. On their final drive, A scored the winning touchdown with under a minute to play and won, 26-22.
 |
 |
 |
 |
"Outside
World" |
(RACINE, Wis.) — The National Association of Sports Officials on August 14 released a 323-word document called A Covenant with Sports Officials.
"It is our hope this covenant will become widely accepted by organizations, associations and assignors as the blueprint for working with sports officials in a professional and responsible manner," said NASO President Barry Mano. "A Covenant with Sports Officials is the statement of those beliefs. The covenant is still a statement of rights officials should enjoy but it also stipulates the responsibilities officials have to be entitled to those rights."
When NASO was founded in 1980, the organization "felt an abiding need to develop and publish a Sports Officials Bill of Rights," according to Mano. It marked the first time those rights were articulated and the document "well served its purpose for many years," Mano says. However, society’s perception of sports officials has changed dramatically in recent times and the treatment of officials prompted the nearly 18,000-member organization to take a fresh look at its role and how it interacts with others. The result was the development of the covenant.
In addition to A Covenant with Sports Officials, NASO and the Officiating Development Alliance (ODA), an increasingly influential group of officiating leaders representing all levels of sports officiating, drafted and adopted A Code of Conduct for Sports Officials last fall.
Mano emphasizes the code and the covenant "should be viewed as companion documents. One spells out the how officials are to act toward others and their responsibilities; the other, how others are to act toward officials."
Both documents can be viewed at NASO’s web site, www.naso.org. NASO is encouraging recreational, high school, collegiate and professional governing bodies to utilize the documents in their officiating relations programs.
NASO is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) educational association advocates the interests of all sports officials through its educational products, membership benefits and public relations programs. Founded in 1980, the organization has members working at all levels of sport from the professional ranks to amateur athletic programs.
 |
Help
Grow NASO
and Put Money in Your Pocket |
NASO members can save $5 on their NASO membership renewal. It’s as simple as sending us two names of officials you think will make good NASO members along with your renewal payment. Instead of paying $79 for a membership, participating members pay only $74. The discount is available only to those who participate in this program. In order to qualify for the discount, the member must complete a form that will be enclosed with the renewal statement and return it to NASO with the renewal payment.
NASO membership recruitment programs are critical to the growth of the organization. As a source for new members, recommendations from present members rank second only to the conversion of existing Referee magazine subscribers.
Once NASO receives the names and addresses of nominated officials, it mails a packet that includes a personal invitation letter, complimentary issue of the NASO "Members Only" edition of Referee, an NASO membership brochure and application. The nominated official is told in the cover letter that an NASO member nominated them for membership.
Members may send in more than two names are encouraged to do so, but only one $5 discount will be applied to dues.
If you have questions about the 2002 NASO recruitment campaign, contact customer service at 262/632-5448. Watch for your renewal statement and become part of the ASO membership program.
 |
Accountability
in Officiating = |
"Sports Officiating 2003" will be held June 21-23, 2003, in Portland, Ore. The Portland Downtown Marriott will be the host site.
The 2003 conference will focus on accountability by officials. The event will attract officiating leaders from the high school, recreational, collegiate and professional levels. Discussions will center on accountability by officials at each level and how local associations can develop supportive programs. Two areas of accountability — officials’ responsibility to the game and the game’s responsibility to officials — will be the focus.
"Since 1999 NASO has hosted national conferences that have addressed issues relevant to managing an officiating career or organization," said NASO President Barry Mano. "The focus has been on training, recruiting, retention and evaluations. So focusing on accountability is a natural progression in addressing the profession’s needs. So much attention is given to those in athletics today — including the officials — for on-the-field as well as off-the-field activities. No matter what level, officials are accountable for their actions and decisions. Through the conference we can identify techniques and characteristics important to improving officiating."
The conference’s focus will remain on NASO’s primary mission — improving officiating. The issue of accountability is a critical concern. Mano noted in his remarks that "with the increased emphasis on sports, even officials at the local levels working high school games and recreational programs are under greater scrutiny, placing an enormous responsibility on the individual to be a ‘role model and more.’"
In order to meet acceptable standards, individual officials as well as the associations that train them must emphasize character development that is meaningful. The conference will look at a variety of programs currently used and seek ways to efficiently integrate those programs into local officiating training.
NASO will also present its coveted Gold Whistle Award. Several other important activities will occur in conjunction with the event. Among the planned activities: the semi-annual meeting of the association’s board of directors and another gathering of the Officiating Development Alliance (ODA).
This is the first time NASO has conducted its conference in Oregon.
For more information contact NASO Conference Coordinator Hiedi Peterson at 262/632-5448.
 |
Nominate
Your Candidate for |
Do you know an official who is an outstanding contributor to his or her community? A person whose integrity and character is such that other officials look to this person not only as a role model, but also as a true hero?
If so, that person may be the next Gold Whistle Award (GWA) honoree.
The Gold Whistle Award was created to honor an individual who not only has demonstrated officiating excellence, but also has served mankind above and beyond the call of duty. Clearly the emphasis is on community contributions.
Since 1988, NASO has selected one individual annually. Most recently, the award was presented to MLB umpire Larry Young at the Gold Whistle Award banquet in Albuquerque, N.M.
Previous honorees include the NFL’s Art McNally, Jim Tunney and Tom Dooley; MLB’s Young and retired umpires Larry Barnett, Steve Palermo and Durwood Merrill; NBA referee Tommy Nuñez; NHL linesmen Paul Stewart and Ron Asselstine; collegiate basketball referees Ed Hightower and the late Pete Pavia; the late Ed Myer, a sports business entrepreneur and official; and officiating administrators Bernie Saggau and Ted Butcher.
"The key element of consideration is the contribution the person has made in the community," says Awards Committee Chair Gary Gullett. "The award is about giving of one’s self beyond officiating duties."
Previous winners provide lofty examples. Young is heavily involved with northern Illinois Special Olympic projects. Stewart is a major promoter of the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer program. Dooley is renowned in the Charlotte, N.C., area for involving his employees in charitable causes. Nuñez received the 1999 award primarily for his creation of a foundation that provides college scholarships to low-income families in the Phoenix area through an annual basketball tournament. Many young people who would have no chance to further their education have been able to do so in part because Nuñez took time to care.
Saggau, the executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and 1996 recipient, is a supporter of several chemical health programs throughout the Midwest and has co-authored Sportsmanship and Citizenship, a popular textbook used in school districts across the country.
Former major league umpire Merrill touched everyone present at his 1998 presentation when he described how the Hooks Christian Service Charity began in his hometown of Hooks, Tex. Thanks to Merrill and many local volunteers who now have joined in his effort, more than 25 poverty-level families are able to celebrate Christmas.
And when it comes to respect for these individuals, 1992 winner Tunney aptly described McNally, the first Gold Whistle Award winner, as "a man so honest I would play poker with him over the telephone."
The Gold Whistle Award committee is now accepting nominations for its 2003 honoree. A candidate must meet the following criteria:
• Have a minimum of 10 years of experience as an active official, but does not have to be currently active to receive the award. The award can be made posthumously.
The committee, at its discretion and in lieu of the above provision, can select an award winner based on the candidate’s significant contribution to the betterment of officiating.
• Exhibit a "service above self" attitude demonstrated by a record of community involvement, public service or other engagements which clearly have had a positive, motivating effect on others.
• Be regarded as a person with high integrity and ethics and possessing the qualities held in high regard by the "community" of sports officials.
• Have a consistent record of presenting officiating in a positive light to the sports world in general.
The Gold Whistle Award is among the most coveted awards in the world of sports officiating. The honoree will be presented the Gold Whistle Award at the NASO Conference in Portland, Ore., next June. Fox 40 International will help host the banquet and presentation.
If you know of someone you think is deserving of recognition, send a letter of nomination to NASO Gold Whistle Award Coordinator, 2017 Lathrop Avenue, Racine, Wis., 53405. You can also e-mail your nomination letter to bstill@naso.org. Your letter should include the reasons you believe your nominee is qualified and must provide specific examples. You also need to include the names and phone numbers of three references. Please be as specific as you can as to why you think your nominee is the right choice.
 |
NASO
Ring
A Great Holiday Gift |
It’s mid-August but never too late to start dropping hints about a holiday gift that rewards you for your officiating accomplishments and pride in NASO. The NASO "Pillars of Officiating" ring was introduced this winter and has been a great success.
Available exclusively to NASO members, a brand new men’s and ladies style will be available soon in addition to the existing versions.
"Several members interested in ordering the ring thought the current model was too big for their hand, so we’ve created a smaller (class ring) size," said Dan McCormick of Josten’s. "The ring will be available in time for the holidays."
Each ring has been created with NASO members in mind and offers you a unique ability to display your pride in officiating.
The NASO ring is designed by Jostens, maker of numerous Super Bowl, NBA and other professional, collegiate and high school championship rings. It is available in both a men’s or lady’s design.
Every ring comes with a lifetime warranty guarantee on the workmanship and quality.
The NASO men’s ring has a black onyx center with three zirconium stones mounted in the center. The new, smaller men’s ring will have one stone in the center of a black onyx. Circling the top of the ring are the words National Assn. of Sports Officials. One side of the ring is customized to include the member’s last name placed above the NASO logo and the words "Est. 1980."
On the other side of the ring appear the words, "Impartiality, Competency, Judgment, Fairness, Courage and Integrity."
The lady’s ring is similar, only slightly smaller and has one zirconium stone centered in the middle of a black onyx.
The smaller lady’s ring will have the NASO logo on each side and still have room for the last name of the official on one side.
"When someone looks at your ring you can share these characteristics as being the foundation to your professional approach to officiating," said NASO President Barry Mano. "Applying these principles is what makes you a professional."
Orders are being handled directly by Jostens. Call toll-free 1-866-999-0800 today. Delivery takes approximately eight weeks. If you need additional information call the toll-free number above or e-mail Jostens at daniel.mccormick@jostens.com.
 |
September
Issue |
The
September issue of REFEREE is in the mail and has lots of important news
and information.
Here’s a preview:
- Pulling the Plug
- What’s My Line?
- Evaluating Officiating Performance
- Basic Training: Crew Harmony
Plus, there are features and insight on officiating news and more. As always, you’ll also find that the REFEREE editors have put together informative columns on baseball, basketball, football and soccer techniques.
Look for your issue of REFEREE any day. www.referee.com
