Education

Education to Improve Sports Officiating

A core belief at NASO, the National Association of Sports Officials, is that to improve officiating, you must improve officials. Toward that end, NASO provides members with a variety of educational resources, information, publications and advice.

First and foremost is Referee magazine, the only national monthly publication for sports officials, by sports officials. Founded in 1976, Referee magazine provides education through rules information, caseplays, quizzes, columns, features, news and interviews every month, focusing on basketball, football, baseball, softball and soccer.

Beyond Referee magazine, NASO also provides:

It’s Official

The monthly newsletter of NASO is It’s Official, which is bound into the NASO member editions of Referee. The 16-page publication reports on all the latest association news and happenings as well as provides bonus rules coverage, quizzes and caseplays for each sport.

Sports Officiating Books

NASO members have access to the best officiating books published by both REI and NASO. More than 600 books have been published with NASO, including such titles as The Official’s Role in Improving Sportsmanship, Evaluating Officiating Performance andAccountability in Officiating. NASO members receive hefty discounts as an benefit of membership.

Special Reports on Sports Officiating

When the officiating community needs focus in specific areas, NASO publishes its “Special Reports,” serving as guideposts to such critical officiating issues as Officials Under Assault and How to Get and Keep Officials.

Association Advantage

Believing there is much value in networking local officials associations nationwide, NASO created the Local Officials Administration Network (LOAN) in 1990. Renamed the NASO Organizations Network (NASO-ON) in 2003 before finally settling on Association Advantage in 2014, the program provides information and educational resources for officiating organizations, bringing local and state groups together nationwide and fostering the exchange of ideas among association leaders and members.