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Introduction
High School officiating in the United
States is typically done under the auspices of state high school
associations, which are affiliated with the National Federation of
High Schools (NFHS). In Michigan the state association is the
Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). The NFHS
publishes a high school rule book, which the MHSAA adds an insert
to. Rules are similar to USSF, put there are numerous
differences. Note that high school teams are not
affiliated with USSF in any way, and High School games do not count
towards advancement in USSF.
While the NFHS Rulebook is not yet
available online, they do have other information available,
including rules changes, history and interpretations.
Click here to view this information.
Officiating in High School
The MHSAA does no training of any kind
for officials. To become a High School official you need only
take an open book, written test that is not soccer related, send in
your application and a fee. As a practical matter, you should
take the USSF Level 8 class and ideally should be a USSF Level 7
official to do more challenging games. The local high school
assignors take your experience and training into account with new
officials.
Information on registering as a High
School Official is available at
www.mhsaa.net.
Note that in local school play, a two
man system (two referees) is typically used. Starting in the
Fall of 2005 the OK Red Conference has adopted the 3 man system for
use in their Varsity, home games. Varsity and JV are usually
played and officiated back-to-back, while Freshman games take place
separately.
School play also encompasses Junior
High and Middle School games in some areas, although most kids in
these grades play on local USSF club teams.
Mentors
In an effort to attract more officials to the High
School ranks, and to help less experienced officials, WMSOA has started a
Mentoring program. If you are interested in participating please contact
Frank Warren or
Greg Pilbeam. Your help is needed!
MHSAA
WMSOA is recognized by the MHSAA as a recognized
Local Chapter. Part of the requirement is that we have at least five
meetings a year: one for new officials (6 hours), one on mechanics (3
hours) and three others on other topics. In order to be a member in good
standing you must attend at least three (3) meetings a year. These
include: MHSAA Rules Meeting, WMSOA Pre-Season meeting, Fall/Spring
Cracker Barrels, AGM, Mechanics Clinics, USSF Clinics, NISOA Camp and meetings
of other recognized Local Chapters (e.g. GLASRA meetings in East Lansing).
Starting in Fall 2007 membership in a
recognized local chapter will be necessary to officiate the in High
School post-season tournament. In addition you will need to
submit a list of your Varsity Game assignments to MHSAA, attend a
High School Rules Meeting, and do at least 10 varsity games in the
season you are being considered for.
Meeting Attendance
In order to remain a member in good standing (for
MHSAA) you must attend a certain number of WMSOA meetings every year.
Members who are not in good standing cannot officiate any MHSAA tournament
games, starting in Fall 2007.
To help you track your own attendance, the board
has provided an Attendance Form for 2005-2006.
Click here to get it
online. These forms will be collected annually.
MHSAA Ratings
High School Ratings (if you care what coaches
think of you) are now available on-line at
www.mhsaa.com (click on "Officials", then "MHSAA Officials Services" then
login (your ID is your MHSAA number - if you do not have a password or have
forgotten it they have a number on the website to call). Three years of
data is available, including which schools sent in ratings.
HIGH SCHOOL OFFICIALS REPORT FORM now
available online! (2-24-2005)
This form is now available on-line
from the MHSAA! It can be filled out on your computer screen,
then you can print the 3 copies required. It's no longer
necessary to keep a supply of the old 3 part forms on hand.
These reports must be filed when a
player or coach is ejected in a High School game, but may also be
used if there was any problem (e.g. missing field markings,
spectators, poor sportsmanship) or if you wish to praise an
individual or team. This is your way of giving feedback to a
school.
Click here for
the MHSAA Resources for the Official page.
The form is about halfway down the page.
OK Conference Realignment (7-9-2007)
Every two years the OK Conference realigns the
schools within each Division. For 2007/2008 several schools have switched
conference: Muskegon and Holland; Caledonia and Forest Hills Northern;
Forest Hills Eastern and Belding
Click here to see the new
Divisions. In 2008/2009 there will be a major realignment, as the City
League will disappear and all seven schools will be absorbed into the OK
Conference. A seventh Division will be added.
Fall 2007
High School Update
The High School Pay Scale effective
Fall 2006:
2 Man
System: Pay will be $50 (Varsity); $36 (JV); $35 (Freshman)
3 Man
System: Pay will be $65 (Referee); $45 (AR) - Varsity only
For
Tournaments with shortened games, fees will be $5 lower
Each
school will pay WMSOA $75 per season for assignor fees - WMSOA members
will no longer have to have pay for High Scholl assignments.
Only the
OK Red will uses a 3 man system in 2006/2007. This will be reviewed next
year
as
the OK Conference will realign and they will need to change their scheduling.
A list of changes
are available at the NFHS website. There
is a also a nice document comparing rules differences between College, High
School and FIFA. You will find it worthwhile to print out for reference.
Also note that two
changes have been made in the Mercy Rule, effective Fall 2006:
When the
Goal Differential is 8 or greater, and at least half the game has been played,
then
the game must be ended for all Varsity contests.
Use of the
rule is optional in sub-varsity games, and should be discussed beforehand
with
the coaches.
Note the NFHS Rule
book is not available on-line, except to paying members (and that's not
us ..). If you do have access to it, you cannot print it. This is
annoying to say the least as the NCAA and FIFA rules are easily accessible
online.
If you
have comments or questions on High School Rules you may ask
Tom Minter
of the MHSAA for a clarification.
Mark Uyl of
MHSAA has sent the following update. Note that you will save $5 by
registering online!
1)
REGISTRATION:
Officials may now register online for the 2006-07 school year using the
Officials link at
www.mhsaa.com. Those officials that do not renew online by May 15 will
then be sent the paper registration materials as in past years. Remember
that all registrations (online, paper, walk-in) received after July 1 will
be charged the $20 late fee. Please note that all online registrations will
continue to be charged the $20 processing fee, plus the $10 fee per sport.
For all paper registrations (mail, walk-in, etc), the processing fee will be
$25 and the $10 fee per sport.
2)
RATINGS:
Officials may also view their ratings online using the Officials link. You
may view both your current year and 3-year average, along with the
categories for improvement plus a list of schools that submitted a rating
for you by season. To access this information, simply use your login
(that’s your MHSAA ID number) and password. If you need your password,
please contact the MHSAA office.
If you have any
additional questions, please feel free to contact the MHSAA at 517-332-5046.
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