jan 2016 FTdocx
Transcription
jan 2016 FTdocx
FIRST AND TEN January 2016 Volume 10 Issue1 Be Smart Set your 2016 goals What do the pros look for in elite officials? Officials under attack? Working on my mechanics as outlined in the manuals Issue 11 66666 1 First and Ten Mandate 3 First and Ten Editors 4 Goal setting: Doing it the SMART way Repeat of Dave Hutton presentation 5 Officiating Recognition and development CFL style Dave Hutton CFL| Officiating 12 Department - Coordinator of Recruitment, Training and Development CFL Prospect Official Look-fors: 14 Dave Hutton CFL| Officiating Department - Coordinator of Recruitment, Training and Development Officiating Recognition and development NFL style 16 23 Officials an Endangered Species Nomads football club suspends staff after referee pushed at game 25 Officials an Endangered Species Referees Struggle With Respect Amid Growing Hostility abcnews MacAulay quits NFLRA (sort of) after statement calling out his crew Mike 28 Florio YOU Make the CALL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bce4q7968qg 29 Should Odell Beckham Jr. Be Suspended? |The Great Debate | NFL Christian’s Corner: MECHANICS – Football.Refs.Org 30 Christian’s Corner: Referees: How to repair college football's officiating system – by Jon Solomon, National College Football Writer 33 CFOA News 39 CFOA executive 42 Football Canada 43 Working for the development of officiating and football in Canada in cooperation with 2 La version française du "First and Ten" va suivre chaque version anglaise. Ron Paluzzi, Vice président responsable de la traduction, sera responsable de s’assurer que chaque communiqué soit disponible en français dans les plus brefs délais. D’ici là, je demande à tous 3 Editor Ron Hallock Co- editor Rob Christian New Year A New Beginning Make no resolutions but be SMART set goals for your year In setting goals, SMART means S pecific, M easurable A, chievable, R ealistic T,imely. First and Ten, reprints a presentation on setting goals for the CFOA facilitator program and CFL officials’ clinic by Dave Hutton , the CFL| Officiating Department - Coordinator of Recruitment, Training and Development To help guide your development of long range goals this issue features the CFL and NFL guidelines for the identification of elite officials. Both programs are very similar in identifying the qualities of an elite official .The methods for developing identified officials are also described here. The CFOA is working in cooperation with the CFL through Glen Johnson VP officiating and his department to provide guidance to officials for their development. Dave Hutton has supplied the description of what the CFL looks for potential officiating prospects and the training support program provided by the CFL. The second part of this issue looks at the difficulties the official face from abuse by players and fans and the need for support by the FOA’s or professional associations Finally an article from Football Refs .org .Mechanics is the most important, concrete, method of self-evaluation. They also demonstrate our poise, professionalism, and commitment to the game. 2016 CFOA Conference an AGM CFOA conference, May 20, 2016 – May 23, 2016. Link to register http://sfoa.ca/cfoa-conference/ Remember Tom Cheney Award nominations and nominations for executive elections. More information next month. NEXT MONTH Feature: Women Officials In Canada 4 Goal Setting Doing it the S.M.A.R.T way Make your goals S pecific, M easurable A, chievable, R ealistic Timely This article was prepared by Dave Hutton for CFL training clinic Dave Hutton is the CFL| Officiating Department - Coordinator of Recruitment, Training and Development Goal Setting: Why? Goal setting is a very powerful technique that can yield strong returns in all areas of your life. At its simplest level the process of setting goals and targets allows you to choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know what you have to concentrate on and improve, and what is merely a distraction. Goal setting gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organize your resources. By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals. You can see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. By setting goals you can: Achieve more Improve performance Increase your motivation to achieve Increase your pride and satisfaction in your achievements Improve your self-confidence Plan to eliminate attitudes that hold you back and cause unhappiness Research (Damon Burton, 1983) has shown that people who use goal-setting effectively: suffer less from stress and anxiety concentrate better show more self-confidence perform better are happier and more satisfied. Goal Setting Helps Self-Confidence By setting goals, and measuring their achievement, you are able to see what you have done and what you are capable of. The process of achieving goals and seeing their achievement gives you the confidence and self-belief that you need that you will be able to achieve higher and more difficult goals. 5 Providing that you have the self-discipline to carry it through, goal setting is also relatively easy. The following section on goal setting will give you effective guidelines to help you to use this technique effectively. Setting Goals Effectively The way in which you set goal strongly affects their effectiveness. The following broad guidelines apply to setting effective goals: Positive Statement: express your goals positively: 'Execute this technique well' is a much better goal than 'don't make this stupid mistake' Be Precise: if you set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that achievement can be measured, then you know the exact goal to be achieved, and can take complete satisfaction from having completely achieved it. Set Priorities: where you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones. Write goals down to avoid confusion and give them more force. Keep Operational Goals Small: Keep the goals you are working towards immediately (i.e. in this session) small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Today's goals should be derived from larger goals. Important Points You should note a number of general principles about goal setting: Set Performance, not Outcome Goals This is very important. You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible - there is nothing as dispiriting as failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control such as bad business environments, poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. Goals based on outcomes are extremely vulnerable to failure because of things beyond your control. If you base your goals on personal performance or skills or knowledge to be acquired, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them. For example, you might achieve a personal best time in a race, but still be disqualified as a result of a poor judging decision. If you had set an outcome goal of being in the top three, then this will be a defeat. If you set a performance goal of achieving a particular time, then you will have achieved the goal and can draw satisfaction and self-confidence from its achievement. 6 Another flaw is where outcome goals are based on the rewards of achieving something, whether these are financial or are based on the recognition of colleagues. In early stages these will be highly motivating factors, however as they are achieved, the benefits of further achievement at the same level reduce. You will become progressively less motivated. Set Specific Goals Set specific measurable goals. If you achieve all conditions of a measurable goal, then you can be confident and comfortable in its achievement. If you consistently fail to meet a measurable goal, then you can adjust it or analyze the reason for failure and take appropriate action to improve skills. Set Realistic Goals Goals may be set unrealistically high for the following reasons: Other people: Other people (parents, media, society) can set unrealistic goals for you, based on what they want. Often this will be done in ignorance of your goals, desires and ambitions. Insufficient information: If you do not have a clear, realistic understanding of what you are trying to achieve and of the skills and knowledge to be mastered, it is difficult to set effective and realistic goals. Always expecting your best performance: Many people base their goals on their best performance, however long ago that was. This ignores the inevitable backsliding that can occur for good reasons, and ignores the factors that led to that best performance. It is better to set goals that raise your average performance and make it more consistent. Lack of respect for self: If you do not respect your right to rest, relaxation and pleasure in life then you risk burnout. Setting Goals Too Low Alternatively goals can be set too low because of: 7 Fear of failure: If you are frightened of failure you will not take the risks needed for optimum performance. As you apply goal setting and see the achievement of goals, your self- confidence should increase, helping you to take bigger risks. Know that failure is a positive thing: it shows you areas where you can improve your skills and performance. Taking it too easy: It is easy to take the reasons for not setting goals unrealistically high as an excuse to set them too low. If you're not prepared to stretch yourself and work hard, then you are extremely unlikely to achieve anything of any real worth. Setting Goals at the Right Level Setting goals at the correct level is a skill that is acquired by practice. You should set goals so that they are slightly out of your immediate grasp, but not so far that there is no hope of achieving them: no-one will put serious effort into achieving a goal that they believe is unrealistic. However, remember that the belief that a goal is unrealistic may be incorrect. Such a belief can be changed by effective use of imagery. Personal factors such as tiredness, other commitments and the need for rest, etc. should be taken into account when goals are set. Now review the goals you have set, and then measure them against the points above. Adjust them to meet the recommendations and then review them. You should now be able to see the importance of setting goals effectively. Thinking a goal through When you are thinking about how to achieve goals, asking the following questions can help you to focus on the sub-goals that lead to their achievement: 8 What skills do I need to achieve this? What information and knowledge do I need? What help, assistance, or collaboration do I need? What resources do I need? What can block progress? Am I making any assumptions? Is there a better way of doing things? Where Goal Setting Can Go Wrong Goal setting can go wrong for a number of reasons: Outcome goals can be set instead of performance goals. Where you are using outcome goals, and you fail to achieve the goal for reasons outside your control, this can be very dispiriting and can lead to loss of enthusiasm and feelings of failure. Always set performance goals. Goals can be set unrealistically high. When a goal is perceived to be unreachable, no effort will be made to achieve it. Set realistic goals. Conversely goals can be set so low that you feel no challenge of benefit in achieving the goal. Setting goals has been a waste of time. Always set goals that are challenging. Goals can be so vague that they are useless: it is difficult to know whether vague goals have been achieved. If achievement cannot be measured, then your self-confidence will not benefit from goal setting, nor can you observe progress towards a greater goal. Set precise, quantitative goals. Goal setting can be unsystematic, sporadic and disorganized. Here goals will be forgotten, achievement of goals will not be measured and feedback will not occur into new goals. The major benefits of goal setting have been lost. Be organized and regular in the way that you use goal setting. Too many unprioritized goals may be set, leading to a feeling of overload. Remember that you deserve time to relax and enjoy being human. Where goal setting does go wrong, not only are the benefits of goal setting lost, but also the whole process of goal setting can fall into disrepute. By avoiding these problems, and setting goals effectively as described in the previous article, you can achieve and maintain strong forward momentum. The 'Quantum Leap' Approach One approach to goal setting for yourself and other people is the 'Quantum Leap' approach. This tries to force intense activity by setting a goal that will need a 'quantum leap' in activity to achieve it. This is a dangerous technique that should be used with care - it is very easy for the whole process of goal-setting to fall into disrepute where quantum leap goals are not met. Similarly if you are really not convinced that a goal is attainable, you will not put effort into achieving it. Managers using this approach should take care that they are not 'shot down' by someone firmly requesting information on how a quantum leap goal should be achieved. 9 Achieving Goals and Feedback Achieving Goals When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having achieved the goal. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress you have made towards other goals. If the goal was a significant one, or one that you had worked towards for some time, take the opportunity to reward yourself appropriately. Feedback: Failure Where you have failed to reach a goal, ensure that you learn the lessons of the failure. These may be: that you didn't try hard enough that your technique, skills or knowledge were faulty and need to be enhanced that the goal you set was unrealistic etc. Use this information to adjust the goal if it was set too high, or to set goals to acquire new skills or knowledge. Feeding back like this turns everything into a positive learning experience - even failing to meet a goal is a step forward towards perfect performance! Remember that the fact of trying something, even if it does not work, often opens doors that would otherwise have remained closed. Feedback: Success Where you have achieved a goal this should feed back into your next goals: If the goal was easily achieved, make your next goals harder If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier If you learned something that would lead you to change goals still outstanding, do so If while achieving the goal you noticed a deficit in your skills, set goals to fix this. Remember too that goals change as you mature - adjust them regularly to reflect this growth in your personality. If goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then let them go - goal setting is your servant, not your master - it should bring you real pleasure, 10 11 Officiating Development CFL Style CFL Officiating Recruitment Model Dave Hutton CFL| Officiating Department - Coordinator of Recruitment, Training and Development The Canadian Football League’s officiating department has developed a process to assist with the evaluation, training and recruitment of young officials who may be candidates for position on our staff. Three levels of prospect officials have been articulated to assist us with sorting through the process of recruitment and development. Long-term Prospects These are likely experienced officials who are not yet on the panel of CIS or CJFL football programs. • Their referral is based on observations by CFL scouts or other friends of officiating. • There are some self-referrals or others that we have engaged based on other routes. (i.e. former players/coaches) • CFL scouts (former CFL or CIS officials) observe and evaluate at cursory level to get a read on the basic ability, interest and commitment of the prospect. • A report is filed on each candidate using an online evaluation tool that reflects the 12 key areas of assessment. (See article of CFL Look-fors) • Scouts recommend or nominate candidates to the department for consideration as prospect officials. Short-term Prospects 12 • • • • These are officials working at the CIS or CJFL level. They need further training, development & experience. They meet the CFL standards for appearance & fitness. This is essential. These officials are approaching CFL standards for the technical aspects of officiating the game • They also demonstrate a feel for the game as well as a strong commitment to learn and improve. • They are observed, evaluated and coached by our scouting staff. • They are also interviewed and vetted by V.P. of Officiating, Glen Johnson. Professional Prospects • These officials are CIS-experienced and judged to be ready now. We are fairly certain that they can do the job • They are invited to a CFL pre-season camp. There they become immersed in the culture of the CFL official and come away knowing our expectations of them. • Each gets at least one CFL game experience, in some cases more games are assigned to them. • During their next CIS season, CFL scouts and/or positional coaches observe, evaluate and mentor the officials. This active mentorship is designed to enhance learning and improve performance. • CFL positional coaches provide direct input to the professional prospects. Recruitment process outcomes from 2015 • In 2015, five officials were involved in the professional prospect aspect of the program. • We worked to continue the establishment of a network of trained observer/evaluators across all regions of Canada where CIS and/or CJFL football is played. • We revised and utilized our on-line evaluation tool for all prospects. In 2015, 89 evaluations of 43 officials were carried out. • There was significant work with CIS conference assignors to ensure an understanding of our recruitment process to help shape their perspective on recruitment. We also met to enhance the consistency of seven-man mechanics and positioning through CFL-hosted teleconferences. There were also discussions about a common understanding of several on-field rulings. 13 A different way of thinking about recruitment: In principle, there is nothing new about the notion of identifying talent, but we ask ourselves the following questions: • How do we get talented individuals into the system, both through and outside traditional channels? • Is there enough training provided to ensure that our scouts/observers know what we are looking for? • Do the candidates themselves know what we are looking for and are they willing to make the commitment required to get to this level and stay there? • Do we consistently use video to back up our perceptions of candidate performances as well as using it as a teaching tool? The CFL is proud of the ongoing relationship with our colleague officials across Canada. While there is some clear self-interest with this recruitment process, it is also a strong model that might be utilized to recruit, assess and train officials who work games at the “elite level” of play. CFL Prospect Official Look-fors: Dave Hutton CFL| Officiating Department - Coordinator of Recruitment, Training and Development The Canadian Football League’s officiating department has been working closely with its partnering provincial or local football officiating associations and elite level leagues (C.I.S., C.J.F.L., etc.) with the overarching aim of assisting with the development and recruitment of elite level officials. Prospect officials for the CFL must meet stringent expectations prior to becoming part of the on-field staff. Listed below are the 12 elements of officiating performance that are measured based on “rubric” evaluation format which simply asks the fundamental question, “Does the candidate meet this performance standard?” 14 1. Appearance/Uniform a. Uniform and appearance is professional. b. The official presents a good level of personal fitness. 2. Agility/Movement/ Fitness/Stamina a. Movement around the field is smooth and fluid. b. Proper speed is used when needed throughout game. 3. Positioning /Coverage of Play a. Uses correct mechanics and positioning throughout the full game. b. Adjustments are made as dictated by game. 4. Penalty Judgements: Application or Non-application (**Evaluation based on video review of calls.) a. Correct rule enforcement on all plays. b. Good non-call judgment in all situations. 5. Composure/Calm under pressure a. Appears calm and composed throughout the game. b. Provides assurance to others. 6. Judgements (Non-penalty) (**Evaluation based on video review of calls.) a. Uses correct judgement on possession, catch/no-catch, lateral/forward pass, scoring, etc. all the game. 7. Ball spotting/forward progress (**Evaluation based on video review of calls.) a. Correct forward progress marking on all plays plus correction of others. 8. Consistency a. Rulings and judgements are accurate and consistent through full game. 9. Signaling a. Executes signals correctly on all plays with a controlled demeanor. (Does not oversell calls) 10.Communications with Officiating Crew (includes minor officials) a. Works very well with others. Uses clear & accurate intra-crew signals & communications. b. Puts the crew’s interests ahead of his or her own. (Getting it right!) 11.Communications with Players and Coaches a. Throughout the full game is not too friendly with players/coaches while showing respect and tact. b. Is able to set limits. 12.Demonstrates a feel for the game a. Demonstrates the ability to be in the right place and make the correct call at the right time consistently. Each element receives a different weighting factor in the final analysis of the data. High priority is given to the “fitness” and ”athleticism” elements. Equally highly regarded are the judgement elements for obvious reason 15 Officiating Development NFL Style Every NFL game has a third team on the field: the officiating crew. For every down and every snap, this seven-person unit makes precision calls and split-second decisions at full speed. Without the benefit of multiple camera angles on high-definition TV, this crew rules on about 160 plays each and every game. Correctly officiating an NFL game takes years of training and experience. Dean Blandino and Al Riveron discuss what goes into building the NFL's "third team." NFL officials are the best of the best — only 122 officials currently have the privilege of calling football games at the highest level. No one officiates forever, so the NFL’s Officiating Department continuously develops a robust talent pipeline to ensure that the next generation of officials is ready to step up when needed. The Officiating Department works closely with local, state and collegiate officiating associations to develop this pipeline of high school and college football officials across the country. The league also hosts grass-roots clinics and programs designed to introduce young men and women to football officiating at every level. FINDING THE BEST The NFL has developed a regional network of 92 officiating scouts to canvass the country in search of officials with the potential to advance to higher levels of football. “If you were going to write a 10-chapter book about what it’s like to be an official in the NFL, the first nine chapters would deal with preparation. The last chapter would deal with the game.” Jerry Seeman, NFL senior director of officiating, 1991–2001 These efforts have led to a pool of about 2,000 officials — primarily from the high school and collegiate officiating ranks — that have been observed and evaluated by an NFL scout and invited to apply to the NFL’s Officiating Development Program. Once in the program, the 16 regional scouts track their progress, and those who stand out can earn opportunities to move up the officiating ladder. All will learn important personal and professional skills that will help them on and off the field. A select few will demonstrate the skills, athleticism and strength of character necessary to officiate in the NFL. Though technically officiating is a part-time job, NFL officials dedicate significant time and energy to succeed at football’s highest level, often in addition to their careers running businesses, practicing law, farming or teaching. Officiating Development PROGRAMS Programs FOR ADVANCED OFFICIALS High-performing prospects may earn their way into one of these programs, which develop officiating talent at the highest levels: “The key to officiating is learning to focus completely for 8 seconds at a time, 160 times in a row.” Mason "RED" CASHION, NFL OFFICIAL, 1972–1986 Advanced Development Program (ADP): The most experienced and qualified nonNFL officials in the country are invited to join ADP. This select group — typically officials for major college conferences — gets a chance to demonstrate their skills and be evaluated and mentored by the NFL’s Officiating Department to see if they are ready to advance to the NFL. Legends Officiating Development Program (LODP): Former players get the opportunity to use their unique knowledge of football and world-class athleticism to stay involved in the game they love. LODP offers former players a possible accelerated path into a football officiating career. BROADENING THE POOL (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) These grass-roots initiatives are designed to expand the public’s interest and skills in officiating at every level: Football Officiating Academy (FOA): FOA broadens the talent pool by introducing officiating to people across the country who are interested in learning more about it. These academies 17 teach officiating mechanics and football fundamentals, along with professional and personal skills that last a lifetime. Sign up for a Football Officiating Academy near you. Women Officiating Now (WON): WON introduces women to the possibility of officiating football and helps them get involved in football at all levels. http://operations.nfl.com/the-officials/officiating-development/scouting-the-next-nfl-officials/ Of the thousands of football officials nationwide, only 122 with the experience, technical skills, athleticism, and character to call the game at its highest level currently officiate in the National Football League. To make sure the NFL always has the most qualified officials, scouts work across the country, scouting all levels of football to identify potential NFL officials. The league then uses this prospect pool to develop and choose the next NFL officials. SCOUTING FOR TALENT As these candidates, men and women, continue to officiate games, the scouts monitor their progress, act as mentors, and help the candidates advance through the officiating ranks. Meet David Wyant, NFL Officiating Recruiting and Scouting Coordinator 18 Grass-roots level officiating prospects receive hands-on training from current officials and trainers through the NFL’s Football Officiating Academy, clinics, and other opportunities. More experienced officials, typically at the college level, refine their skills through similar opportunities, while remaining with their current conferences. From the over 3,000 officials in the pipeline, the top NCAA D-I officials will be selected for the Advanced Development Program (ADP) — putting them one step away from officiating in the NFL. The Officiating Department’s scouting team — led by Alberto Riveron, senior director of officiating, and David Wyant, recruiting and scouting coordinator — is essential to the League’s commitment to identifying and developing prospects who may one day become NFL officials. Scouts pound the pavement looking for up-and-comers, attending more than 600 games each season at various levels. The NFL Officiating Department staff themselves attend about 50 games a season, including those that feature the League’s ADP prospects, including the postseason college all-star games. Ranking the Prospects: A Scout's Report Card The NFL Officiating Department has developed a regional network of more than 50 scouts in 34 states, to canvass the country in search of officials with the potential to advance to higher levels of football. Armed with their extensive knowledge of football and officiating, scouts use mainly two methods to find the next generation of officials: “bird-dogging” and word-of-mouth scouting .A scout “bird-dogs” high school and college football games — meaning that, with no existing knowledge of the officials, the scout shows up at a game just to observe. Not every game features an official who catches a scout’s eye, but occasionally one stands out.If an official makes a positive impression working a game at which an NFL scout makes a “bird-dog” visit, the scout will approach the official after the game to make an introduction, and extend an 19 invitation to register in the NFL Officiating Development Program database. 20 SPOTTING NECESSARY TRAITS NFL officiating scouts are trained to recognize the distinct qualities that separate NFLquality officials from the rest. Scouts look for officials who exhibit the following traits during every play of a game: Accuracy in enforcing penalties, and the ability to make consistent calls from play-to-play and game-to-game; Physical fitness and a professional appearance; Field presence, which includes decisiveness, professionalism, and steady game oversight; Understanding and correct application of the rules; The knowledge and ability to execute correct mechanics and procedures with confidence and precision; and Personal qualities demonstrated by striving for improvement, leading by example and maintaining integrity. http://operations.nfl.com/the-officials/behind-the-stripes-timeline/ http://operations.nfl.com/the-officials/history-of-the-official/ http://operations.nfl.com/the-officials/these-officials-are-really-good/officials-responsibilitiespositions/ 21 22 Officials an Endangered Species???????????????? Nomads football club suspends staff after referee pushed at game North Winnipeg Nomads player suspended indefinitely by league after game against Greendell Falcons CBC News Posted: Oct 05, 2014 1:58 PM CT Last Updated: Oct 06, 2014 8:36 PM CT http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/nomads-football-club-suspends-staff-after-refereepushed-at-game-1.2788372 The North Winnipeg Nomads Football Club has suspended its entire coaching, training and managerial staff for the rest of the season, after one of its players allegedly pushed a referee during a game on Friday. The team's board issued the suspensions at an emergency meeting Monday evening, after the Midget Football League of Manitoba suspended the player involved in the incident. "This reaction is not just for one game. This is for a couple incidents that happened during the year that was brought to the coaching staff's attention and things that weren't addressed," Nomads president Jeffrey Bannon told CBC News. "We take these things very seriously." 23 Bannon said a meeting will be held with Nomads players and parents on Tuesday evening to discuss the team's future for the rest of this season. If the team can find replacement coaches soon, they can play the rest of the season, he said. If it can't, the team would have to forfeit its remaining games, including the playoffs. Bannon admitted it will be a challenge to find replacement coaching staff because playoffs are starting in other leagues and divisions. The suspended members can file an appeal, and the suspension will be formally reviewed under the club's code of conduct, but Bannon said they have accepted what he described as a difficult decision. "These are volunteer coaches. They spend, you know, countless amount of hours and they're probably more disappointed than anyone," Bannon said. Player suspended indefinitely The incident in question happened at a game Friday night between the Nomads and the Greendell Falcons. A Nomads player was penalized during the game, objected to the penalty and pushed a referee as he was walking off the field. Dustin Pernitsky, vice-president of public relations with the Midget Football League of Manitoba, said the league has taken action and is also investigating the incident. "We have suspended the player indefinitely," said Pernitsky. Pernitsky said the Nomads are investigating the incident and will be consulting with the Manitoba Football Officials Association. The league consists of six teams with players aged 15 to 17. 'I was flabbergasted,' says Falcons coach Greendell Falcons head coach Perry Gilmour said some of his players were seriously injured during that game, including one who was knocked out and taken to hospital. Gilmour said the action on the field was so rough, he called off the game before the second half. "In one quarter of play that I've lost, I had six players on the bench, and our training staff was overwhelmed at the time. We've never had that," he told CBC News. Gilmour said he was watching from the sidelines when he saw the incident involving the referee and the Nomads player. 24 "The ref flew a flag because he was using inappropriate language at the refs, and then he turned and he rushed the ref and knocked him to the ground," he said. "I was flabbergasted. I mean, that's crossing the line," Gilmour added. "That's unacceptable in sport today." Gilmour said he will wait for the outcome of the investigation, but for now he would not feel comfortable having his team play the Nomads again this season. Football Manitoba conducting investigation Meanwhile, Football Manitoba is conducting its own investigation involving the Nomads player and the official involved in Friday's incident. "Officials should never be touched. They shouldn't be hit. It's unacceptable in our sport for that to happen," said Shawn Coates, Football Manitoba's executive director. The case has parents like Terry Shaw, whose seven-year-old son plays football, planning to talk to their children about respect in sport. "We will sit him down and we'll remind him that not only does he need to be respectful to the other team, but to the people that … support his ability to play the game — his coach and the refs," Shaw said. He added that it's important that young players understand that many referees are investing their own time so that kids can play organized sports. Coates said players' families have to sign a code of conduct when they sign up for the season. Football Manitoba is looking at implementing a Respect in Sport online course, he added. Referees Struggle With Respect Amid Growing Hostility http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/referees-struggle-respect-amid-growing-hostility-35408184 BY KURT VOIGT, AP SPORTS WRITER FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Nov 25, 2015, 6:06 AM ET this Friday, Nov. 6, 2015 photo, referee Greg Knight, center, leans in for a pregame prayer with 25 other officials before a high school football game in Gentry, Ark. Sports across the country are facing increasing scrutiny, with many taking out insurance in case they are attacked by fans or coaches. (AP Photo/Kurt Voigt) Jimmy Woods has been a youth official for nearly 30 years, and he's lost count of how many football games he has refereed and how many times he's been yelled at, threatened or insulted. Oh, he remembers the details. He has been surrounded by angry parents following games, told he "has no integrity" by coaches and cursed at as recently as this season by players and fans at a private high school in Little Rock. "People don't respect the emblem anymore," said Woods, a 50-year-old firefighter who officiates games on the side. "They think you're out to get them or cheat them." Violence against referees is as old as sport itself, and most are familiar with awful stories from lower-division soccer matches in Europe or South America. But the headlines have appeared uncomfortably closer to home for Woods and his fellow officials lately. In a two-year span, referees in Utah and Michigan died after they were punched by angry players during games. In September, two San Antonio football players blindsided a referee on purpose, an incident that drew widespread condemnation. This has come at a cost: By all accounts from those involved, finding and retaining referees is becoming more and more difficult. In fact, recognizing the potential shortage, many desperate state high school associations have taken lead roles in recruiting new talent to an aging workforce facing startlingly hostile conditions. One of those states is Kansas, where the number of registered officials has dropped since the 2012-13 school year. The state had 2,027 basketball officials that year, compared to 1,887 this year, and the number of football referees has shrunk from 1,372 to 1,309 over the same span. The average age of the state's softball umpires by one measurement was found to be over 60. The effects of a referee shortage are many — games are delayed or moved or canceled altogether, and referee crews in sports such as soccer and basketball are trimmed from three to two, said Gary Musselman, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, whose group, like many others, is in the midst of the prep football playoffs. "I don't want to sound disparaging of younger generations, but I think sometimes younger people aren't as inclined to be as fixed in as some older people," Musselman said. "Maybe they are more established and aren't as caught up in, 'Does everybody like me?' Because officials are going to do things that people aren't going to like, and not everybody can handle that negative feedback." 26 Two years ago, the association started making training opportunities more accessible for potential referees and offering a $1,000 grant, the first of which was awarded to the Greater Wichita Officials Association to help create a library of video clips for training. Coaches were asked to identify possible future referees among their players, too. The efforts resulted in 22 recent high school graduates registering as officials. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association offers to waive its first- or secondyear registration fees for current and former members of the U.S. military. One marketing brochure reads: "From Serving Our Country ... To Helping Our Schools." Barry Mano founded the National Association of Sports Officials in 1980 and spent 23 years as a college basketball referee. The group in Racine, Wisconsin, doesn't keep national data to track the decline, but its 2002 survey found that 90 percent of high school officials believed they had a referee shortage — and Mano doubts those concerns have gone away in the face of growing animosity and poor behavior by fans and coaches. "Unsporting behavior continues to be the main reason that people get out of officiating," said Mano, who noted that pay for his members ranges from roughly $50-$60 per game at the high school level to approximately $2,500-$3,000 for major college football games. "They worry about their safety, they worry about putting up with all that guff for $50 a game. Are you kidding me? That's why there are shortages of men and women who want to go out and officiate in a lot of parts of this country." A call to NASO leads to a menu with multiple choices. The third option is the association's Assault Protection Program for its 22,000-plus members. "It is kind of a sad commentary," said Mano, whose organization backed legislation in more than 20 states to beef up punishments for people who attack a referee. NASO also provides insurance that can help officials who are the victim of an assault by a spectator or athlete, as well as money for attorney fees. Don Boss, 64, has officiated a variety of sports over his 47 years in the business, and he's overseen high school and adult soccer leagues in Arkansas for more than 20 years. He assigns officials in the central part of the state and tries to weed out officials who might not be able to walk away from a heated situation. "The problem isn't finding refs," Boss said. "The problem is finding good refs." Boss has seen his share of incidents over the years — baseball bats being wielded as weapons, guns being shown, police standing by, referees being assaulted. Boss has a simple rule he takes with him onto the field, intended to keep everyone calm: "Everyone goes to work on Monday." Like many of his colleagues, Woods started as a football referee, in Texas in 1987, to remain connected to the game he once played. It's a little money on the side, a chance to be active and around the game he loves. 27 Nearly 30 years later, in an officiating career that's seen him work in high school and college in conferences such as the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Conference USA, the former minor league baseball player continues to referee despite taking medical leave from his firefighting job in recent years as he battles leukemia. He plans to keep going. "It's a great service to the kids," Woods said. "Without these guys working at all levels of football, from pee wee to junior high to high school to college to different pro and semipro events, these kid Officials can except to be criticized by coaches, fans and broadcasters. You don’t normally see officials being criticized publicly by there own Executive. Officials are always being graded and evaluated. Public statements from within their own are certainly not necessary. As you know, if a mistake is made, no one owns it more than an official. Rob Christian MacAulay quits NFLRA (sort of) after statement calling out his crew Posted by Mike Florio on December 27, 2015, 3:06 PM EST Last week’s debacle at MetLife Stadium resulted in no consequences for referee Terry McAulay’s crew beyond the normal grading process. Despite the absence of a problem for McAulay and the NFL, there’s apparently a problem between McAulay and the union that represents him, the NFL Referees Association. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, McAulay wasn’t happy with the decision of NFLRA executive director Jim Quirk to issue a statement criticizing the crew for its handling of the game. According to the source, McAulay was sufficiently upset to essentially quit the union. Technically, union dues payment is mandatory. Union involvement, however, isn’t. Which means that McAulay isn’t required to take any role in advancing the interests or agenda of the union. NFLRA leadership is trying to get McAulay to reconsider. That will require McAulay to get past these comments from Quirk: “I don’t want to second-guess the guys that worked the game, but 28 I thought they should have been a lot more judicious in their attempts to get this thing under control. I don’t know why they did what they did, but I wish it had been handled different.” McAulay surely wishes his crew had handled it differently, too. It wasn’t within his jurisdiction to police the interactions between Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman. Still, the league’s overall culture has counselled caution when ejecting players, given the potential impact on competitive balance. That could change after last Sunday. Whether McAulay changes his mind about the NFLRA may hinge on whether Quirk or someone else issues another statement that expresses support for the league. As one source remarked to Pro Football Talk, “Can you imagine [NFLPA executive director] DeMaurice Smith issuing a statement like that about a player?” Indeed, the job of a union is to protect all of its members, not to call them out. McAulay’s anger is understandable, and Quirk would be wise to find a way to put the toothpaste back in the tube. YOU Make the CALL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bce4q7968qg Should Odell Beckham Jr. Be Suspended? | The Great Debate | NFL 29 Christian’s Corner MECHANICS – Football.Refs.Org Mechanics are the most important, concrete, method of self-evaluation. They also demonstrate our poise, professionalism, and commitment to the game. There are manuals which outline the best ways to ensure that we are in proper position to make the correct calls a majority of the time and to sell our judgment as sound. While there may be some minor deviations, the manuals MUST be adhered to if we are to adequately enforce the rules of engagement. You have probably noticed by now that my approach to the game is much like a spider's web. I have ten points which appear separate and yet all weave together and intertwine. Many of my individual preferences overlap into several of my points. I break mechanics into unnamed categories. The first is working on my mechanics as outlined in the manuals. I look to the mechanics from a perspective of what will put me in the best position to rule and create a comfort zone which creates the illusion of professionalism. My first concern is to have a good field of vision. I want to have an unobstructed view of any action which may fall into my zone. Initial Position As a wing official, I believe being at the sideline is the best place to start... note, I said start. This allows me to see all the action on the field without worrying about players getting behind me. It also ensures that the play is coming at me and I don't have to be preoccupied with backing up and wondering if I can run backwards and remain on my feet! Now if the ball is placed on the far hash, I may come in to the numbers but I never want to be closer than 10 yards to any player... obviously, this is not the case in university ball as we have clear guidelines about starting on the sidelines. As a referee, I want to set up so that I can see tackle to tackle and be on the QB's throwing arm side. I don't like to get outside the tackles because if the action rolls away 30 from me, I am already out of the play and unable to properly see the action as it develops. While field of vision is important, I also want to move fluidly and with purpose. While I start on the sidelines, I want to close briskly to the end of the action AFTER the action is over. Don't be too quick to get in there as you may get caught up in a fumble, an extraordinary athletic move which keeps the runner on his feet, or miss dead ball fouls. I trail the play parallel to the sideline and then cut a 90 degree angle and move directly to the dead ball spot. I prefer this tactic because it keeps my field of vision wide, enabling me to see more than if I am angling or sauntering. I mentioned in earlier criteria that being lackadaisical is like telling everyone I don't care. During and After the Play Close with your head up and on a swivel. You have the spot in your mind; but don't focus so much on that small area. I never run by players to get to a spot, because this is when we miss dead ball action away from the ball. I have noted over the years that some officials seem to be overly close to the play. They think that close means good mechanics and hustle. I tend to subscribe to the philosophy that I want to be close enough to rule but not so close that I am in the play itself. Trail and rule. I like to be about 5-8 yards behind the runner from the flank position. This implies that I also have read the play situation properly...pass versus run. We all have been taught to read the tackles....if they fire out and downfield I think run; if they retreat, then I read pass. I also factor in the situation: down, distance, time, and team tendencies. When I misread, I adjust accordingly. If I read pass and they run, I allow the play to come to me. If I read run and they pass, I move my butt to get into the best position. Goal lines... inside the 7 I begin thinking about the goal line and I move to protect it. I like to be on the goal about 2-3 yards outside the pylon, as I feel this gives me the most advantageous position to rule without being caught up in the players. Again, we should be on the goal waiting for the play, not trailing in this situation. I want to be able to see the relationship between the ball and the goal...it is the most important line we have. Dead ball... an area in which many of us are remiss. I toss the ball underhand when relaying and I don't worry about the new ball until I am confident that all action has ceased. I also use this time to check my sidelines. I want to make certain that I have the proper room in which to work and that it is clear of everyone except those who are LEGALLY entitled to be there. I talk to coaches and then I administer warnings. My personal feeling is that officials who are lax in this area are sending a negative message. It erodes our image of professionalism and control. It's the little things which 31 separate the good officials from the average ones. I jog to new positions, never walk. I also note the time, distance and down as I feel these items are all of our responsibilities and not left to just one official. The ball, My whistle, and Marking the Spot I want to be aware of the ball. Too often we pretend that we are so focused on our area that we don't know status of the ball. I want to know ball status. I may not know if there is a fumble away from me but I want to know that it is a run. Being wide gives me the advantage of more total game awareness. Whistle control is vital. The whistle does not kill the ball, unless it is inadvertent; it merely indicates that action is now over. The rules kill the ball. Sidebar - when coaches scream that there was no whistle I ask them a simple question - "So if your player is laying on the ground and there is no whistle, it's okay for the defense punish him?" Their silence affirms that they know what is right. I seldom echo a whistle. I don't like to call what I haven't seen. You run the risk of echoing a phantom whistle from the stands and we know where that leads. Also, don't be in a hurry to rule. I never kill the play until I see the runner down with the ball. If his back is turned, or I am screened out, I merely wait and let the action speak for itself. Use discretion when marking the ball. I don't like to extend a foot, I prefer to indicate with upfield foot by subtlety extending it no more than a foot length in front of my other foot. If the Umpire takes the spot of the other official, I gently move to echo that spot. This offering is dryer than others, but then mechanics, after all, are mechanical! Officials who concentrate on rules or mechanics alone will never be excellent officials. We need to emphasize both equally. My Checklist for Mechanics Maintain a good field of vision Start on the sideline Move with control, authority, and purpose Study the manual Two-three hours a week during season One hour week during off season Observe other officials to support or change my method Read game situation time down distance 32 tendencies key off tackles Dead Ball Begin on the sideline Monitor my sideline Keep the sideline clear of unnecessary traffic Talk with coaches requesting cooperation Sideline warning Don't wait until the end of the fourth quarter - if they are there now, it is because I let them be there for the entire game. Check down indicator Move downs counter AFTER box has set Keep eyes on field as much as possible Goal line Start thinking about it when inside the ten Move quickly to goal at snap Communicate with side officials to ensure we are all on the same page. Delay TD signal to allow mental process. Body language Keep head up Keep head on a 'swivel' Be aware of the ball Know if there is a pass or a run Adjust when necessary Whistle control Blow only when certain the ball is dead See the ball before ruling Do not echo another whistle unless it is absolutely needed. Do not exaggerate movements Mark the spot indiscreetly Adjust to the crew 33 I personally think there is very little to repair – Rob Christian Referees: How to repair college football's officiating system – by Jon Solomon, National College Football Writer Seemingly everywhere you look this college football season (NCAA), high-profile officiating controversies continue to add up. If it's not highly questionable targeting calls, it's inadvertent whistles that get mismanaged. If if's not the winning touchdown coming when a wide receiver is mistakenly ruled to have been forced out of bounds, it's the winning score on a lateral after replay misses a knee being down. The ACC and Pac-12 have suspended crews in recent weeks. In reality, bad mistakes don't happen everywhere. Officials are human so mistakes will naturally happen. No one is perfect -- not the coaches, players or officials. Still, college football is a multi-billion dollar industry. Increasingly, the sport struggles with how to raise the standards for officiating to meet that reality -- or at least change the public's perception of poor officiating. One veteran official from a Power Five conference, who wished to remain anonymous, said there are deep and systemic officiating problems in college football that need to be addressed. “The accountability for officials is messed up,” the official said. “Sometimes you get a high level of accountability for things you really don't deserve, and sometimes you have no accountability for things that deserve it. It's really not handled well from league to league, from incident to incident. “You can see across the grid those officials who are in it for the right reasons and those who aren't. Our evaluation process is all over the map. It's really not that good. It appears accountability tends to rest in the eyes of how big (a mistake) gets publicly rather than doing what most organizations say and that is just say, ‘This is what we expect.'” CBS Sports separately interviewed two conference officiating coordinators (Bill Carollo of the Big Ten and Terry McAulay of the American Athletic Conference); one conference commissioner (Bob Bowlsby of the Big 12); one anonymous official (a respected veteran from a Power Five conference); and the president of the National Association of Sports Officials (Barry Mano, who founded Referee magazine). As the scrutiny on officials increases, some people within the officiating community have fundamental concerns that focus on maintaining and recruiting quality officials, paying them 34 enough to justify their time worked and the scrutiny, and providing appropriate accountability and transparency when mistakes happen. Others aren't as concerned about officiating compared to the public perception. ” McAulay said. “Social media makes it appear worse than it really is. I think officiating, in general, is very good considering how much more complex the game has become with tempo and different plays and more plays. “I really believe the muffed punt at Michigan, the poor defense called by a coach or the wrong call made by an official is a major, major part of our game and is very exciting about sports. If every aspect of a game was perfect, I think people would turn away because the human foibles that take place are very, very important to the game. That's not trying to excuse the mistakes that are made.” Should officiating be a more professional avocation? Full-time officials are probably never going to happen. If the NFL hasn't done it yet, then it surely won't come to college football. Mano said there aren't enough football games, unlike in basketball or baseball, for management to justify officials being full-time employees. Said Bowlsby, chairman of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee: We're managing hundreds and hundreds of games compared to 16 games on a Sunday. I don't know that we're headed there, but the comparisons with how the professional officiating programs are administrated is not really apples to apples.” Maybe not. But Carollo, who is on the new 12-member College Football Officiating Competition Committee, said college football officiating hasn't been professionalized enough to change with the times. “I get these guys to come in and do replay training for a couple days a year. It's good,” Carollo said. “I need year-round training, just like the coaches, just like the players. This is not part-time anymore. I think it's an important job and needs to be recognized like that. It's not organized that way right now. I think we can do a lot better to make it a real professional avocation.” It's already close to a full-time job for the best officials. The anonymous Power Five official estimated he spends 30 to 40 hours per week on officiating during the season in addition to his full-time job. During the offseason, he spends about 20 hours a week to study the rules. Not everybody puts in that much time, he said. Some officials gather for weekly study sessions in the offseason. Officials who care about staying sharp will attend several clinics across the country for trips they pay for out of pocket. 35 “If you don't spend the time, you'll suck,” the official said. “If you suck in a big game, you know how much time these coaches and players spend and what it means to them. It's just a real sad thing when you see an officiating crew that doesn't have their mind wrapped around officiating for the right reason and doesn't prepare themselves to the best of their ability.” Carollo believes officiating would improve if college football applied a more professionalized approach, such as required training and higher pay. “But we pay it like it's a part-time job. When you look at our officials today, and even at the NFL, and you look at the hours they put in, it's a little embarrassing how much they're paid per hour.” Are the right people in replay? The vast majority of college football replay officials are ex-referees. Carollo questions if these are necessarily the right people reviewing calls upstairs. “I think my last five replay hires are lawyers,” Carollo said. “They're really smart people. (Replay officials) have to be really smart and understand the rules. I think we can get much better people up there. I've got a 24-year-old guy working Division I replay who has never officiated before and he's one of my top replay guys.” “This replay job doesn't exist at the lower levels,” McAulay said. “It's a very difficult job to fill. How do you know they will handle the pressure? Can they officiate well with video or is it gut instinct? I've seen the best on-field officials become poor replay officials and vice versa and everything in between. I'm not really sure what the answer is. Keep in mind, replay is still young in college football. The Big Ten first experimented with replay in 2004 and the NCAA adopted it for all conferences in 2006. The NFL used replay on a limited basis from 1986-91 and then discarded it before bringing replay back in 1999. Increasingly, replay in pro sports has moved to centralized command centers, a concept that commissioners and officiating coordinators are discussing. The NFL, NHL and MLB use people stationed in a command center to make replay calls. The anonymous Power Five official wants this in college football. “Let's take our three best replay officials in our conference and put them in one spot,” the Power Five official said. “We've got the technology to centralize it and we can limit the number of officials, which limits the inconsistency from one to the other. “I think we better take a deep breath and look at the replay system and where it's going,” Mano said. “We should be looking for indisputable video evidence. I've been in the Major League Baseball command center. You look at a play and we're arguing in the command center. That's 36 just substituting a judgment on the field with a judgment in the command center, and it turns out sometimes it's not much better.” How should accountability and transparency be handled? There was some satisfaction from the public when the ACC suspended the entire Miami-Duke officiating crew and replay officials for two games due to mistakes they made on the Hurricanes' winning touchdown. But within the officiating community, there is deep concern about suspensions. “We do this all the time where we suspend an entire crew for something one or two people are responsible for doing,” the Power Five official said. “There were people who were suspended who had nothing to do with it, yet they sit for a week for something someone on their crew did. If a player or coach does something wrong, the entire team doesn't sit.” Mano said officials want management to apply a consistent policy instead of suspending crews for public relations purposes. “Really? Where the hell is this going?” Mano said. “There's no replay during that game, but they take those raw (video) materials and look at it and say, ‘This crew screwed something up.' You're out there for 40 to 50 bucks a game and you want to subject yourself to this kind of (expletive)? The vast majority of mistakes made are reasonably made. It doesn't mean they're not wrong, but what do you want us to do? “I'd like to use what we use in a court of law. Is what the official did reasonable? It might turn out to be factually wrong because of technology, but was it unreasonably done? If the answer is yes, there needs to be some penalty. But if it passes the reasonable test, even though it's wrong, then shut up and stand up to the rest of the world The NBA has started publicizing last two-minute reports of calls or no-calls in games which are within five points at the two-minute mark. The report identifies the time of the call, what got called, the committing player, the disadvantaged player, whether the call was correct or not, and a brief comment. Mano said officials are fine with these reports and they “play to the entertainment package” of fans who have opinions about officiating. Said the Power Five official: “Why not do that in college football?” McAulay, the American officiating coordinator, questioned the purpose of the NBA two-minute report. “I'll tell you what I learned when I first took this job and I think you saw this in the Duke-Miami situation in spades," he said. "When you start identifying various errors that give an indication that the wrong team won the game because of officials' mistakes, you have indeed tainted the 37 win of the other team. Football is played for 60 minutes and maybe a mistake late seems important, but mistakes are made throughout. Who's to say if not for a mistake at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game couldn't have turned into a blowout?” McAulay said the American is exceptionally transparent to its customers -- that is, coaches and schools. Generally, he said, the American is careful on what it says publicly, but coaches and schools know when mistakes occurred and if officiating crews get suspended. “That's transparent enough for now, and maybe the times will change soon and we have to go that direction,” McAulay said. “There was a coach on the West Coast a couple years ago that was espousing for a ref to get in front of the microphone like he does after a game to explain himself. My thought was, ‘When my referee gets a bonus for $2.5 million, then we might consider that.' But for the relatively small fee he makes, I don't see why it's appropriate to put him through that additional pressure or attention.” Is there a pipeline for future college officials? Approximately 60,000 to 70,000 people are amateur football officials in America, according to the National Association of Sports Officials. Mano said that's slightly down from five years ago and it's getting harder to convince people to officiate. On the association's surveys, the No. 1 reason people cite for why they stop officiating is unsportsmanlike behavior at games. “We don't see (recruiting problems) firsthand at our level, but there are some troubling signs in terms of the front end of the funnel,” Bowlsby said. “There aren't as many young men and women that want to be officials. I am concerned for the future of it because if we don't have quality people coming in the front side of the funnel, we won't have quality people at our level before long.” Carollo, the Big Ten coordinator, said recent attacks on officials in high school and youth sports could cause more people to avoid officiating. “We don't get a lot of people raising their hand saying, ‘I want to be a ref to get yelled at by 50,000 people,'” Carollo said. “Let's start with the people we have now. Can we fix what we have right now? Then we need to step back and say, 'In five years and 20 years, what are we going to do?' “People say, ‘Why don't you make it full-time? Why not have a national Division I officiating group not tied to the conferences and pick the best 100?' There's something to be said about all of this. Can we make it better? It's important. We have to try.” 38 Vanier Cup Backup official identified From Rt to Left Kevin Riopel LU Iain Cropper FJ James Fowler U Henry Chiu R Nigel Bushe SJ Marc Cobb HL Back Up official identified as Renald Dulac apologies for missing your name in the Dec issue Look back in time when the best dressed officials wore shorts. Can you identify these young men? 39 On the left, with the open necked shirt is Barclay Easton, President EOTFOA on the left and on the right EOTFOA Referee in Chief, John Pinches with award winners EOTFOA contribution to Officiating Award recipient is JohnKachiuk John's award recognized his incredible dedication and contributions to officiating over many many years. It is the highest honour our association can award. And John has earned it many times over! Don Wilcox, EOTFOA EOTFOA most improved official, is Frank Nigro EOTFOA Rookie of the Year official, is 40 Steve King. 2015 OUA Officials Award of Merit Voted on by the OUA Coaches, this year’s OUA Officials Award of Merit goes to Kevin Horton. Kevin is the only repeat winner since this award was established. Previous recipients include Ron MacVinnie and Murray Drinkwalter. Manitoba Football Officials Association Our members were proud to have represented the MFOA as the CFL support crew at the 103rd Grey Cup. A great way to end the season. Great job gentlemen! — with David Kendall, Ardis Oleksyn,Daniel Jacob Doerksen, Damien Lacasse, Chris Donaldson, Jamie Bernard, Jon Reyes, Ryan Ratte, Jp Chorn and Kyle Mikulik. Missing Brian Hlatkey, Dale Jacobson, Richard Pilbeam and Ron Hallock Referee, Staying Up to Snuff - Google Books Result https://books.google.ca/books?isbn=1440192707 Chuck Wenstrom - 2009 - Sports & Recreation Oftentimes early whistles would be tied in with rookie officials. ... with an early whistle, it does relate to our first rookie female football referee. ... about women in football is now passe with women's tackle football beginning to gain in popularity. 41 42 Football Canada 100 – 2255, boul. St. Laurent Ottawa, ON K1G 4K3 Telephone : 613-564-0003 Fax: 613564-6309 [email protected] Contacts Rose-Anne Joly Administrative Coordinator: General inquiries [email protected] ext: 221 Shannon Donovan Executive Director: Operations, events, competitions, officials, finance [email protected] ext: 225 Aaron Geisler Technical Coordinator: JPD, 6-A-Side, Flag Football, Aboriginal programs, NCCP [email protected] ext: 227 Patrick DeLottinville Communications Coordinator [email protected] ext: 226 Tamara Hinic [email protected] Event Coordinator ext. 222 Jean François Lefebvre, [email protected] Manager, Program Development ext. 228 Chris Flynn Director of sponsorship [email protected]. 43