NY Metro ISOA News

Match Preparation

Has this ever happened to you? You show up at a site for a scheduled match only to find neither team had the game scheduled. If this has never happened to you, you are either very lucky or you know how to properly prepare for the game assignment. Now that you are assigned games from several different assignors and their particular web site (or in the case of the ECAC, two assignment pages for a single game in the metro NY area), there are going to be conflicts.

I suggest you check the home institution’s athletic web page as well. Most schools have their schedule and athletic department contacts listed. If you have a scheduled match that is not shown on the host school’s web site, you should contact the athletic department to confirm the game site and time. If it’s a CUNYAC game, you should contact the athletic department in all cases since venues and times change frequently. This simple procedure takes only a couple of minutes. Verifying the game details and coordinating communication among the officiating crew is part of your professional responsibility. If you are too busy to do this or think it is not your responsibility, do not accept the assignment.

You can read more about referee match preparation in our Clinicians’ Corner.

Availability Update

If you haven’t updated your availability recently, take a few minutes and do it. You can find all the local assignors’ web pages on our web site.

Communication Before The Match

Each official is responsible to ensure they communicate with the other members of the officiating crew at least 48 hours before game day. If you do not speak with the members of the officiating crew, you must receive positive confirmation that your message has been received. If you leave a voice message and do not receive a prompt response, call again. If you send an email and do not receive confirmation, you must continue to attempt to contact the crew members.

Some of our members are very technologically adept and can respond to a wide variety of communication methods. Other members are not as savvy or do not have access to technology in their work environment. The recommended 48 hour buffer is generally adequate to ensure satisfactory communication among the crew.

In the event of a time or venue change within 48 hours of the originally scheduled start time, we strongly recommend telephone contact and confirmation. Please keep your contact information up to date with the Chapter Secretary and the assignor’s web sites.