Summary of 2011 NISOA National Convention/AGM

The following items were announced or approved at the 2011 NISOA National Convention and Annual General Meeting in Frisco, Texas on July 16, 2011:

  • Manuel Ortiz Jr. was appointed Director of Assigning.
  • Starting this year, the Annual Rules Refresher test will be administered online by the NCAA at ArbiterSports.com. The entry exam for candidates will remain a hard copy test, administered by the local chapters.
  • Officials desiring NCAA Division I post-season assignments will be required to pass the Annual Rules Refresher test, take in-season quizzes and watch in-season video clips at ArbiterSports.com.
  • The draft proposal to raise annual dues by $5 was voted down by the Executive Board and the General Membership. Dues for 2012 will remain at the 2011 schedule.
  • A Spanish version of the entry exam will be provided annually to the chapters for their use. The NISOA Executive Board strongly recommends candidates who wish to take the entry exam in Spanish should be allowed to do so.
  • A new NISOA dress code policy, which states that NISOA officials shall not wear visible jewelry and shall be at the same level of standard that is expected of players.
  • The mandatory uniform dress code was amended to allow officials to wear black socks with three white stripes with all approved shirts. As always, all officials must dress alike.
  • The mandatory referee kit for new members was revised to make the purchase of NISOA flags optional.
  • A chapter transfer policy was established. Chapter transfer requests made by a member in good standing shall be granted absent a showing of good cause for denial by the gaining chapter.
  • Manuel Ortiz, Sr. (TX) was inducted as a referee into the NISOA Hall of Fame.
  • Larry Dorsey (CA) was inducted as an administrator into the NISOA Hall of Fame.
  • Shane Magaris (Western NY) was awarded the Region II Referee of the Year.
  • The NISOA Code of Ethics was amended to address potential conflict of interest items.
  • The 2012 NISOA National Convention will be held in Chicago, Illinois. The 2013 Convention will be held in Denver, Colorado. Buffalo, New York will host the 2014 Convention.

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2 Comments so far

  1. Alan Wharton says:

    I object to having the NISOA exam be given to officials in a language other than English. This is America – the language in this country is English. If an official went to another country – they would have to learn that country’s language in order to survive. Why should it be any different in the United States. When my family immigrated to America they had to learn the language. Why is it any different now than before?

  2. George Snizek says:

    I agree with Alan. If an Official is working in America let him or her learn English and take the test in English. We have bent over for all these people to give them jobs, homes ,etc its time we start requiring they learn our language and our ways . My Mother came from Europe , she had to learn to read and write here before she could work. The same should apply now.