NY Metro ISOA News

Violence and Safety in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference

We received this email from Nick Cinquanto, Supervisor of Soccer Officials for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Soccer Conference. Local conference teams include Concordia College, Nyack College, and Dominican College. Read the rest of this entry »

Confirm Match Venue

Please be sure to confirm your match venue. Several schools have changed their game sites and others have not even decided where they are playing yet. Medgar Evers is splitting their matches between the Aviator Soccer Complex and Old Boys and Girls High School on Rutland and Troy in Brooklyn. St.Joseph's in Suffolk has scheduled a few of their matches in October at the Centereach Soccer Park on Horse Block Road.

The ECAC website is NOT very clear to everyone when it comes to WHERE the teams are playing.

Be sure to read your GAME NOTICE completely and look for alternate game sites or COMMENTS concerning the venue. Calling the school to confirm the site is also a GOOD IDEA!!

Pre-Match Communication

Please remember your pre-match communication requirements. The recommended procedure is:

• At least 72 hours before the match, the assigned referee will contact both of the assigned assistant referees to confirm the assignment and coordinate specific details. If you use email or leave a voice message, you must make sure you get confirmation that the message was received.
• 48 hours before the match, the assigned referee must make sure both assistant referees have confirmed the assignment or attempt to contact them again. If an assistant referee has not been contacted by the referee, the assistant referee must contact the referee and the other assistant referee to confirm the assignment. At this point, telephone contact is preferred to email.
• 24 hours before the match, if all three officials have not been in contact with each other, we strongly recommend the referee and the assistant referee contact the match assignor and advise them of the situation while continuing attempts to contact the unresponsive official.

This procedure will only break down if ALL 3 officials do not do their job.

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.

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.

ECAC Game Site Conflicts

Since the ECAC assigning process here in the NY Metro area does not generate email reminders, conflicts will happen, we recommend the assigned referee contact the home team's athletic administration department by phone, confirm the game site and contact the other assigned officials with the latest information. Remember, voice messages or email must be confirmed by the recipient. Everyone is responsible to positively confirm all pre-game communications.