DALLAS FOOTBALL OFFICIALS
CREW CONCEPT
Version E November 1, 2016
INTRODUCTION
The Dallas Football Officials Association's Crew Concept is designed to incorporate the Texas Association of Sports Officials {TASO}, Division 1 thru 5 ranking system. This concept is designed to meet the needs of our most important entities--the Football Coaches, School Districts, and the members of the Dallas Football Officials Association, herein referred to as the DFOA. The coaches expect improved officiating, accountability and professional conduct of officials. The DFOA likewise expects equal opportunities for all officials to officiate throughout the School Districts we serve, and at the same time, a continued direction for growth. The Management of these crews will be the responsibility of the DFOA Board of Directors. There will not be an individual Official Scratch List or Preferred List by Coaches.
Crew Structure
Crews will be made up of seven officials, Referee, Umpire, Head Linesman, Line Judge, Side Judge, Field Judge, and Back Judge. The Crew Chief will be the Referee. All Referees must meet the Crew Chief Criteria set by this proposal, and approved by the Board of Directors. Games or schools that do not use the 7 man crew will use 5 officials of the crew, In January of every two years in odd years, crews will be dissolved and new crews will be established using the Crew Selection Process stated in this Document.
Crew Chief Selection Criteria
· The candidate crew chief must be in good standing with Texas Association of Sports Officials (TASO) and the Dallas Football Officials Association (DFOA).
· The candidate crew chief must be a TASO Division 1 or TASO Division 2 official to be DFOA UIL 6A/5A Draft eligible.
o The candidate crew chief may be a TASO Division 1, TASO Division 2, or TASO Division 3 and become an Crew Chief who is not DFOA UIL 6A/5A Draft eligible, but is UIL 4A and below plus Private Schools Draft eligible.
· The UIL 6A/5A Draft eligible crew chief must have the experience of at least 15 varsity games at the referee position or 50 varsity games at any position.
· The UIL 4A and below plus Private Schools Draft eligible crew chief must have the experience of at least 25 varsity games at any position.
· Must attend biennial crew chief training which has been approved by the DFOA Training Officer.
o The crew chief training must be a total of 8 hours in length.
o The crew chief training will consist of an agenda set by the DFOA Training Officer and will consist of a variety of topics and shall include points of emphasis based on data gathered during the previous biennial crew chief cycle.
o The crew chief training may be offered on multiple dates (minimum of two) and with a structure to accommodate any candidate crew chief.
§ By the middle of December (December 15), in a new biennial crew chief cycle, the DFOA Chapter Secretary will publish the crew chief training dates, time, and location(s).
§ The crew chief training dates will occur in the month of January.
§ Any candidate crew chief for the next crew chief cycle must attend a full crew chief training session.
To help with potential scheduling conflicts the structure of the crew chief training class will be as follows:
Crew Chief Training – Date 1 / Crew Chief Training – Date 2AM / AM Modules / PM Modules
PM / PM Modules / AM Modules
TEST / 25 Questions
(see TEST Criteria and TESTING Procedures) / 25 Questions
(see TEST Criteria and TESTING Procedures)
To complete the crew chief training:
· Attend a full crew chief training date or by attending alternating AM and PM sessions on the two published crew chief training dates.
· AND
· Pass the DFOA crew chief test with a minimum score of 80% - (see TEST Criteria and TESTING Procedures).
Once the candidate crew chief has successfully completed crew chief training, then the crew chief may obtain signatures of their crew members for the biennial DFOA crew agreement. The DFOA crew agreement sheet must be submitted to the DFOA Secretary no later than March 1.
If the candidate crew chief does not pass the DFOA crew chief test, they will need to inform the crew members they have or have recruited.
· The candidate crew chief will not be allowed to be a crew chief until the next biennial period.
TEST Criteria:
· 25 Questions.
· All questions are TASO rule based.
· Multiple choice answer selections (minimum of 4 choices (e.g. a-d); maximum of 5 choices (e.g. a-e).
· Open book.
· Minimum score of 80% - this will be considered a passing score.
· Each test for the crew chief training test will be unique.
TESTING Procedures:
· Administered at the end of the biennial crew chief training date(s).
· Maximum of three (3) hours to complete.
· After a test is scored, the candidate crew chief may review their test.
o The candidate crew chief must return their test.
· A maximum of two (2) attempts to pass the crew chief test.
o The candidate crew chief will have a maximum of 3 dates in which to complete their maximum of two attempts to pass a crew chief test.
§ Two (2) dates will be at the end of the biennial crew chief training date(s).
§ One (1) additional dates will be established by the chapter Secretary.
§ The latest date to take a test will be by February 15.
· If a test is not passed in the two (2) attempts, the crew chief will not be eligible to become a crew chief until the next biennial period.
There will be no appeals process and the criteria that are stated above are final.
Crew Selection
The Crew Chief will select a crew using the criteria listed below:
a. The initial crews will be formed in odd years and the crews will remain intact for a two-year period. Following the second year, crews will be dissolved and new crews will be established using this same process. Returning crew chiefs may retain any number of members from the previous crew, (provided they meet the criteria established in section c article 1 and 2)
b. A start date of February 1 (or after passing the Crew Chief test) and an end date of March 1 will be the designated time for approved Crew Chiefs to sign approved officials to a crew. During this time frame Crew Chiefs will have each official sign a two (2) year agreement.
c. Each Crew Chief will be required to sign crew members based on the following criteria:
1. If the Crew Chief's TASO ranking is Division 1 or Division 2 then his crew's total of Division rankings may not exceed 18 to be eligible for the UIL 6A/5A Draft. For Division rankings that exceed 18, then the crew will only be eligible for the UIL 4A and below plus Private Schools Draft. Totals will be based upon ranking in year of eligibility.
2. If the Crew Chiefs TASO ranking is Division 3, then his crew will not be eligible for the UIL 6A/5A Draft.
If at any time, one of the officials fulfilling these restrictions leaves the crew, their replacement must be an official who meets the same criteria the year the official leaves. DFOA Secretary will provide each Crew Chief with a list of officials that fit each requirement.
d. The Crew Chief may only sign officials that have paid their local and state fees and assessments, and are members in good standing with the DFOA and TASO.
e. If the Crew Chief is no longer eligible or desires not to remain a Crew Chief, the remaining crew members may petition the DFOA Board for a qualified replacement Crew Chief or dissolve the crew by mutual agreement.
f. All crew members must have worked FIVE (5) sub-Varsity dates in the current season to be eligible for any play-off games; THREE (3) Thursday varsity dates may count.
Alternate Crew Chief
An Alternate Crew Chief is a crew member that serves as crew chief during his absence.
· The Alternate Crew Chief must be a TASO Division 1 or TASO Division 2 official for a UIL 6A/5A Draft eligible crew
o The Alternate Crew Chief must be a TASO Division 1 or TASO Division 2 or TASO Division 3 official for a UIL 4A and below plus Private Schools Draft eligible crew
· The Alternate Crew Chief must attend required Crew Chief training and pass the crew chief test per the same requirements as Crew Chief
· The Alternate Crew Chief must have worked minimum of 15 games at the UIL 6A/5A level and 30 games at any level to work as the alternate crew chief for a UIL 6A/5A game
o The Alternate Crew Chief must have worked minimum of 25 games at any level to work as the alternate crew chief for a UIL 4A and below plus Private Schools game
Any crew that does not have an Alternate Crew Chief will have a Crew Chief assigned by the Assignment Committee in the event that a game assignment is missed by Crew Chief.
Replacement of a Crew Member
Week to week replacement of a missing crew member will occur following a process to be designated by the DFOA Board of Directors.
Leaving a Crew / Crew Grievance
Crew Grievance Process
Provisions are made for grievances to the filed by Coaches, Crew Chiefs, or Crew Members. Grievances are to be considered for failure to maintain the proper code of conduct as an official; this is in no way a policy for scratching crew members. All grievances will be reviewed by the Board of Directors. If appropriate, a hearing will be held with a written response being supplied to all persons subject to the review. In all cases, the Board of Directors decision will be final.
Coaches
A coach may file a written grievance concerning an official that is part of a crew that is scheduled to work a game involving his school. The Board of Directors, through communication with the coach, the crew chief, and the official will strive to resolve the matter without modifying the assignment. If it is determined that the grievance is without merit, the Assignment Committee will notify the coach that no change will be made. If the school chooses to use a [chapter other than DFOA], all crew members will be paid for the game in question.
When it is determined that the grievance is valid and a mutually agreeable solution is not possible, the Board of Directors will instruct the Assignment Committee to 1) assign a replacement official, or 2) assign a different crew. The school will be responsible for paying the official against whom the grievance was filed when a replacement official is named. The school is not responsible for payment when a different crew is assigned.
Crew Chiefs
A crew chief may file a written grievance concerning one or more members of his crew. This should only be done when a problem exists which would affect the performance of the crew and thus reflect negatively upon the DFOA. The Board of Directors through communication with the crew chief, the officials involved, and other members of the crew will strive to resolve the matter while maintaining the integrity of the crew. When a mutually agreeable solution is not possible, the Board of Directors will provide a written response of their decision to each party. The Board of Directors will notify the crew chief that 1) a permanent crew replacement can be made, 2) a temporary crew replacement can be made, 3) replacements will be made on a week-by-week basis, 4) the crew will be dissolved, or 5) no changes will be made.
Crew Members
A crew member, or members, may likewise file a written grievance concerning the crew
chief. The Board of Directors through communication with the crew chief, the officials
involved, and other members of the crew will strive to resolve the matter while
maintaining the integrity of the crew.
When a mutually agreeable solution is not possible, the Board of Directors will provide a
written response of their decision to each party. The Board of Directors will notify the
crew members that 1) a permanent crew chief replacement will be made by the Board of Directors, 2) a temporary crew chief replacement will be made by the Board of Directors, 3) crew chief replacements will be made on a week-by-week basis in agreement with the coaches involved, 4) the crew will be dissolved, or 5) no change will be made.
Crew Member Leaving
Once an official has signed an agreement to join a crew, they are committed to that crew for two years. Should an official want to leave a crew for whatever reason, the official must petition in writing the DFOA Board of Directors for a hearing to state why that official wants to be removed from the crew. A majority vote of the DFOA Board of Directors will prevail.
It is highly recommended that if a crew member and crew chief mutually request to break the agreement during the season, that the differences be worked out. If they determined that they cannot be resolved, then the agreement can only be broken with approval of majority vote of the DFOA Board. If the mutual agreement is in between seasons of a 2 year agreement, then the agreement is nullified and the crew member is free to join another crew.
Selection of Crew for Game Assignments
A process set by the Board of Directors will determine game selection of crews by each school in the draft. The DFOA Board of Directors will decide any situation not covered by this process.
Crew 2001 Committee
Lance Bobbitt, Walt Coleman, Bill Merritt, Jason Parker, Rick Skaggs, Lawson Turner, Rick Watson, Roland Webber