CNYBWLO Beginningq-of-Season Meeting Minutes
February 22, 2015
5:30pm
Al Motsko made a motion to call the meeting to order at 5:38. Peter seconded the motion to call the meeting to order.
Bob called the meeting to order at 5:38pm
Attendance:
Agenda
Announcements and Introductions of Executive Committee
· Two new members this year
Membership & Test Results
· Youth Rules and Women’s HS Rules Test
o Must send test results to Bob after completion
o Should be purchasing or renewing your membership in September
§ Membership year goes from September to August
Service Requirements and Opportunities
· Amended at the end of the season – to include going to a high school game with a higher level official (service credit awarded to the senior level official as well)
Finger-Printing
· Peter may not (by law) assign officials to high school or youth games that are not in the BOCES system
Forms
· Alert Forms – if there are incidents occurring during or post-game, you must report on an Alert Form (found in the Dropbox for CNYBWLO)
US Lacrosse Grant
· CNYBWLO – Binghamton applied for a grant through both the Chapter and US Lacrosse for additional funding to help with training
· Peter has followed up with several people through the Chapter and US Lacrosse without any success
Dues/Forms
· $45 for Membership Dues are to be given to Paula Collier at Beginning of Season Meeting
· Availability form and Assigning Policy Form must be signed and turned in at Beginning of Season Meeting
· Training Manual has been given to new officials
Approval of Mid-Season Meeting Minutes
· Dale requested that his name be added to the “Exempt List” for the 2015 Training Day for officials as he worked the entire event last year
o Derek makes a motion to amend the minutes to add Dale’s name to the End-of-Season Meeting Minutes for exemption from the 2015 “pool” of members
o Tim seconded the motion to amend the minutes. All in favor - unanimous; 0 opposed.
Game Fees & Travel Voucher
· Check out the 2015 (freeze year – no change from last year) officiating fees for High School, JV, and Modified games
· If both officials on the game have over 100 miles in travel – one official will claim mileage and the other should submit a travel voucher to the Board for reimbursement
o Randi made a motion to approve the Travel Voucher for 2015. Chuck seconded the motion. All in favor – Unanimous; 0 opposed.
Apendix B
· Policy for CNYBWLO – members must read and submit a signed form stating that you have read and agree to the policies
Assigning for 2015
· Peter will be assigning the 2015 season in two blocks. The assigning policies submitted state that you agree to the Assigning Policies
· Dryden is going to be JV, Chenango Valley will have a modified team and Whitney Point will now have a new team.
· Peter is meeting with the high school coaches Monday, February 23 at the Annual Coaches Meeting to go over the Rules Interpretation Video.
· Recommendation to check the Arbiter twice daily and respond/accept games as quickly as possible to help with game changes
· Arbiter Connect – the organization offered to give our CNYBWLO board a rate of $2.95 (to be tacked on to the Assigning Fees at the end of the year)
o Board agreed to re-up with the Arbiter Connect for smartphones
· Dropbox contains Alert Forms – issues with games should be reported to Peter post-game as soon as physically possible (email, phone, text)
o This should include carding a Coach (no alert form needed – just correspondence with Peter)
· Both the Youth and Women’s Lacrosse Rules Exams must be taken before they can be assigned to games
o 50 Question Women’s Lacrosse USL Rules Test
o 25 Question Youth Rules Test
o Arbiter Central Hub has the tests and can be taken online
· District/National Level Officials – test has finally been posted for the 2015 year and should be taken
· Blocks (for schools that you either work for or have a reason for not being assigned to certain games) should be submitted on the Availability Form and The Arbiter
· Site Changes for 2015 – ME JV are going to be playing at the Stadium. Whitney Point will either be at the Fairgrounds or team Stadium. CV will be at the Rock Pile Fields. JC Varsity will be at the new Stadium field. JC JV will be at the middle school. JC Modified will be at Greens Field.
· Final Reminder – CALL YOUR PARTNER. Make it a habit to touch base with your partner for upcoming games a day or two prior to the game and arrange a time and meeting location.
· Carpool when possible! If two officials are coming from the same area – especially to the Elmira, Horsehead’s, Corning, Dryden, Ithaca locations – they should be riding together.
· Fess
o $92.25 – Varsity
o $62.25 – JV
o $51.25 – Modified
· High School games will be starting the week of March 16th
o Ithaca will start on March 18 with a scrimmage vs. Penn Yan
o Peter will post a block of scrimmages that will be paid scrimmages
Rules Video/Interpretation
· Talking Points
o Waivers – NY State has waived the uniform changes for High School and Youth
o Goal Cameras – must be inside the cage
o Communication v. Misconduct – is it is reoccurring and in a taunting manner, it can be determined misconduct
o Helmet Decertification – Warrior & Cascade had uncertified helmets. Cascade has recertified all R helmets and reissued to teams.
§ Coaches pre-game meetings must include conversation regarding the Cascade and Warrior helmets. If they answer that they are not aware of the certification issues, you must check the helmets and they cannot play unless they are wearing certified helmets.
o Defenders Establishing Space
§ Judgment call – officials must watch to see if the defenders established legal guarding position; secondly identifying what they are doing with their crosses
o Edit to the Training Manual
§ Headgear – What happens if Headgear gets knocked off (same as goggles or any other soft headgear)?
· Blow the whistle and stop play immediately
· If the ball is on the ground – closest to the ball gains possession (if equal distance – there will be a throw)
· Restart play like any other inadvertent whistle
In-Season Ratings
§ 12 people this year that are up for a rating
o Local Ratings will be done on a 2015 spring season game
o Re-rates and Ratings will need to do a renewal local clinic - free of charge
§ Board may need to look at having a Ratings Chair with the number of ratings we have yearly
o Procedures for ratings was questioned
§ Everyone is rated by 2 people unless you are rated by a National Official
§ Observations will be done before a Rating game. The Play Day will be an observation only – not a rating event.
§ If individuals are concerned about their ratings; they can always go to a different area to get re-rated
Mentors
§ 2 new officials will need a mentor. Paula is mentoring Mindy and Tim is mentoring Jim.
§ Training Aids were brought by Tim to the meeting to be passed along for each of the training sessions for new officials this season.
o Districts can get service credits for hosting a training session
o Check dates and availability of new officials for training dates
§ March 21st Play Day
o Schedule has been set – first game starting at 9:00am; ending at 2:15pm
o Snacks will be available in the Concession Stand
o Mandatory for all officials
§ 1/2 service credit for each half of the day (1 Service for full)
Ending Comments
§ Emphasis on cross-checks and rough play; safety is a concern!
§ Winter League – Thanks from Dale for all those officials that participated in officiating that league. Dale welcomes feedback from anyone on that.
§ Dale is organizing a group to watch a BU Game (Division I college game) – trying to organize something for Wednesday, March 4 vs. Lafayette
§
Dale made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Chuck seconded the motion. Unanimous approval, 0 opposed.
Meeting adjourned at 7:23pm.