From all of us at the Southeastern Sports Officials Association, we wish you a safe and prosperous 2022!

From all of us at the Southeastern Sports Officials Association, we wish you safe travels and a wonderful holiday season!

If you are interested in officiating Baseball, Softball, Men's/Women's Lacrosse, or Women's Soccer for the 2022 sports season, the Spring sports deadline is only ONE MONTH AWAY! The deadline to register with the NCHSAA is Wednesday, December 15th, 2021. If you have any questions before you register, please do not hesitate to contact the Regional Supervisor Of Officials for the sport(s) you are interested in officiating.

It is the time of year for us to spend time with our family and give thanks. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from SSOA!

If you are interested in officiating Baseball, Softball, Men's/Women's Lacrosse, or Women's Soccer for the 2022 sports season, the Spring sports deadline is only ONE MONTH AWAY! The deadline to register with the NCHSAA is Wednesday, December 15th, 2021. If you have any questions before you register, please do not hesitate to contact the Regional Supervisor Of Officials for the sport(s) you are interested in officiating.

The 2021 Referee Magazine Basketball Quiz is available on their website. This quiz is a good way to stay sharp on the rules. It consists of twenty (20) questions that are multiple choice. Click the link to take the quiz. When you enter your name and email address, you will receive a PDF of the quiz right in your email! https://www.referee.com/basketball-officials-quiz-2021-22/

Thank you to all of our military, past and present who serve our great country!

The 2021-22 NCHSAA Volleyball State Championships will be played on Saturday, November 6, 2021 on the campus of North Carolina State University at Reynolds Coliseum. The Southeastern Sports Officials Association has a crew officiating on Saturday. The time is not known yet, but this post will be updated once the match time is known.

Officials selected to to officate at the 2021 NCHSAA Volleyball State Championship:

Referee 1: Darryl Buck
Referee 2: Dan Heinz
Linesman 1: Keith Atkinson
Linesman 2: Elizabeth Locklear

Update: The SSOA will be officiating the 1-A Match between Neuse Charter and Union Adademy at 6:30pm. Volleyball officials get free admission to the venue with your 2021 official's card. This year the card is digital and you must request it through the Dragonfly website.

Officials it's that time again! I'm talking about Winter sports exams! If you are a Basketball or Wrestling official, the winter sports exams will be available on the DragonFly Max website from Monday, October 18, 2021 - Thursday, November 4, 2021 according to the NCHSAA website.

There is a link to the Dragonfly Max Exam site at the top of each sports section for your convenience.

For Basketball, the NCHSAA is hosting the state clinics in person. These clinics will be conducted by Mark Dreibelbis and will start at 6:30 sharp. Please make plans to arrive early if you need to take care of dues, booking fees, etc. The clinic schedule is below:

For Wrestling, The NCHSAA is hosting ONLINE state clinics this season. The wrestling online state clinic will be available at the link below from Monday, October 18, 2021 - Thursday, November 4, 2021 according to the NCHSAA website.

Wrestling 2021-22 State Clinic Online Link

Once you click the clinic link below, on the NCHSAA website, the link will be near the top of the page. Click the link to begin watching the presentation.. After viewing the ENTIRE presentation, make sure you click the link that comes up to fill out the attestation form. If you forget this step you will not receive credit for the clinic and will have to do it over again.

Last call if you are interested in officiating Basketball or Wrestling for the 2021-22 sports season, The deadline is just TWO DAYS AWAY! The deadline to register with the NCHSAA is Wednesday, September 15th, 2021. If you have any questions before you register, please do not hesitate to contact the Regional Supervisor Of Officials for the sport(s) you are interested in officiating.

If you are interested in officiating Basketball or Wrestling for the 2021-22 sports season, the Winter sports deadline is quickly approaching! The deadline is just ONE MONTH AWAY! The deadline to register with the NCHSAA is Wednesday, September 15th, 2021. If you have any questions before you register, please do not hesitate to contact the Regional Supervisor Of Officials for the sport(s) you are interested in officiating.

Officials it's that time again! I'm talking about Fall sports exams! If you are a Football, Volleyball, or Men's Soccer official, the fall sports exams will be available on the DragonFly Max website from Monday, July 26, 2021 - Wednesday, August 11, 2021 according to the NCHSAA website.

There is a link to the Dragonfly Max Exam site at the top of each sports section for your convenience.

The NCHSAA is hosting ONLINE state clinics for the fall season. (Football, Volleyball, and Men's Soccer).The online state clinics will be available at the links below from Thursday, July 15, 2021 - Thursday, August 12, 2021 according to the NCHSAA website.

Once you click the clinic link below, on the NCHSAA website, the link will be near the top of the page. Click the link to begin watching the presentation.. After viewing the ENTIRE presentation, make sure you click the link that comes up to fill out the attestation form. If you forget this step you will not receive credit for the clinic and will have to do it over again.

Football 2021 State Clinic

Volleyball 2021-22 State Clinic

Men's Soccer 2021-22 State Clinic

Two significant player equipment changes involving the wearing of head coverings and beads along with six rules revisions were approved for the 2022 softball season. Read more at https://www.nfhs.org/articles/player-equipment-changes-highlight-rules-revisions-in-high-school-softball/. For more information you can visit the "softball/resources" section of our website.

The Referee Magazine website currently has a featured article titled "Effective Communication Improves Perception". The article features a picture of SSOA Football Official Tony Haire. (Photo Credit: K.Kassens) You may read the article at: https://www.referee.com/effective-communication-improves-perception/

Change is coming to the pitch sequence in high school baseball for the spring 2022 season.. You can read more at https://www.nfhs.org/articles/adjustment-made-to-pre-pitch-sequence-in-high-school-baseball/ For more information you can visit the "baseball/resources" section of our website.

The 2021 Referee Magazine Soccer Quiz is available on their website. This quiz is a good way to practice before taking your NFHS Exam. It consists of twenty (20) questions that are multiple choice. When you click the link and enter your name and email address, you will receive a PDF of the quiz in your email. https://www.referee.com/soccer-officials-quiz-2021/

We hope that you have a safe and happy 4th Of July!

NASO's 2021 Sports Officiating Summit is going to be online again this year August 3-5, 2021.Visit sportsofficiatingsummit.com to reserve your spot for FREE.

The 2021 Referee Magazine Football Quiz is available on their website. This quiz is a good way to practice before taking your NFHS Exam. It consists of twenty (20) questions that are multiple choice. When you click the link and enter your name and email address, you will receive a PDF of the quiz in your email. https://www.referee.com/football-officials-quiz-2021/

Registration is now open for the NCHSAA 2021-22 sports season. Head over to NCHSAA.org/officials to signup. Don't wait around, you will need to receive rulebooks in time to study for your exam! Fall Sports exams begin on July 26th through the Dragonfly platform. If you have any questions before registering, please contact the Regional Supervisor for that sport.

The 2020-21 NCHSAA Football State Championships were recently held on May 6-8, at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC. The Southeastern Sports Officials Association officiated the 3A Championship. Congratulations to the officials that were selected to be a part of the championship crew:

Referee: Richard Chadwell
Umpire: Charles Davenport
Linesman: Ryan Reis
Line Judge: Darren Deese
Side Judge: Leroy Thompson
Field Judge: Errol Daniels
Back Judge: Steve Honrine

The NCHSAA Registration site for the upcoming 2021-2022 season is scheduled to open after Monday, May 17th. Once the NCHSAA receives the final confirmation, they will open up the site and post detailed instructions on the NCHSAA website under "Officials"

All NCHSAA Officials will still require a Dragonfly Account in order to sign-up.

Source: NFHS
After months of working with state government, education and health leaders, schools in all 50 states have been given the go-ahead to resume high school sports at some level of competition. Schools in the District of Columbia were the last to receive the green light on April 1. This is great news and signals that a return to normalcy may be on the horizon by the time schools begin sports and activities this fall.

Unfortunately, there is an ever-increasing issue that could put a kink in the return-to-play plans across the country – a shortage of officials, as in referees and umpires, that borders on catastrophic in some sports and in some parts of the nation.  The shortage of officials in high school – and middle school – sports has been a growing concern for several years; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has moved the issue to heightened levels. 

In some cases, schools that have waited months and months to “play ball” have had to cancel games or reschedule games. There are so many contests occurring, with some states currently playing football and other sports they were unable to offer last fall, coupled with regular spring sports now underway, there simply are not enough people to officiate all scheduled games.

According to the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), registration of officials across the country is down about 30 percent this year. In Oregon, the number of football referees has dropped 34 percent compared to last year, and volleyball is down 45 percent. In a football officials association in California, nearly two-thirds of its members opted out of officiating this year.

Tennessee and Georgia have reported declines in baseball umpires. In one county in Georgia, one middle school had to cancel its baseball season due to a lack of umpires. In some cases, the number of available officials has declined due to health-related reasons – people opting out this year because of the pandemic. As vaccinations increase and the optics improve, many of these individuals hopefully will return. 

For other officials, however, the pandemic was a secondary concern compared to the verbal abuse they receive from fans – mostly parents. It is particularly hard for rookie officials to overcome the verbal shots they hear from parents. In an article in the Salt Lake City Deseret News, Jeff Cluff, assistant director in charge of officials for the UHSAA, had the following to say about unruly fans in his state: 

“Parents are out of control . . . Because of the club and super-league culture, they think these games mean everything; we don’t look at it that way in high school. Kids are learning, the officials are learning, the coaches are learning. We have lots of people who are interested in officiating. If we could keep these officials, we’d be fine.”

Schools across the country need two things: 1) more individuals to consider officiating high school sports and 2) an improvement in fan behavior so that officials don’t have to deal with verbal abuse and can feel good about continuing to officiate. Despite the fun and rewards that come with officiating high school sports, no one wants to continue if they are continually berated by fans.

The NFHS has been actively recruiting officials for four years through its #BecomeAnOfficial campaign. More than 50,000 individuals have expressed interest in officiating during this time. However, more individuals are desperately needed to keep the games going for the millions of students in middle school and high school sports. Anyone can sign up today at www.highschoolofficials.com.

Equally important, let’s do all we can to keep the men and women who are currently giving of their time to officiate middle school and high school sports. The next time you think about yelling at the referee during a high school contest, DON’T!

There is hope on the horizon that the pandemic will not keep kids off the playing fields and courts much longer. Let’s make sure boorish behavior doesn’t keep officials off the same fields and courts.

Source: NFHS
States will have a choice of 12, 13 or 14 weight classes for both boys and girls competition in high school wrestling, effective with the 2023-24 season. This will be the first separate weight classes established for girls in high school wrestling, and it marks the first time that state associations will have a choice in the number of weight classes.

The landmark change in weight classes was one of several significant revisions recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee at its April 2-3 meeting held virtually this year. All recommendations were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors. 

States must select one of the three sets (12, 13 or 14) of weight classes for girls and one of the three sets (12, 13 or 14) for boys. States cannot adopt all three sets and cannot switch back and forth during the season.

The following weight classes (in pounds) were established for girls competition (girls wrestling girls), effective July 1, 2023:

12 Weight Classes – 100, 107, 114, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 165, 185, 235.

13 Weight Classes – 100, 106, 112, 118, 124, 130, 136, 142, 148, 155, 170, 190, 235.

14 Weight Classes – 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190, 235.

The following weight classes (in pounds) were established for boys competition (boys wrestling boys or girls wrestling boys), effective July 1, 2023:

12 Weight Classes – 108, 116, 124, 131, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 190, 215, 285

13 Weight Classes – 107, 114, 121, 127, 133, 139, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215, 285

14 Weight Classes – 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 144, 150, 157, 165, 175, 190, 215, 285

“Previous surveys have indicated a varying number of weight classes that states wanted, so the committee attempted to meet the needs of as many people as possible,” said Elliot Hopkins, NFHS director of sports and student services and liaison to the Wrestling Rules Committee. “We have more and more state associations sponsoring girls wrestling and holding state championships for girls, so the committee believed it was time to establish uniform weight classifications for girls.

“The recommended weights were established based upon more than 215,000 assessments from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. We are excited about these changes to weight classes in high school wrestling as we believe it will provide more opportunities for male and female student-athletes to be involved in this great sport.”

 In another major change affecting risk minimization, a separate 5-minute time-out has been established for the onsite health-care professional to evaluate potential head and neck injuries involving the cervical column (HNC) and/or nervous system.

“There was a desire to establish a separate injury time-out that concerns the head and neck involving the cervical column and/or nervous system and not connect it with the existing 1½-minute injury time-outs or any other stoppage of the match,” Hopkins said. “This separate time-out is supported and covered in existing rules that give the referee the authority to observe the signs, symptoms and behaviors of a concussion and respond appropriately.”

As a result of the separate HNC time-out, which takes effect next year, a number of other rules in the 2021-22 NFHS Wrestling Rules Book will be altered. 

The other significant change in high school wrestling rules for 2021-22 addresses the number of matches allowed in one day of competition. Currently, no wrestler shall represent the school in more than one weight class in any meet or wrestle in more than five matches, excluding forfeits, in any one day of competition.

A change provides an exception to Rule 1-4-3 as follows: “No wrestler shall wrestle in more than six matches (championship or consolation), excluding forfeits, in any one day of a tournament conducted by the state high school association for qualification to the state high school championships or the specific state championships.”

This change was enacted as a result of a successful experiment by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Hopkins said that increasing the number of matches from five to six would allow postseason tournaments with more than eight competitors in a weight class to complete the tournament in one day. He said, in many cases, this change would eliminate the need for schools to stay overnight to participate in respective state qualifying tournaments and state championship events.

“Since this exception would only allow six matches per day to be wrestled in the postseason qualifying tournament or state championship event, the impact on the total number of matches that an individual wrestles in an entire season would be minimal,” Hopkins said. “We do not want to extend this change to the regular season, and this exception would not come into play for the majority of participants.”

Two other minor changes were made in the rules for next year. Rule 4-5-7 no longer will require low-cut socks to be worn as a part of the weigh-in procedure, and one change was made in Rule 5-1-1 dealing with choice of position during bad time.

The 2021 Region Four Spring Golf Tournament originally scheduled for Sunday, April 21, 2021 has been canceled due to the covid restrictions still being in place. We are hopeful that we will be able to hold our fall tournament later this year. The fall tournament date has been set for Sunday, October 10, 2021.

For more information on the Region Four Emergency Fund go to this website.

The Baseball exam period is now open! The NCHSAA has not posted the date the exam will close but the rule of thumb is don't put off taking your exam. Treat it with the importance that you would a game assignment. When the closing date is posted by NCHSAA, it will be updated here on the website.

Like other sports, the exam this year is located in your account on DragonFly. If you need help to find your exam, click here to go to the NCHSAA Officials page. There under "Certification" click "Testing Instructions" for a PDF that contains instructions on how to access your exam.

The Wrestling exam period is now open! The NCHSAA has not posted the date the exam will close but the rule of thumb is don't put off taking your exam. Treat it with the importance that you would a game assignment. When the closing date is posted by NCHSAA, it will be updated here on the website.

Like other sports, the exam this year is located in your account on DragonFly. If you need help to find your exam, click here to go to the NCHSAA Officials page. There under "Certification" click "Testing Instructions" for a PDF that contains instructions on how to access your exam.

The Softball exam period is now open! The NCHSAA has not posted the date the exam will close but the rule of thumb is don't put off taking your exam. Treat it with the importance that you would a game assignment. When the closing date is posted by NCHSAA, it will be updated here on the website.

Like other sports, the exam this year is located in your account on DragonFly. If you need help to find your exam, click here to go to the NCHSAA Officials page. There under "Certification" click "Testing Instructions" for a PDF that contains instructions on how to access your exam.

Source: NFHS
Religious headwear will now be permitted without state association approval in high school soccer, effective with the 2021-22 season.

This change in Rule 4-2 of the NFHS Soccer Rules Book was recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Soccer Rules Committee at its January 18-20 meeting, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two recommended revisions to Rule 4 were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors. 

Acting on an earlier recommendation to all sports rules committee by the Board of Directors, the Soccer Rules Committee adopted the following new language for Rule 4-2-10: “Head coverings worn for religious reasons shall not be made of abrasive or hard material and must fit securely.”

Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of sports and officials and liaison to the Soccer Rules Committee, said the new rule will allow student-athletes to express their religious beliefs through the wearing of headwear without the approval of the respective state association.

Language regarding religious headwear was deleted from Rule 4-2-11, which now refers solely to head coverings for medical or cosmetic reasons. Head coverings for these usages still require a physician’s statement before a state association can grant approval.

With many states that play soccer in the fall affected by the pandemic, there were fewer rules proposals this year, so the committee turned much of its discussion to points of emphasis for the 2021-22 season. Eight states that normally conduct boys soccer in the fall were unable to play due to restrictions from COVID-19, and 18 other states had to modify their seasons in some way. On the girls side, six states were unable to play in the fall, and 15 states modified seasons.

“In addition to addressing the religious headwear situation, the committee agreed to continue three points of emphasis from last year and approved two new ones for the coming season,” Wynns said. “One of the points we are continuing is to emphasize that high school athletics, and high school soccer, is education-based. Improving skills and winning games is a part of the overall goal; however, the quest to win games, events and championships cannot come at the expense of providing these educational opportunities.”

In addition to this point of emphasis, others being continued from last year are reckless and serious foul play, and properly worn uniforms and marked fields.

The new points of emphasis for 2021-22 are sportsmanship and professional responsibilities for officials.

With regard to sportsmanship, the committee noted that the message of good sportsmanship should be addressed by school administration with their students, coaches, parents and spectators alike, which includes a message that prohibits taunting and the use of profanity during games.

Source: NFHS
The rule regarding blocking below the waist in the free-blocking zone in high school football has been revised for the upcoming 2021 season.

This rule change was recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee at its January 10-12 meeting, which was held virtually this year. This change to the 2021 NFHS Football Rules Book was subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

As a result of numerous interpretations of current language regarding blocking below the waist in the free-blocking zone, the committee approved another condition in Rule 2-17-2 that must be met for a legal block below the waist in the free-blocking zone, which is a rectangular area extending laterally 4 yards either side of the spot of the snap and 3 yards behind each line of scrimmage. 

The new requirement (2-17-2c) is that the block must be an immediate, initial action following the snap. Under the current rule, an offensive lineman can delay and then block below the waist if the ball is still in the zone. In the committee’s ongoing quest to minimize risk in high school football, the change was approved to require the block to be immediate. 

“This change makes it easier for game officials to judge the legality of blocks below the waist and minimizes risk of injury for participants,” said Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine and liaison to the Football Rules Committee. “This change lets game officials observe the block and make a call without having to determine where the ball is and what formation the offense lined up in.” 

Blocking in the back continues to be legal in the free-blocking zone by offensive linemen who are on the line of scrimmage and in the zone at the snap, against defensive players who are in the zone at the snap and the contact is in the zone.  

The committee noted there has been no criticism of the current rules governing blocks in the back as they are delayed blocks by nature, above the waist and considered to be a safe and necessary legal block.  

“I believe this rule change will help make the interpretation of blocking below the waist consistent across the country starting next football season,” said Richard McWhirter, chair of the NFHS Football Rules Committee and assistant executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.  

The Football Rules Committee is composed of one representative from each of the NFHS member state associations that use NFHS playing rules, along with representatives from the NFHS Coaches Association, NFHS Officials Association and NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

Source: NFHS
High school volleyball players will no longer need to obtain state association approval to wear religious headwear during competition. The rule change highlights three changes approved for the 2021-22 season.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Volleyball Rules Committee conducted its annual meeting January 10-12 in a virtual setting and recommended three rules changes that were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors. 

“The Volleyball Rules Committee strongly considered both the financial impact and participation restrictions COVID-19 had on schools and state associations during the 2020-21 season as they approached the proposed rules changes,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the Volleyball Rules Committee. “In doing so, the committee focused on rules that make the sport more inclusive by easing the restrictions on religious headwear, provided state associations with more flexibility in regard to officials uniforms, and lessened the penalty for a late lineup.” 

Acting on a recommendation from the NFHS Board of Directors, the Volleyball Rules Committee amended Rule 4-1-6, noting that “head coverings worn for religious reasons are not considered hair devices” and do not require state association approval to be worn. However, they must be made of non-abrasive or soft material and fit securely. Head coverings worn for medical reasons still require state association approval. 

“Our goal is always to have our athletes be able to participate as long as there isn’t a safety concern involved,” said Jo Auch, assistant executive director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association and chair of the NFHS Volleyball Rules Committee. “It made perfect sense to relax that rule and remove the requirement for the states to authorize the wearing of religious headwear.” 

In addition, the penalty in Rule 7-1-4 for a late submission of a lineup was lessened to mirror the penalty for a late roster, which was amended a year ago. If a lineup is not submitted to the second referee two minutes prior to the timed prematch warmup or less than one minute remaining in the timed interval or intermission, it results in an unnecessary delay/yellow card warning. If the lineup has not been submitted by the end of the timed prematch warmup or by the end of the timed interval or intermission, an unnecessary delay/red card penalty shall be assessed to the offending team at the start of that set. 

The committee also amended Rule 5-3-1a, which now allows officials to wear a white, blue (cyan) or gray collared shirt, as determined by the state association. Previously, a white shirt was required. This rules change aligns the high school rule with a similar collegiate rule that permits multiple color options.

As of today, the Football exam period is now open! The NCHSAA has not posted the date the exam will close but the rule of thumb is don't put off taking your exam. Treat it with the importance that you would a game assignment. When the closing date is posted by NCHSAA, it will be updated here on the website.

The exam this year is not taken thru ArbiterSports as it has been the past several years. It is located in your account on DragonFly. If you need help to find your exam, click here to go to the NCHSAA Officials page. There under "Certification" click "Testing Instructions" for a PDF that contains instructions on how to access your exam.