Sunday, June 20, 2010

Officials' Quarterly Moving to Web-Only

Most of us receive Officials' Quarterly magazine. As noted by NFHS Officials Association Liaison Mary Struckhoff in her page 3 column of the Summer 2010 issue, that issue will be the last one that is printed and mailed. Going forward, OQ will now be available online at www.nfhs.org. Check that site on or about July 1 for more info.

Officials vs. Cancer Wrap-Up

Members of Maryland IAABO Boards 23, 204 and 244 contributed a $1,375 in IAABO's 2010 Officials vs. Cancer Campaign. Thanks to those who donated or contributed during the campaign for the American Cancer Society. In total IAABO officials generated $110,176 for the ACS.

IAABO will continue its campaign this coming season. The dates are Jan. 24-29, 2011. More info to come here and on www.iaabo23.org when it becomes available.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Congrats to champs; 2010-11 opening day

Congratulations to these state champion basketball teams in the Board 23 area:

Milford Mill boys from Baltimore County - Class 2A
Arundel girls from Anne Arundel County - Class 4A

The MPSSAA has announced that the first day of practice for the 2010-11 basketball season will be Nov. 15, 2010. Opening Day will be Dec. 6, 2010.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Keep the General Assembly out of Playing-Time Decisions

Kudos to the folks at the MPSSAA for visiting the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis, Md., to speak out against House Bill 503, which would require every member of a non-varsity (i.e. JV, fresh/soph teams, etc.) the opportunity to participate in every contest unless there are injuries, illnesses, or they are unable to play because of physical or emotional conditions, according to the spring 2010 issue of the MPSSAA's Scout magazine.

As best as I can tell from the Assembly's Web site, there's been no action on the bill since a March 3 hearing. That's a good thing. In my opinion, HB503 is an attempt at another ridiculous intrusion into a stable aspect of life on the part of some level of government, in this case, the state government.

The sponsors of the bill must've gotten cut from their teams while in high school. God forbid coaches have some autonomy over their teams.

Hopefully you've received the spring 2010 Scout, because it sums up the issue pretty well.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

MPSSAA Bracketology - Board 23 Style

It's time! The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) released the brackets for the 2009-10 state tournaments Sunday. There are a number of interesting matchups on the way to Comcast Center for the boys and the RAC Arena for the girls. Good luck to the participating teams.

By my unofficial examination of the brackets, it appears as though Board 23 officials will work the following number of games, at a minimum in the first two rounds, based on the seedings and byes of teams we serve in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties:

Boys
Class 1A North First Round: 3. Second Round: 2.
Class 2A North First Round: 2. Second Round: 0.
Class 3A North First Round: 1. Second Round: 3.
Class 4A North First Round: 0. Second Round: 2.
Class 4A East First Round: 4. Second Round: 4.

Girls
Class 3A East First Round: 1. Second Round: 0.
Class 4A East First Round: 3. Second Round: 2.

The state semifinals and finals are March 11-13. The boys are at UMCP's Comcast Center. The girls are at UMBC's RAC Arena.

If you are selected to work an MPSSAA Tournament game, congratulations! If your season is over, thanks for a job well done and consider coming out to some of the playoff games to support your fellow Board 23 officials.

-PK

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Long Stretch Off

Both Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Baltimore County Public Schools have decided to close Feb. 10, 11 and 12, meaning no hoops in our public schools this week.

Combine that with the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday, Feb. 15, for which both school systems are closed, and that means many of us will have quite a long stretch of no basketball. That's assuming the school systems will not play on Feb. 15. Normally they would not. But with the back-log of games, I wonder if the administrators would make an exception and allow their schools to play that day.

Stay warm and safe. Crank up the fireplace at home if you like, but no, do not toss your rule books into the fire as kindling just yet. Come another blizzard or not, there's still plenty of basketball remaining in the 2009-10 season. So if you're stuck at home, pull out the rule book and do some late-season studying to make sure you're sharp for the stretch run and the playoffs.

As always, stay on top of your availability at http://www.arbitersports.com/. The more time you can free up for Rick for the rescheduled games, the better we can serve our school systems. Even if you can free up parts of a day that you had previously blocked...you never know when games might be rescheduled.

-PK

Monday, February 8, 2010

Meeting Rescheduled for Feb. 22 at Lansdowne

The IAABO Board 23 general membership meeting originally scheduled for Monday, Feb. 8, has been officially rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 22 at the Lansdowne High School cafeteria. Start time is 7 p.m.

Dues for the 2010-11 season are due on this date (or before, if you wish to mail the membership form and check to treasurer Damian Biggs). Please pay your dues timely in order to be a member in good standing and thus participate in the nomination process, which will take place at the Feb. 22 meeting, that will help determine candidates for the IAABO Board 23 Executive Committee for 2010-12.

Damian and I will arrive at Lansdowne around 6 p.m. if you wish to arrive early and pay your dues in person. The 2010-11 Board 23 membership form can be found on the Current Members page of iaabo23.org.

All checks should be payable to IAABO Board 23.

Thanks,
PK