Friday night was opening night for public high school basketball in Maryland. So the long march for boys' teams to UMCP and girls' teams to UMBC has begun! I was very excited to get back on the floor for high school basketball and hope you felt the same way. Remember you are representing yourself and Board 23 as you officiate, so be professional, make your calls and hustle, and it will be a good season.
I am in the process of scoring NFHS exams and completing the paperwork necessary to register officials with the MPSSAA. I will advise when that process is complete and scores are available. At the January meeting, I will have the scantron forms with answers marked so you can use it as a study guide if you wish.
Some of you have asked me for IAABO patches. I have ordered more and will post a note here when they arrive.
Have a great season!
PK
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
NFHS Exam - Notes
A few nuggets regarding the NFHS Exam, which will be administered Nov. 30 at Lansdowne High School at 7 p.m. This is a required meeting/test date. If you cannot attend, the makeup date is Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., also at Lansdowne.
The test is 100 questions. You must score a 75 percent in order to officiate in 2009-10. If you do not score at least a 75, you must take the test again on Dec. 1.
I will administer the test on Nov. 30. The esteemed Lou Engle will administer the test on Dec. 1.
All basketball officials who work public-school games in Maryland must take the test and pass, and thus be registered with the MPSSAA.
If you are a dual member to Board 23 and paid only the $68 in dues to Board 23, do not take the test with Board 23. You must take the test with your home IAABO board. Some dual members paid $90 in dues because they wish to take the test with Board 23 and be registered with the MPSSAA through Board 23. Those dual members who paid $90 should take the test Nov. 30 at Lansdowne. There are only five dual members who paid the $90.
Again, if you're a dual member and only paid the $68 dual-member dues, you must take the NFHS Exam with your home IAABO board. The vast majority of dual members only paid the $68, so if you're a dual member, chances are you'll be taking the test with your home board.
If you have questions about your membership status, e-mail me.
Please bring a No. 2 pencil to the exam. Good luck to all!
-PK
The test is 100 questions. You must score a 75 percent in order to officiate in 2009-10. If you do not score at least a 75, you must take the test again on Dec. 1.
I will administer the test on Nov. 30. The esteemed Lou Engle will administer the test on Dec. 1.
All basketball officials who work public-school games in Maryland must take the test and pass, and thus be registered with the MPSSAA.
If you are a dual member to Board 23 and paid only the $68 in dues to Board 23, do not take the test with Board 23. You must take the test with your home IAABO board. Some dual members paid $90 in dues because they wish to take the test with Board 23 and be registered with the MPSSAA through Board 23. Those dual members who paid $90 should take the test Nov. 30 at Lansdowne. There are only five dual members who paid the $90.
Again, if you're a dual member and only paid the $68 dual-member dues, you must take the NFHS Exam with your home IAABO board. The vast majority of dual members only paid the $68, so if you're a dual member, chances are you'll be taking the test with your home board.
If you have questions about your membership status, e-mail me.
Please bring a No. 2 pencil to the exam. Good luck to all!
-PK
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Couple Notes: MPSSAA Clinics, Oct. 19 Meeting, Etc.
All members of Board 23, including applicants, transfers, prospects and Active members, must attend one of the MPSSAA Rules Interpretation Clinic meetings, hosted by MPSSAA Coordinator of Officials Bill Burroughs. If you attended the clinics at either Joppatowne or Franklin high schools, you do not need obtain an attendance verification slip from Bill and give to me. The reason? I was given copies of the sign-in sheets of both meetings, so I can verify your attendance assuming you printed your name legibly on the sign-in sheet.
If you attended or have plans to attend an MPSSAA clinic at any other site, you will need to get that slip from Bill and give to me at your earliest convenience, but definitely before mid-November. A schedule of MPSSAA clinics is on the Current Members page of the Board 23 Web site.
Also, as some of you might be aware, we have a family medical situation we are dealing with. Our 18-year-old nephew is in ICU at UM hospital downtown with extreme complications from a virus. His prognosis is uncertain. It is unlikely that I will be able to attend the Oct. 19 meeting at Lansdowne HS. If you have any questions about your membership, transfer status, etc., send me an e-mail and I will address it as soon as I am able. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. His family is in great distress.
Couple other notes:
1. I haven't received the answer key for the 2009 IAABO Refresher Exam yet. As soon as I do, I will convert it to a PDF and post it on the Web site.
2. If you are an Active Officiating home-board member of Board 23 and did not pick up your 2009-10 IAABO handbook (which includes the rulebook) and IAABO membership card, please plan to do so at the Nov. 9 meeting at Lansdowne. Unclaimed handbooks after that date will be opened up and dual members and 2009-10 applicants will be allowed to take one, supplies permitting.
Thanks,
PK
If you attended or have plans to attend an MPSSAA clinic at any other site, you will need to get that slip from Bill and give to me at your earliest convenience, but definitely before mid-November. A schedule of MPSSAA clinics is on the Current Members page of the Board 23 Web site.
Also, as some of you might be aware, we have a family medical situation we are dealing with. Our 18-year-old nephew is in ICU at UM hospital downtown with extreme complications from a virus. His prognosis is uncertain. It is unlikely that I will be able to attend the Oct. 19 meeting at Lansdowne HS. If you have any questions about your membership, transfer status, etc., send me an e-mail and I will address it as soon as I am able. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. His family is in great distress.
Couple other notes:
1. I haven't received the answer key for the 2009 IAABO Refresher Exam yet. As soon as I do, I will convert it to a PDF and post it on the Web site.
2. If you are an Active Officiating home-board member of Board 23 and did not pick up your 2009-10 IAABO handbook (which includes the rulebook) and IAABO membership card, please plan to do so at the Nov. 9 meeting at Lansdowne. Unclaimed handbooks after that date will be opened up and dual members and 2009-10 applicants will be allowed to take one, supplies permitting.
Thanks,
PK
Monday, October 5, 2009
Required Attendance at MPSSAA Rules Interpretation Meetings
Just a reminder that all Board 23 members -- actually, anyone who wants to officiate a basketball game in a public school in Maryland in 2009-10 -- must attend one of the rules interpretation meetings hosted by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA). Coordinator of Officials Bill Burroughs always does a good job going over rules, mechanics and changes that have come down from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), of which the MPSSAA is a member association.
Board 23 members should obtain the attendance verification slip from Bill Burroughs at the meeting. You should put your name on it and then forward it to Paul Krome, Board 23 secretary. According to MPSSAA policy, failure to do so makes you ineligible to officiate basketball games involving public schools (namely, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County in our case).
The schedule of MPSSAA rules interpretation meetings is listed as part of Board 23's master schedule on the Board 23 Web site. Basically, your three best options are Oct. 6 at Joppatowne HS, Oct. 13 at Franklin HS or Oct. 14 at Poly HS.
Thanks,
PK
Board 23 members should obtain the attendance verification slip from Bill Burroughs at the meeting. You should put your name on it and then forward it to Paul Krome, Board 23 secretary. According to MPSSAA policy, failure to do so makes you ineligible to officiate basketball games involving public schools (namely, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County in our case).
The schedule of MPSSAA rules interpretation meetings is listed as part of Board 23's master schedule on the Board 23 Web site. Basically, your three best options are Oct. 6 at Joppatowne HS, Oct. 13 at Franklin HS or Oct. 14 at Poly HS.
Thanks,
PK
Monday, September 28, 2009
It's Time!
Welcome back all for another season of high school basketball! Sure, the season doesn't officially get underway until Friday, Dec. 4, but for those of us who wear the black and white stripes in this area, our season starts tomorrow with the first general meeting for Board 23.
As Al mentioned, the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Lansdowne High School cafeteria, but feel free to arrive as early as 6:30 p.m. to pick up your 2009-10 IAABO handbook (which includes the rule book) and clear up any membership issues with myself and/or treasurer Damian Biggs, if applicable.
Be sure to stay tuned to this Board 23 Blog and to our Web site, www.iaabo23.org, for helpful information throughout the upcoming 2009-10 season. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at Lansdowne!
PK
As Al mentioned, the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Lansdowne High School cafeteria, but feel free to arrive as early as 6:30 p.m. to pick up your 2009-10 IAABO handbook (which includes the rule book) and clear up any membership issues with myself and/or treasurer Damian Biggs, if applicable.
Be sure to stay tuned to this Board 23 Blog and to our Web site, www.iaabo23.org, for helpful information throughout the upcoming 2009-10 season. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at Lansdowne!
PK
Monday, September 21, 2009
Upcoming Mandatory General Meeting
Board #23 Members:
Just a friendly reminder that our first mandatory general meeting will be held next Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at Lansdowne High School in the cafeteria @ 7:00 p.m. President, Gary Stewart, has already sent out an email to our membership, but I am just following-up on the blog. The Executive Board has been pretty busy during the off-season and we have quite a bit to accomplish this coming season. I will be going over the rule changes, points of emphasis, and mechanic changes for 2009-2010 at the meeting. In addition, I will present a quick review of the fight rule to prepare us for the upcoming season. The applicant class is going well. Dennis Battle has done an excellent job working on rules and preparing them for the IAABO Exam scheduled during the first week of November. Those applicants who successfully pass the exam will be given floor training during the month of November. Ray Lombardi has taken on this task and may request assistance from some of the members of our Board.
Please make every effort to attend the meeting. If you are unable to attend, contact Kenny Council with an email for attendance purpose. You can get his email on the arbiter, if you don't have it already. See you next Tuesday.
AL Bundy
Board #23 Interpreter
Just a friendly reminder that our first mandatory general meeting will be held next Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at Lansdowne High School in the cafeteria @ 7:00 p.m. President, Gary Stewart, has already sent out an email to our membership, but I am just following-up on the blog. The Executive Board has been pretty busy during the off-season and we have quite a bit to accomplish this coming season. I will be going over the rule changes, points of emphasis, and mechanic changes for 2009-2010 at the meeting. In addition, I will present a quick review of the fight rule to prepare us for the upcoming season. The applicant class is going well. Dennis Battle has done an excellent job working on rules and preparing them for the IAABO Exam scheduled during the first week of November. Those applicants who successfully pass the exam will be given floor training during the month of November. Ray Lombardi has taken on this task and may request assistance from some of the members of our Board.
Please make every effort to attend the meeting. If you are unable to attend, contact Kenny Council with an email for attendance purpose. You can get his email on the arbiter, if you don't have it already. See you next Tuesday.
AL Bundy
Board #23 Interpreter
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Camp Stories
Greetings from the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) basketball officiating camp, live courtside at Gettysburg College. The CAC is an NCAA Division III conference with affiliate colleges in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. I've been following CAC hoops since I was a student Salisbury University, a conference member, and the league has produced fairly strong men's and women's basketball teams over the years.
As you know, college hoops is all three-person officiating crews. While there's plenty of educational exchanges at this camp, most officials are here to earn a spot on the CAC officiating staff -- men's or women's basketball -- for the upcoming 2009-10 season. So there is definitely a sense of competition when you participate at a camp like this, but not to the exclusion of teamwork among officials. That's stressed over and over here -- the officiating crew is the third team on the floor in any basketball game, and that team must stay together throughout the game or it will be a long and largely unenjoyable night.
Camp started Sunday for newcomers. CAC veterans usually must attend at least one day. IAABO Board 23 is represented on the floor here by Chris Coccagna, Joe Maurer, Rick Rosen and your humble correspondent. Joe and I got here Tuesday so we may have had some other guys here before that. Today is the last day. Many of the officials who have been on the CAC staff for years serve as evaluators.
It's my second year here and I was lucky enough to get picked up for CAC games in 2008-09, but that hardly qualifies as veteran status. Evaluators will tell you that as well -- there's always something you can learn, no matter how old you are or how long you've been officiating. From where I sit, each year's a new tryout. Working CAC games last season is no guarantee I'll be offered a contract this season, so I never stop trying to get qualified for the job -- even if you made the staff last year. That's a good position to put yourself in -- always wanting to learn and improve -- and it can certainly be applied to officiating and any other profession or hobby about which you have a passion.
A camp like this is mostly a good time if you come in with a solid knowledge of three-person mechanics. I was lucky enough to have that thanks to working informally with other officials in Board 23 over the years. Board 23 began a more formalized three-person training program last season, and I'd encourage anyone -- new or veteran -- with aspirations in officiating basketball to participate in the program this coming season, and every season, for that matter. There are certainly summer camps out there that are education-based, but for most camps in which you are trying out for a college staff, you need to come into that proficient in three-person mechanics -- and Board 23's program is a good head start toward that end. Stay tuned to this blog and the Board 23 Web site for info as it becomes available.
At this camp, there's a morning session of games, then a session after lunch, then an evening session. As you work games, you're huddling with evaluators during timeouts, halftime and postgame. Obviously a lot of learning goes on there, but one of the best pieces of advice is to participate in those huddles even when you're not working a game. When you see an evaluator gather some officials, just walk up and take a listen. It's a great opportunity to hear constructive criticism and learn what to do, or not do, when you take the floor.
The 11 a.m. games are wrapping up. There will be lunch at noon followed by a clinic/Q-and-A with one or more college veterans. Then more games this afternoon and evening before hitting the road.
If you get the opportunity, try a camp this summer or put it on your list for next summer.
Enjoy your Independence Day weekend and God bless America!
-PK
As you know, college hoops is all three-person officiating crews. While there's plenty of educational exchanges at this camp, most officials are here to earn a spot on the CAC officiating staff -- men's or women's basketball -- for the upcoming 2009-10 season. So there is definitely a sense of competition when you participate at a camp like this, but not to the exclusion of teamwork among officials. That's stressed over and over here -- the officiating crew is the third team on the floor in any basketball game, and that team must stay together throughout the game or it will be a long and largely unenjoyable night.
Camp started Sunday for newcomers. CAC veterans usually must attend at least one day. IAABO Board 23 is represented on the floor here by Chris Coccagna, Joe Maurer, Rick Rosen and your humble correspondent. Joe and I got here Tuesday so we may have had some other guys here before that. Today is the last day. Many of the officials who have been on the CAC staff for years serve as evaluators.
It's my second year here and I was lucky enough to get picked up for CAC games in 2008-09, but that hardly qualifies as veteran status. Evaluators will tell you that as well -- there's always something you can learn, no matter how old you are or how long you've been officiating. From where I sit, each year's a new tryout. Working CAC games last season is no guarantee I'll be offered a contract this season, so I never stop trying to get qualified for the job -- even if you made the staff last year. That's a good position to put yourself in -- always wanting to learn and improve -- and it can certainly be applied to officiating and any other profession or hobby about which you have a passion.
A camp like this is mostly a good time if you come in with a solid knowledge of three-person mechanics. I was lucky enough to have that thanks to working informally with other officials in Board 23 over the years. Board 23 began a more formalized three-person training program last season, and I'd encourage anyone -- new or veteran -- with aspirations in officiating basketball to participate in the program this coming season, and every season, for that matter. There are certainly summer camps out there that are education-based, but for most camps in which you are trying out for a college staff, you need to come into that proficient in three-person mechanics -- and Board 23's program is a good head start toward that end. Stay tuned to this blog and the Board 23 Web site for info as it becomes available.
At this camp, there's a morning session of games, then a session after lunch, then an evening session. As you work games, you're huddling with evaluators during timeouts, halftime and postgame. Obviously a lot of learning goes on there, but one of the best pieces of advice is to participate in those huddles even when you're not working a game. When you see an evaluator gather some officials, just walk up and take a listen. It's a great opportunity to hear constructive criticism and learn what to do, or not do, when you take the floor.
The 11 a.m. games are wrapping up. There will be lunch at noon followed by a clinic/Q-and-A with one or more college veterans. Then more games this afternoon and evening before hitting the road.
If you get the opportunity, try a camp this summer or put it on your list for next summer.
Enjoy your Independence Day weekend and God bless America!
-PK
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