Located just 20-minutes from downtown Chicago, Rosemont is a town with no shortage of entertainment options. In addition to music venues, top-notch restaurants and the Muvico movie theater, The Park at Rosemont is an eclectic entertainment district that features lively bars and restaurants with live music, casual dining, bowling, and outdoor patios. Plus, Rosemont is just minutes from O’Hare International Airport so you can enjoy an easy and convenient arrival.

Please note: You will be required to provide your email address to Albertsons Community Partners for this challenge, if you choose to participate.

• Potential for more protests grow with careless follow-up procedures…
• Quick actions needed at all levels…

C. Cliff McCrath

The season is well underway and profiles (in power ratings) are beginning to take shape throughout men’s and women’s soccer. Without naming schools, the usual suspects are beginning to rise to their accustomed top spots giving Fantasy Players a leg up, so to speak, on their early season ‘picks’. (I know, I know…college soccer is not in that culture – YET…so accept it as a figure of speech.) In any event, these comments are meant as mere attention-getters. Now that I have your attention, the real reason for this blog is to put the SPOTLIGHT of a serious issue that has already surfaced in several areas and, if not corrected PRONTO, potentially, has grave consequences. The problem? Referees AND Regional Reps are not following-through with the requirements set forth in Rule 12.6.1.1 Read, below, an actual excerpt – from an athletic director – from a game already played:

“Also, as per rule 12.6.1.1 pages 74 and 75, the regional representative was supposed to have notified me, the athletic director, within 48 hours and informed me of the fighting ejections.  This never happened until my office solicited the information yesterday, September 12, 2011, clearly beyond the 48 hour period (the date of the ejections was September 3).  Should I have been notified on a timely basis, I can assure you that I would have kept our student athlete from participating in the subsequent (second) game.

Clearly, the issue here is the failure of the referee to contact the NISOA Regional Rep who, within 48 hours, SHALL contact the Athletic Director(s) of the respective schools to inform them that a FIGHTING EJECTION had occurred. Failure to do so can jeopardize a player’s future eligibility; more importantly, it can lead to his/her school forfeiting future games. RULE 12.11.1 FINAL SENTENCE OF PARAGRAPH FOUR: “ANY GAME IN WHICH A SUSPENDED PLAYER OR COACH PARTICIPATES ILLEGALLY SHALL BE FORFEITED TO THE OPPOSING TEAM!”

In our quest to produce the absolutely best officiating for college soccer, EVERY man and woman, wearing the NISOA badge, HAS TO BE THEIR BEST AT ALL TIMES! That means, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the game is played.

It is still early enough to do two things for the 2011 season:

1. Check back, over the games you have completed, to see if any paperwork items still need correcting.
2. Resolve to be peerless, in not only ‘calling’ the game, but attending to all the details! I know you can do this!!

I am writing to update everyone on the recent security breach experienced by OSI. On September 6^th, our web host notified us that unauthorized access to a database containing the personal information of some of our web site customers had occurred. The sophistication of the breach has made it hard to determine the exact date(s) of attack, so we are notifying all web customers since our new site went up in November 2010 just to be extremely cautious.  This breach affects only customers who have ordered via our web site, customer information from telephone, fax or mail orders were not affected.

On September 6^th we started to email all customers who had purchased from our web site going all the way back to November 1, 2010. We notified them of the breech and asked them to call their card issuing bank and to report the possibility of unauthorized access to their information. We also asked them to routinely monitor their credit reports. To make this easier for them we will be offering a year of free credit monitoring to all potentially affected customers. Information about this credit monitoring service will be mailed shortly.  Everyone will also be receiving notification again regarding the breach, plus a discount offer for their next order, in the mail.

All three major credit bureaus have been notified – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. We have also filed a police report. U.S. Soccer was notified on September 6^th and they have been kept up to date regarding our actions. Our web site is currently down while further investigations are made into the attack.

We cannot express enough the regret we have for this situation. For 27 years OSI has strived to earn your trust and respect by selling quality products. We have been selling our products via our web site for 15 years without one security breach. We are sickened that our site was hacked and the negative impact it has had on so many referees, our valued and loyal customers.

We will continue to update everyone affected as we gain additional information. And most of all, we will work tirelessly to once again gain your trust. I want to thank you for your support and friendship.

 

Sincerely,
Marilou Tobin
President
Official Sports International

C. Cliff McCrath

Ladies and Gentlemen of NISOA: This weekend marks one of the more somber and, yet, special times in American history. The college season is well underway and I wish you all the greatest success in managing and officiating games – be they the Game-of-the-Week or “Triple ZZZ” Institute in Backcountry U.S.A. But sometime in the next four days, I encourage you to set aside eight minutes and three seconds to view this video. And may God bless all you do this season.

The new application form for the 2012 National Referee camps is now available for your use. Please read the document closely and follow the steps to ensure that your application is processed in a timely manner and you can avoid any late fees.

Step 1 – Fill out the form. The form should be completed online, saved to your PC and then printed for sending to the appropriate individuals for processing. The personal information at the top of the form and the boxes in Step 1 are to be completed by the applicant. A check for $150.00 payable to NISOA should accompany this form along with the required documentation listed in Step 1.

Step 2 – All documents are then forwarded to your local chapter president or contact for their signatures. Once they have signed off on the application and reviewed the supporting documentation they will send the packet to the Regional Area Coordinator for their signature.

Step 3 – Once all signatures are obtained, then, the Regional Area Coordinator will forward the completed packet to Tom Richardson, NRP Administrative Assistant for processing.

All applications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2012 to avoid the late fee of $30.00.

The new application form 2012 NRP Application Form is available here within the National Referee Program tab.

Incomplete packets are subject to being returned and assessed late fees if not properly completed by the deadline of March 1, 2012.

• Manuel Ortiz Jr. was appointed Director of Assigning.
• Starting this year, the Annual Rules Refresher test will be administered online by the NCAA at ArbiterSports.com. The entry exam for candidates will remain a hard copy test, administered by the local chapters.
• Officials desiring NCAA Division I post-season assignments will be required to pass the Annual Rules Refresher test, take in-season quizzes and watch in-season video clips at ArbiterSports.com.
• The draft proposal to raise annual dues by $5 was voted down by the Executive Board and the General Membership. Dues for 2012 will remain at the 2011 schedule.
• A Spanish version of the entry exam will be provided annually to the chapters for their use. The Executive Board strongly recommends candidates who wish to take the entry exam in Spanish should be allowed to do so.
• A new NISOA dress code policy, which states that NISOA officials shall not wear visible jewelry and shall be at the same level of standard that is expected of players.
• The mandatory uniform dress code was amended to allow officials to wear black socks with three white stripes with all approved shirts. As always, all officials must dress alike.
• The mandatory referee kit for new members was revised to make the purchase of NISOA flags optional.
• A chapter transfer policy was established. Chapter transfer requests made by a member in good standing shall be granted absent a showing of good cause for denial by the gaining chapter.
• Manuel Ortiz, Sr. (TX) was inducted as a referee into the NISOA Hall of Fame.
• Larry Dorsey (CA) was inducted as an administrator into the NISOA Hall of Fame.
• The NISOA Code of Ethics was amended to address potential conflict of interest items.
• The 2012 NISOA National Convention will be held in Chicago, Illinois. The 2013 Convention will be held in Denver, Colorado. Buffalo, New York will host the 2014 Convention.

Friday, July 15, 2011

• Auxiliary picture taken in the hotel lobby at 9:30 AM.
• Excursion to the Frisco Heritage Museum with shopping and lunch to follow. Leave the hotel at 10:00 AM.
• Evening Event: Boat Ride hosted by the North Texas ISOA chapter at 6:30 PM.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

• Dallas Highlights Bus Tour. $58 in advance. Leave the hotel at 8:30 AM. Return at 1:00 PM.
• Evening Event: Honor Awards Banquet at 7:00 PM.

For more information, please contact Debbie Wescott or Mary Van de Vaarst.