Issue 52, October 15, 2004
MACBOA Newsletter

In this Issue:

• Remarks from the Supervisor of Officials: Donnee L. Gray
• 2005 NCAA Basketball Rules & Interpretations Book
• 2004-05 NCAA Rules Test #1
• RESULTS FROM 2004 MACBOA GOLF EXTRAVAGANZA
• Contributing Article: Coaches, Players and Sports Officials - Getting Ready for the Season -- Ike Relacion
• BASKETBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION (BOA)
• Corporate Sponsor: Turner Sports
• Member News & Information
• Order your MACBOA Logo Whistles
• Submitting Articles for MACBOA Consideration
• MACBOA Volunteers
• Newsletter Contact/Information

The MACBOA Newsletter is a periodic newsletter publication of the Mid-Atlantic College Basketball Officials Association (MACBOA). MACBOA provides basketball officiating services to several colleges and universities in the Maryland - Washington, DC area. The Association has a membership of approximately 200 men and women officials. Our membership consist of men and women who work Divisions I, II, and III basketball.  We pride our Association on providing quality and professional service.

The usefulness and survival of this newsletter is going to depend on the participation of subscribers and professionals alike. Please help by submitting personal stories, experiences, and articles of general interest to the MACBOA community.

The MACBOA Newsletter is made possible by the kind support of our sponsors.  We thank our sponsors for making the newsletter and other programs possible. Please visit our web site at http://www.macboa.org.  As always, please visit our sponsors and thank them for keeping MACBOA operational.

Remarks from the Supervisor of Officials: Donnee L. Gray

TO: Officials

As announced, MACBOA has reduced the officiating staff and also has added a number of quality officials. Our staff is comprised of many talented (and hungry) officials that want opportunity. We had several officials that traveled as far away as Connecticut and New York from the north and as far south as Florida to attend our clinic and your efforts will not be forgotten. If you were late arriving to the clinic or made "last minute phone calls" with excuses concerning clinic absenteeism, this has been noted and will be addressed appropriately!! All officials on staff must work to maintain the mission, values, and goals of MACBOA for the 2004-2005 season and beyond.

Please visit www.assignbyweb.com/macboa and keep current with the “E-Board Notes” section daily. From www.AssignBYweb.com/macboa E-Board Notes 10/06/04:

Please be sure to keep your information on Assignbyweb up-to-date. Failure to do so could result in loss of game assignment(s). Also, some of you failed to select the correct state of residence when you entered your address. Please check this and make the necessary correction.

Please close out all dates that you are not available on Assignbyweb. Do not e-mail, fax or mail me your closed dates.

All assignments will be made on Assignbyweb. You will have 48 hours in which to accept or decline an assignment.

If an official accepts a basketball game assignment from any league or person(s) that are in direct violation or competition with an IAABO Board, you will be suspended from MACBOA.

If you encounter any problems with Assignbyweb, please contact this office via email (dgray@macboa.org) or telephone (301-283-6807).

All paperwork should be in by now. If you have not sent it – do not bother unless you spoke to me in advance and received approval to do so.

K&K (Beth Andrews) will be sending me a list of officials who purchased liability insurance with them. If you purchased insurance with K&K, please send me an email (dgray@macboa.org) so that I will be able to confirm your name on the list.

All officials are required to work two scrimmages. If you live within two hours of school, you must be there at least 45 minutes before game time. If you are conducting a clinic obviously you will need to be there earlier.

I hope that everyone is physically and mentally prepared for another great year. I understand that there is no perfect game officiated, coached or played. We all make mistakes. A near perfect officiated game is when officials have ten or fewer mistakes on their part. There are mistakes, however, that I will not tolerate such as: arriving late to a game; wrong free throw shooter on line; missing a goal tending or basketball interference call; or saying the wrong things to coaches.

We are professionals and I expect everyone to conduct him or herself in a professional manner when representing MACBOA.

Reminders discussed at the September 26 Clinic: All paperwork should be in to my office or "NO Assignments":

• Proof of Liability Insurance
  
• Picture (passport size) with name printed on the back of the picture
  
• Physical Form
  
• Check ($75 application fee)
  
• Completed and signed Contract/Agreement
  
• Please keep your address and phone numbers current on www.AssignBYweb.com/macboa.

CLOSED DATES: Please "ALL Division I, II & III officials" get your closed dates into www.AssignBYweb.com/macboa asap. You must enter all dates for a specific month and then “Submit,” then move to another month and follow the same process. Please take care of your administrative matters.

Reminder: *No LATE ARRIVAL TO GAME SITES!!

• A neat professional appearance to and from the game site is required. MACBOA crews are required to wear business attire (shirt and tie, business suit/dress, mock turtleneck with jacket) to and from the game site.
  
• Travel to Games: As each of you know, with the major construction projects and security concerns in and around the metropolitan area (i.e. highways 70, 270, 395, 495, and 695) traffic congestion are extremely heavy. Please consistently plan travel time in accordance with mileage, weather, and TRAFFIC. None of these are considered valid excuses for missing or being late to an assignment.
  
• It is mandatory for the Crew Chief to contact the assigned crewmembers 48-hours before a game assignment to confirm game time, location, directions and car-pooling. You may leave messages as well as e-mail, but you must receive a verbal confirmation. In addition, each member of the crew must call the host institution and verify the game time. All officials should have their cell phones "ON," especially on game days in the event the MACBOA office and or crew members need to contact you regarding changes or news of any kind. If you are assigned and you have not been contacted by your Crew Chief within 24-hours of the assignment, you are required to call Donnee Gray, Willie Jones and/or Vedia Gray. Failure to do so will result in a fine.
  
• Crew Chief/all officials must follow the "Emergency Procedures" if a problem comes up!! The Emergency Procedures should be put into effect 60-minutes prior to game time if the entire crew is not at the game site.
  
  • Every crew MUST have a pre-game, half time discussion, and a post-game. Failure to abide by this will result in a fine.
  • Fill out Game Reports, Completely!! Crew Chiefs have the option of completing the Game Report online or if you decide to use the paper form, each crewmember must sign the form. Failure to follow this process will result in a fine.
  • Don't Gossip, communicate to help!! Treat coaches, players, and fans with professionalism and respect at all times.
  • Get into the Rule Book! The 2004-2005 Rule Changes will be accessible on our web site under "New Items" (right-hand box area) soon.
  
  
  • All officials must get together before any player is ejected for fighting!!! Annotate that the player(s) were ejected for fighting in the scorebook. Crew Chief must call Donnee Gray immediately (301-775-4088) after the game assignment and report the fight situation and then follow-up with a paper report the next day.
  • Regarding Flagrant Technical Fouls: If an official calls a flagrant technical foul, the penalty is two free throw shots and the ball awarded to the offended team at the division line on either side. The player IS ejected.
  • Crew Chief must fill out the ejection form, completely!!!
  • The Crew Chief must have a pre-game with the table crew. In order to assist the officiating crew and our institution’s table personnel, Ike is creating a Timer/Scorer/Shot Clock Operator Instruction Sheet that will be sent to each institution. Athletic Directors will assure that the form is attached to the scorer’s book as well as placed on the scorer’s table. You may use the form as a guide to instruct your table personnel.
  • Athletic Directors and/or Coaches are not allowed in the Officials locker room without the approval of the Observer. If permission is granted, the Observer must be present. Dialogue must be held to rules clarification and not judgement.
  • Don't call the office line after 10:00 p.m., this also includes not calling Mr. Willie Jones' residence after 10:00 p.m. Exceptions: Game-related problems, fights, Coach/Player ejections, family or an employment emergency!

Coaching Box/Bench Decorum: Officials should be conscious about severe coaching box infractions and address this issue with specific emphasis on travesty of the game or abuse of officials in mind. If the Coach is 1 step to 2 steps outside the coaching box calling out instructions out, then DO NOT assess a technical foul. If a coach is one step out of the coaching box or in the coaching box and not abiding by the bench decorum rule then it is a technical foul. Be respectful. Answer reasonable questions.

Roughness: Because of the emphasis on controlling roughness, officials will call fouls and not talk players out of fouls. Remember that two (hands, forearms, legs) of anything is a foul and must be called. Do not lose control of games. Use good judgement.

I'm looking forward to a successful 2004-05 season. If you have any questions and need clarification on any issues, please contact me at 301-283-6807 or via e-mail at dgray@macboa.org. It is my goal to respond to each inquiry within 36-hours.

TO OBSERVERS:

Thank you for your time and the expertise you bring to MACBOA. Please have your MACBOA sweater/vests on when you arrive at your assignments. As discussed, please introduce yourselves to game administration before the game, and if time permits, introduce yourselves to the Head Coach and staff before, but certainly by half time.

TO ATHLETIC DIRECTORS/COACHES:

If the crew assigned for your game has not arrived by 60 minutes before scheduled game tip-off, please follow the Emergency Procedures. A copy of the Emergency Procedures can be found on the MACBOA web site at www.macboa.org.

Please notify the MACBOA office, in writing, immediately of any schedule changes. You can provide this information via fax or e-mail (dgray@macboa.org). The Office will confirm receipt of the information when received. If the change occurs on the date of the scheduled game, you must speak to someone directly about the change (e.g. Donnee Gray, Vedia Gray, Willie Jones,).

Please take a few minutes at the conclusion of each game to complete the Coaches Game Report. This information is very important to the evaluation process of all MACBOA officials.

2005 NCAA Basketball Rules & Interpretations Book

Click hereto download the PDF

All MACBOA officials are required to take and pass periodic tests as stated in your 2004-2005 contract. Please cut and paste the following test and then complete the test with your answers. You must mail your answers to the MACBOA office. DO NOT FAX your answers. Your test answers must be postmarked no later than October 30, 2004.

All MACBOA officials are required to take and pass periodic tests as stated in your contract. You must mail your answers to the MACBOA office, Post Office Box 98, Bryans Road, MD 20616. DO NOT FAX your answers. In order to receive credit, your Rules Test must be have been postmarked no later than October 30, 2004 in order to receive credit. Please take care of your administrative matters!

2004-05 NCAA Rules Test #1

Officials working men’s or women’s basketball may answer the questions according to the respective men’s or women’s codes.

PRINT NAME: _________________________________________________

CHECK ONE: ______ Men’s Official ______ Women’s Official

MACBOA 2004 Test #1

1. Thrower-in A1, from the backcourt, throws the ball into the frontcourt. A2 deflects the ball back into the backcourt. A1 is the first to touch the ball in backcourt. The official rules this a backcourt violation. Is the official correct?
   
   
2. A1 is driving toward the basket when B1 takes a legal guarding position on A1. As contact is imminent, B1 turns or ducks to prevent from being injured. The official calls a blocking foul on B1. Is the official correct?
   
   
3. Jumper A1 taps the ball to start the extra period. While the ball is in flight, B2 fouls A2. It is the 10th foul of the second half. Prior to the free throws, the official instructs the scorer to set the possession arrow when he places the ball at the disposal of A2 for the second free throw. Is the official correct?
   
   
4. B1 is maintaining a legal guarding position on dribbler A1 near the boundary line. B1 stays in A1’s path but has one foot touching the floor beyond the boundary line when A1 contacts B1. The official rules this a blocking foul. Is the official correct?
   
   
5. While A1’s try is in flight, A2, who is away from the ball, drops to the floor doubled up in pain near B2. The coach informs the officials that B2 punched A1 in the groin and wants the officials to use the courtside monitor. After a brief conference with the other officials, the referee decides that the rules allow him to use the courtside monitor to determine if a fight occurred. Is the referee correct?
   
   
6. The conduct of a Team A fan, in the judgment of the official, is extreme or excessive. The official has game management eject the fan and assesses an indirect technical foul to Team A. Is the official correct?
   
   
7. Jumper A1 taps the ball to A2, who is airborne in the frontcourt. A2 is the first to secure control and passes to A3 in the backcourt. The official rules this a legal play. Is the official correct?
   
   
8. During an alternating possession throw-in, A1 places the ball through the plane of the boundary line and a held ball is called. The official awards the ball back to Team A with the unexpired time and rules this is still an alternating possession throw in. Is the official correct?
   
   
9. A1’s throw-in pass is touched but not controlled. While the ball is loose, A1 enters the playing court and recovers the ball before the throw-in ends. The official rules this a throw-in violation. Is the official correct?
   
   
10. B1 falls to the floor in the lane area. A1, whose back is to the prone B1, receives a pass, turns to start a drive to the basket but falls over B1. The official charges B1 with a personal foul. Is the official correct?
    
    
11. During A1’s first free throw of two, a double personal foul is charged. The official awards A1 his second free throw and resumes play off the make or miss. Is the official correct?
    
    
12. B1 is injured as A1’s try is in flight. The official allows play to continue until either the try is successful or controlled by the injured player’s team. Is the official correct?
    
    
13. A1 fouls B1 prior to A2 releasing the ball on his free throw. Team B is in the bonus. The official rules this a team control foul. Is the official correct?
    
    
14. After the throw-in is touched inbounds to start the second half, the timer fails to start the game clock for four seconds. A2’s pass is deflected out of bounds by B2. After the ball is at the disposal of Team A for the throw-in, the timer notifies the official that he failed to start the game clock. The official rules that the time frame to correct the error has expired. Is the official correct?
    
    
15. With the game tied, A1’s last second shot is ruled successful. The game clock has 10th-of-a-second display and is visible on the monitor. The referee uses the courtside monitor to review the play. The replay shows that the ball was still in A1’s hands when the clock showed 0.00. The referee cancels the basket. Is the official correct?

The staff that participated in our Golf Extravaganza on September 25 enjoyed the 6,603-yard, par-71 layout in Waldorf, MD.

1st Place - Dwayne Carnes, Tony Crisp, Devon Ledford, Tiffany Green

2nd Place - Jim Mahoney, Chris Vail, Sean Mahoney, Dave McAndrew

3rd Place - Dave Kleas, Mike Williams, Pat Patierno, Stephanie Ryan

4th Place - Brian Pearson, Maurice Ward, Paul Wallace

5th Place - Oliver Skinker, Bill Thomas, Tony Tisdall, Athena Argyropoulos

Last Place - Wendell Daniels, Verle Caldwell, Ron Zientek, Lionel Butler

Longest Drive (Men) - Jerry Herpel
Longest Drive (Women) - Vedia Gray

Closest to the Pin (Men) - Dave Kleas
Closest to the Pin (Women) - Vedia Gray

Putting Contest (Men) - Tony Crisp
Putting Contest (Women) - Stephanie Ryan

Contributing Article: Coaches, Players and Sports Officials - Getting Ready for the Season -- Ike Relacion

One of the telltale signs of being a truly great player is consistency. Some players may occasionally have a good game every now and then, but the truly great players perform to their full potential on a consistent basis. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a scrimmage situation or a pressure-packed late game championship situation; great players are consistently ready to do battle. Sports officials need to rise to that level.

Most coaches are all too familiar with poor preparation on their players’ part. As a sports official, are you ready for the upcoming season? May coaches can empathize that they probably have a few players on a team who think they can turn it on and off at will. These are the players who often don’t give it their all during practice. They think they can just go through the motions during the week and somehow their skills and talent will magically appear come game time. It’s these players who have many ups and downs throughout the season because they don’t work hard enough to earn the confidence necessary to be more consistent. Sports officials must work smart to improve. Sports officials are only as good as their last call. Sports officials never will call a perfect game (just as coaches and players will never coach or play a perfect game) because coaches, players and sports officials are human beings. Supervisor of Officials are looking for officials that have excellent game management skills, are "CONSISTENT," and are great communicators. The only way to become one is by working scrimmages, games and learning from each assignment.

Since poor preparation and stress are often the causes of inconsistent play in players, the same can be said for sports officials. Formula: Sports officials should strive for proper preparation plus confident and a focused mindset which translates to consistency.

For coaches and players, proper preparation really begins during practices. Coaches remind players that practice is designed to help them master the skills needed to play the game. The daily repetitions of drills lay the necessary foundation for skill mastery. Sports officials should work as many scrimmages to prepare mentally and physically for the upcoming season. Scrimmages are the perfect place to practice mechanics, apply the upcoming rule changes, points of emphasis for the season, and learning how to work as a team of officials.

As coaches encourage players to set goals prior to the start of practice as they stretch or warm-up to ensure that they are practicing with a purpose, sports officials should also set goals. Sit down with your supervisor/coordinator and discuss your goals for the season and beyond.

Coaches and players remember that a person can either be scared by pressure situations or challenged by them. The choice is entirely up to how the student-athlete chooses to perceive, or think about the situation. Again, going through practice sessions, scrimmages help players and coaches when crunch time arrives during the season and post-season. One of the best strategies a sports official can avail of is to gain experience in game-type situations. Coaches place game ending scenarios for their players to experience what may be a deciding play in a "real game." Sports officials should be involved in these situations. A sports official has unique vantage point of anticipating what happens on a particular play, strategy used by coaches and players ("anticipate the play’), but more important, experiencing game ending scenarios with the game and/or shot clock. Sports officials that are able to handle those plays will be that much better when the actual game scenario(s) happen during the season.

While there are a number of strategies coaches and players use to combat stress and create confidence which equals consistency, sports officials can also combat stress and create confidence and consistency by using scrimmages and game-ending play scenarios to help prepare for the rigors of the season.

BASKETBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION (BOA)

President - Lionel Butler
TBA – Vice President
Tiffany Green – Secretary
Gerald Cannon – Treasurer
TBA -- Greivances/Ethics
Wainwright Jackson - Past President (Advisor)

If you would like to apply or would like to nominate someone for the 2 vacant positions, please contact Lionel Butler at butlerl@cna.org.

As mentioned at the Pre-season Clinic, members may send their $15 dues (Payable to MACBOA/BOA) by December 1, 2004 to:

MACBOA/BOA
c/o Gerald Cannon
PO Box 227
Hagerstown, Maryland 21740

The BOA Constitution & Bylaws has been uploaded onto the MACBOA website under "Policies/Bylaws."

Access www.macboa.org and click on "Policies" to obtain BOA contact information. Please contact any BOA Board of Directors for more information and to volunteer for activities, committees, etc.

CORPORATE SPONSOR: Turner Sports

Turner Sports wishes to thank all MACBOA members for placing orders at the Pre-Season Clinic. Due to the very large amount of orders placed, orders placed will be processed within the next 10 days to 2 weeks. Thank you for your patience. If you have any questions please contact Harry Turner at Turner Sports at 301-790-2532 or via email at ht_alero@juno.com.

These official MACBOA logo items are for sale from Turner Sports:

MACBOA Warm-ups: $70.00
MACBOA Long Sleeve Polo: $25.00
MACBOA Long Sleeve Wind Pullover: $35.00
MACBOA Short Sleeve Wind Vest: $35.00
MACBOA short sleeve golf/polo shirts: $15.00
MACBOA hats: $10.00
MACBOA White Beach Towel: $20.00
MACBOA umbrellas: $20.00
MACBOA whistle bag: $10.00

Contact:

Turner Sports
856 Dewey Avenue
Hagerstown, MD 21742
(301) 790-2532
Email ht_alero@juno.com

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

MACBOA wishes to thank Reggie Greenwood for his presentation at the MACBOA Pre-Season Clinic.

MACBOA wishes to thank Steve Hobson, Head Coach, Montgomery College – Rockville for his spirited presentation at the MACBOA Pre-Season Clinic.

MACBOA wishes to thank Tracey Bergen for provided American Sign Language (ASL) services at our Pre-Season Clinic.

MACBOA wishes to thank our corporate sponsors for the time and efforts during the Pre-Season Clinic.

Let us know what you think of the MACBOA E-mail Newsletter. I would like to find out ways we can improve it, ways we can make it more useful to you. Send an e-mail message to macboa1@aol.com - a real person, not an automated response.

*Please send other newsworthy events or personal items of note to irelacion@aol.com. Contributions should be sent via email with the subject heading: 'MACBOA ITEM'; attachments to will not be accepted.

Order your MACBOA Logo Whistles!

Be the first to receive your MACBOA logo Fox-40 Whistle while supplies last!

Send your payment of $5.25 for each whistle ordered to:

Ike Relacion
c/o MACBOA Logo Whistle
6 Brookloadge Lane
Middletown, MD 21769

Submitting Articles for MACBOA Consideration

Thank you for your interest in submitting an article for consideration on www.macboa.org.

We accept well-written features, how-to articles, "how I did it" success stories, tips and hints, motivational articles and other articles that will help our audience gain knowledge and succeed in their officiating avocation.

We do not accept articles that are primarily advertisements. However, you may place a biographical section at the end of your article. It should be no more than 30 to 40 words in length. It would be nice if you could include a 60x60 picture of you in .gif or .jpeg format.

Below are instructions for submitting your article to the MACBOA.org web site. We ask that you read the terms of your Agreement with MACBOA.org carefully.

Please note: We only accept submissions from the original author of the articles or a publicist hired by the copyright owner to submit material here. By submitting material, you acknowledge that you are legally entitled to distribute the work and to allow it to be redistributed. (If you are a book publisher or public relations firm with copy to distribute, please include a note to that effect at the top of the article you submit.) We do not pay for articles, and do not accept articles that are primarily advertisements. However, you may place a brief resource box and contact information (but no ads) at the end of your article.

To send your article, click on the "Article Submission Form" and answer the questions and then copy and paste your submission into the space provided. We have provided a copy of the form below. Please be sure your by-line appears below the title of the article. Click on the submit button to complete the process and or cut-and-paste the completed form and your article to macboa1@aol.com.

Reward, challenge, appreciation, stimulation, writing, reading...rarely thanked or noticed.

These are some of the attributes of the well hidden job of MACBOA Newsletter Volunteer. Are you interested in working behind the scenes (screens?) to help get information to members? MACBOA is looking to grow our ranks by a couple of folks and thus, we're soliciting volunteers.

What do you do? Read postings. Write articles, membership news, coordinate interviews, cultivate sponsor relations, etc. Write e-mail back and forth amongst us to establish communication, and guidance to keep this list as valuable as possible for our membership. Although we're virtual, our presence is sensed, we hope...and appreciated, although rarely acclaimed.

We haven't a job description, nor do we know what knowledge, skills, and abilities are required, but some that will come in handy are:

• having the ability to write
  
• being thick skinned, not thick headed
  
• being able to express your opinions, while being open minded
  
• having at least a free hour or two a week caring for the membership
  

Please respond directly by e-mail to: irelacion@aol.com

HOW TO CONTACT THE NEWSLETTER COORDINATOR

MACBOA welcomes and encourages news and information for the periodic newsletter. Please submit all materials to address letters of comment, article proposals and queries, or news items to:

Ike Relacion: (301) 371-8520
E-mail: irelacion@aol.com

MACBOA Newsletter Information

MACBOA, INC provides the MACBOA newsletter. MACBOA is a nonprofit organization providing information about membership news. The MACBOA.ORG Newsletter's contents may be quoted and reused as long as attribution is included with the reprinting and/or posting.

MACBOA nor its guest contributors shall be liable or responsible to any person or entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be have been caused, directly or indirectly by the information or ideas contained, suggested, or referenced in this newsletter

MACBOA does not share its email lists. We value and respect your privacy.

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