Issue 64, September 28, 2006
MACBOA Newsletter

In this Issue:

• Remarks from the Supervisor of Officials: Donnee L. Gray
• QUIZ TIME! Let’s Get into the Rule Book! Quiz/Test Number #1
• Basketball Officials Association (BOA) Items from Lionel Butler, President
• 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

I would like to thank Dr. Tom Jandovitz, Director of Athletics and The Frederick Community College for hosting our MACBOA Clinic last Sunday, September 24, 2006.  A thank you to Dave Miller, Men’s Head Coach of Frederick Community College and Barvenia Wooten-Collier, Women’s Head Coach, Prince George’s Community College, for their messages to the MACBOA staff on behalf of the Region XX Coaches.

I also want to thank staff for their commitment to MACBOA and welcome our new members who traveled as far west from Wisconsin, north from Connecticut, and south from Norfolk, VA to attend our Clinic.  I also want to thank Al Battista and Cheryl Ingram for presenting the 2006-07 Rules Changes and Points of Emphasis for our men and women staff respectively.

Reminders discussed at the September 24 Clinic.

TO OFFICIALS: All paperwork should be in to my office or "NO Assignments"

I made an announcement that the MACBOA office generated a report of staff missing required documentation and asked you to review the report and contact the MACBOA office (301-283-6807) to resolve specific issues.   If you have not received your www.theArbiter.net username and password, it is because the office could not decipher your handwriting.  Please contact the MACBOA office at dgray@macboa.org or (301) 283-6807. 

• Proof of Liability Insurance (due by October 15)
• Passport size head shot with name printed on the back of the picture
• Physical Form (due by October 15)
• Check ($75 application fee)
• Completed and signed Contract/Agreement

The Arbiter.Net
Once members obtain access to the Arbiter system from the MACBOA office (dgray@maboa.org), members are reminded to check their email and Arbiter account periodically.  MACBOA has the capability of running reports to research member activity. Members are also reminded to keep their personal information (e-mail address, home address, all phone numbers) and closed dates current and update personal calendars in the Arbiter system. Once the schedules are posted, members will have 48-hours to Accept or Decline an assignment or reassignments will commence.  Game assignments will be made via the Arbiter system. Delaying to provide all required documentation, will delay your ability to receive consideration for game assignments.

All questions or problems that you may encounter with the Arbiter should be sent to me at: dgray@macboa.org. The Arbiter hyperlink has been placed on the www.macboa.org web site for easy access.

CLOSED DATES: "ALL Division I, II & III officials" get your closed dates into www.thearbiter.net  ASAP.  For IT security purposes, the initial Arbiter username and password issued is different from your MACBOA “Members Only” site login.  If you have questions about your Arbiter login information, please contact me at dgray@macboa.org.   If you have not received your Arbiter.net username and password, it is because the office could not decipher your handwriting.  Please contact the MACBOA office at dgray@macboa.org. 

MENTORSHIP:
I have received several requests form 1st and 2nd year members wanting to participate. If you would like to be considered of the MACBOA mentorship program either as a mentor or mentee, please contact me at dgray@macboa.org.

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.  Two lateness’ and your contract will terminated.
• It is mandatory for the Crew Chief to contact the assigned crew members 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, the Crew Chief must call the host institution and verify the game time and communicate any changes to his/her crew and the MACBOA office. 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.
• 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 follow this procedure will result in a fine.  Communication is crucial! Besides going over rule changes, points of emphasis, and play situations, officials are reminded to use authorized mechanics. “Home made mechanics will incur a fine.
• Fill out Game Reports, Completely!! Crew Chiefs must complete a Game Report online.  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 2006-2007 Rule Changes have been posted in last month’s newsletter.  A link will be provided on the web site under “New Items”
• All officials must get together before any player is ejected for fighting!!! Annotate that the player or players ejected for fighting in the scorebook. Each official and Observer must call Donnee Gray immediately (301-775-4088) after the game assignment and report the ejection for fighting and then follow-up with a written report the next day.
• Regarding Flagrant Technical Fouls: If an official calls a flagrant technical foul, the penalty is two free throws 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.  The form must be complete and legible.
• 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 MACBOA Observer. If permission is granted, the Observer must be present. Dialogue must be held to rules clarification and not judgment.
• 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 to players, 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.

We have 3 officials on the court and I will not tolerate losing a shooter or having a wrong free throw shooter on line, missing a goal tending or basketball interference call or putting the ball in play with 6 players on the court (and then calling a technical foul on the team).  

Choose your words wisely; saying inappropriate things to coaches, players, fans and others will meet with corrective action.  Remember PAC (not Political Action Committee), but “P” – Be a Parent to the players; “A” – Treat Adults like Adults; and “C” – Handle both with CARE.

Before a decision is made to eject a player for fighting, all officials must confer and share their view of the play.  Then communicate the result to each Head Coach and annotate the ejection clearly in the official scorebook.  Each official and observer must call the Supervisor of Officials (301-775-4088) as soon as possible after the game assignment.  Before leaving the game site, the crew must gather player(s) information involved for documentation purposes.

Roughness: Because of the emphasis on controlling roughness any where on the court (Post Play, Screening/Cutting/Body Bumping), 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.   Observe normal basketball plays and judge the first illegal action.  Call the first foul.  Players and coaches will adjust.  Hand checking/Tagging - A player may “measure” up a player with the ball, but hand checking and tagging must be called.    Besides roughness, palming on the men’s side and displacement and sporting behavior for the women’s side are the points of emphasis for the
2006-07 season.  Again, call the first foul, the Players and Coaches will adjust.  Men’s and Women’s NCAA interpretations and guidelines were discussed.  Do not lose control of games. Use good judgment.

GAME FEES:  The fee structure negotiated between the conference/league and MACBOA are established through the contract term.  As discussed at the clinic, being a part of MACBOA encompasses many things including the opportunity to officiate at the NCAA level and the opportunity to learn from a successful organization that has helped staff reach higher levels of officiating (DI/II/III, semi-professional and professional).  With increases in game fees come higher expectations from the conference/league and MACBOA (Donnee Gray, Vedia Gray, Willie Jones and Tommie Scott).

MISC: 

1. MACBOA strives to provide opportunities for officials and observers to experience growth and development.  We have a proud and loyal officiating foundation that provides exceptional officiating services to the colleges and universities while providing development, training and mentorship to our own.  It is the choice of each official to be a part of MACBOA and with that choice comes reasonable expectations.  It is up to all officials to promote the MACBOA institution.  Any behavior that threatens the existence and business entity of MACBOA will be dealt with accordingly. 
2. As Supervisor of Officials, and to assess staff development, I periodically assess and turn over at least 25% of the staff that have not illustrated improvement in skills, who do not take care of administrative matters, do not conform to established proper dress guidelines, illustrate poor mechanics, and have sustained below average officiating performance, etc.  As stated by me and for the record, it is up YOU where you land in our out of the organization.

BOA:  The BOA’s Board of Directors are elected to serve its membership.  Every member should make a choice to be an active participant in the BOA.  Challenge your BOA to provide the services and programs.  It was not my intent to look or sound upset while addressing MACBOA-BOA.  My purpose was to point out that this organization is one of my life's accomplishments, and I won't let actions of mis-information cause a split among the staff, and then become a cancer to the membership.  My door has always been open and continues to be open to any member or nonmember on staff to ask me questions, express concerns, make suggestions, etc.  Having meaningful dialogue is positive and furthers perspectives on each side of the debate.  Your comments, suggestions and criticisms will be held in confidence and will not be held against you.  All staff must understand two (2) things:

        1) After careful deliberation on the potential impact on the organization, my decision is the last word!
        2) The staff will not run MACBOA 

I have put this matter behind me upon the close of the meeting on Sunday.  I am now looking forward to a successful basketball season with our MACBOA staff meeting and exceeding performance and service expectations!

I have agreed to abide by the membership’s request through the BOA and give staff ten (10) days to submit quiz/tests (either postmarked or submitted via email to me) once a quiz/test is uploaded to the MACBOA office.  We will also send an email to the membership that a new quiz/test is available on the web site under “New Items.”  Your 1st Quiz/Test can be found below.

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.

Observers should be in the arena no later than one (1) hour prior to the scheduled tip-off.

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.

Please email Vedia (dgray@macboa.org) at the end of every month and include:
Date of games observed.

If you haven’t done so already, please send me your Data Form.  Please contact me or Tommie Scott if you have any questions.

TO ATHLETIC DIRECTORS:

As discussed with your Head Coaches at the Clinic, it is the responsibility of each institution to notify the MACBOA Supervisor of Officials of last minute site changes, game time changes, and or postponements at least 6 hours prior to game time, the day of the game.  The will allow sufficient time for MACBOA to contact officials and observers and make necessary adjustments.  Regarding postponements, we ask each institution to speak personally to someone at the MACBOA Office (Donnee Gray: 301-775-4088, Willie Jones: 202-360-9915, Vedia Gray: 301-775-4089 or Tommie Scott: 240-882-2558).  We would like to prevent officials and observers from traveling unnecessarily to a site, particularly in the event of inclement weather.  Once MACBOA officials are en route to the game site, they have to receive the game fee.

At the conclusion of each game, please encourage Head Coaches to take the time to complete the Coaches Game Report.  This information is very important in the evaluation process of all MACBOA officials.

I'm looking forward to a successful 2006-07 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. 

The following questions must be returned to Donnee L. Gray, MACBOA Supervisor of Officials postmarked or sent via email no later than October 8, 2006 to be in good standing and to be eligible for consideration of MACBOA assignments.

In answering the questions, answers must include supporting rulebook citation. Officials working men's or women's basketball may answer the questions according to the respective codes.

Cut-and-paste the quiz and e-mail your test with answers to dgray@macboa.org.

Faxed submission will not be accepted as meeting the requirement.  Use E-mail or regular postal mail! 

PRINT NAME: _________________________________________________

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

MACBOA Basketball Rules Quiz #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?

Basketball Officials Association (BOA) Items from Lionel Butler, President

On behalf of the BOA Board of Directors, I would like to thank all members who have sent in their membership dues for the upcoming year. If you have not sent in your dues, please feel free to contact me or any member of the BOA Board of Directors.

Your check or money order should be made out to: MACBOA-BOA. Please have the new members send their check or money order to:

Mr. Chris Vail
9584 Tarvie Circle
Bristow, VA 20136

Please let us know of any MACBOA member news that we should send cards, flowers, etc. The BOA is there for our membership and we can only act if we know of events. Events include sick members and their family members, condolence notices, as well as communication about professional appointments and selections to conferences and leagues.

The BOA is here to service our members and we look forward to partnering with our members in programs and initiatives.  We will be proactive in communicating to you throughout the season to promote activities during the season and beyond.   Any members wanting to be a part of any special interest committees please contact any member of the BOA Board of Directors.

We have formed a committee that will be looking into purchasing rule books for the 2007-2008 season.  I will fill you in on that at a later date.

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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