Officials

The OSAA appreciates the vital role that officials play in the administration of high school activities. We hope you'll find what you need on the OSAA website and our links to other sites and resources. This page is intended to assist you in achieving your goals as an official and to help clarify the policies regarding officials. All high school officials and associations are certified and chartered by the OSAA for the following sports: football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, wrestling, baseball, and softball.

Oregon Athletic Officials Association

The Oregon Athletic Officials Association (OAOA) seeks to advance high school officiating in Oregon by representing the state's officials and associations and promoting:

"One Rule, One Mechanic, One Interpretation"

Officials are encouraged to contact the OAOA directly for any questions or further clarification.

www.oreofficials.org
(503) 682 - 6722

Professional Organizations

The OSAA works closely with several professional organizations that relate to high school athletic officials. Follow the links below for additional information.

» Oregon Athletic Officials Association (OAOA)
» National Federation Officials Association (NFOA)
» National Association of Sports Officials (NASO)

OSAA/OAOA Central Hub

A lot of information and great resources for officials can be found on the OSAA/OAOA Central Hub hosted on ArbiterSports. Officials registration, testing, training, and a lot more information is up on the Central Hub. Click the Central Hub button or one of the icons below.

Football

Volleyball

Soccer

Basketball

Wrestling

Baseball

Softball

Registration for OSAA Officials

The following outlines the registration process for OSAA officials.

Online Registration

All OSAA officials must complete the online registration process. Registration is completed through the OSAA/OAOA Central Hub on ArbiterSports. The registration process includes:

Selecting a sport
Providing contact information
Consenting to a background check
Selecting an officials association
Paying registration fees online

Click the star icon to the left to start your officials registration.

2015-16 OSAA Officials Registration and Testing Timelines

	FALL	WINTER	SPRING
Registration/Testing Opens	Monday 6/22/2015	Monday 9/28/2015	Monday 1/4/2016
Test Review Opens	Monday 8/17/2015	Monday 11/16/2015	Monday 2/29/2016
Testing/Registration Closes	Friday 10/23/2015	Friday 2/19/2016	Wednesday 5/18/2016

2015-16 Registration Fees

Football	$60.50
Volleyball	$60.50
Soccer	$53.50
Basketball	$67.50
Wrestling	$60.50
Baseball	$60.50
Softball	$60.50

Officials Packets

Once you have completed the online registration process and consented to a criminal background check, the OSAA office will mail you an officials packet. Packets are send USPS First Class to the mailing address provided in the registration process.

Please allow up to 5 business days to receive your packet.

If you have not received your officials packet, please contact Meridith Pyle at the OSAA office by calling (503) 682 - 6722 x224 or email . Packet contents vary by sport and additional information on exactly what is included for each sport's officials packet can be found on the Central Hub on ArbiterSports.

Certification Requirements for OSAA Officials

To be a certified official, an individual must:

Be at least 18 years of age (exceptions for youth officials are made by the OSAA Executive Director)
Be a member in good standing of a Local Officials Association and complete the online registration process
Annually score at least 75% on the National Federation Rules Examination for the sport concerned
Attend six study/training meetings or complete 10 hours of approved training
Consent to and pass an annual criminal history conviction screening
Complete an annual concussion awareness training course

The full list of certification requirements can be found in the OSAA Athletic Officials Handbook.

Testing

Online Exams Officials must annually pass an online rules exam for each sport he/she officiates. Testing is administered online through the OSAA/OAOA Central Hub on ArbiterSports. Exams are open book and there is no time limit. The test must be completed with a passing score in order to be certified. Officials have 3 attempts to obtain a passing score. After the specified date, the ability to review a previous completed test is enabled.

Concussion Training

All OSAA officials in all sports must complete an annual concussion training course. Training must be completed before officials are allowed to officiate any contest. This annual requirement must be completed in the school year in which the sport is officiated (i.e., a baseball official that completes concussion training in the spring must re-take the concussion course in the fall if he/she wishes to also officiate a fall sport in a new school year).

Online Concussion Course

The OSAA has created an online training course specifically targeted for athletic officials, "Understanding Concussions - What Officials Need to Know." The online course is hosted on the Central Hub through the Eligibility Center. To complete the concussion course:

Click the link to access the Eligibility Center.
If you are not already logged in, you must log in with your e-mail address and password you used during registration.
Under the Started section, expand a varsity eligibility in the current school year, -.
In the expanded eligibility you selected, a list of the requirements will be visible. Next to the "Understanding Concussions - What Officials Need to Know" item, click the View Clinic link.
A pop-up window will appear. Click the OK button. If you do not see any buttons, you might have to scroll to the right in this pop-up window to see the button.
A training course will load on a platform hosted by BrainShark. The course takes about 10 minutes to complete, prompting you to progress to the next step as necessary.
In the upper-right, an icon is displayed indicating your completion status. This icon will appear red to let you know that you still have more steps to complete in the course. After you have completed the course, ensure that this icon appears green and notes that you have met all of the completion criteria.

This online course created by the OSAA is the only concussion training course that meets the certification requirement for officials. Other courses will not be accepted as substitutes.

Officials Certification And Education Program

The OSAA/OAOA Officials Certification and Education Program (OCEP) is designed to ensure that Oregon officials statewide are trained in a consistent and standardized manner. There are two components - the Principles of Officiating Course and Playoff Certification Clinics.

Principles of Officiating

New officials shall complete within their first three years of officiating a course or clinic approved by the OAOA Executive Board on basic Principles of Officiating. This requirement does not apply to officials certified by the OSAA in 2005-06 or prior; or any transfer official previously licensed or certified by a State High School governing body.

Each local officials association must conduct an annual OCEP Principles of Officiating course. It is highly suggested that these courses are offered to other neighboring associations of other sports to have a diverse participant base. For additional information, please refer to the OAOA Website.

There is a free NFHS Interscholastic Officiating Course that can be completed online as an alternative to the OCEP Principles of Officiating clinic. Access this online course on the NFHS Learning Center.

Sport Specific Playoff Clinic

These clinics are sport specific and cover rules, interpretations, and mechanics for officiating the sport in the OSAA Championships. The OAOA sponsors several certification clinics in all sports throughout the year. Idaho and Washington associations who service Oregon schools are exempt from OCEP as they must comply with their respective states' training and certification requirements.

Officials selected to officiate any OSAA State Championship or Playoff event shall have completed an OCEP Playoff Certification Clinic, or other camp, clinic or certifying procedure substantially equivalent and approved by the Executive Board of the OAOA in the applicable sport. Soccer officials who obtain USSF Level 8 certification meet their OCEP Playoff eligibility requirement.

Playoff Recertification Requirement

Officials must be OCEP Playoff recertified every five years. Wrestling officials must recertify every three years.

Officials can check their individual OCEP certification status by looking at their profiles on ArbiterSports or under a playoff eligibility on the Eligibility Center.

Eligibility Badges

To help officials and Commissioners understand the certification requirements, the Central Hub assigns users badge icons representing the certification of each official and their eligibility level of assignments.

Registered - The official has completed the online registration process including signing an independent contractor agreement, paying required fees, and consenting to a background check. Not allowed to officiate.

Sub-Varsity Official - The official has successfully registered, cleared the background check, viewed any required training videos, and has completed the rules exam with a score of less than 75%. Not allowed to officiate above the sub-varsity level.

Varsity Official - The official has successfully registered, cleared the background check, viewed any required training videos, and has completed the rules exam with a score between 75% and 90%. Allowed to officiate varsity and sub-varsity contests.

Playoff Official - The official has successfully registered, cleared the background check, viewed any required training videos, and has completed the rules exam with a score of above 90%. Additionally, the official has completed the OCEP Principles and OCEP Playoff certifications. Allowed to officiate OSAA championships, playoffs, varsity, and sub-varsity contests.

How to Check Your Eligibility

The video to the left explains how officials can access the Central Hub to check their eligibility.

Please note that eligibility badges may not reflect the most up to date information as the icons are updated twice daily on ArbiterSports. Officials should check their own eligibilities through the eligibility center on the Central Hub to see what criteria have been completed or are missing.

Eligibility Center
Click to go directly to the Eligibility Center.

OSAA State Championships

Officials selected to represent a Local Association at any State Championship or playoff event shall meet each of the following requirements:

Be certified, playoff eligible, and in good standing per the OSAA Athletic Officials Handbook:
- Completed online registration including signing an independent contractor agreement, paying required fees, and consenting to a background check
- Cleared the background check
- Viewed any required training videos (i.e. concussion training)
- Passed the rules exam with a score of at least 90%
- Completed the OCEP Principles course once
- Completed the sport specific OCEP Playoff certification/re-certification course
Have a minimum officiating experience of (or by exception from the OSAA Executive Director):
- at least 3 years at the varsity level
- at least 5 years at the varsity level to be eligible for assignment as the Center Referee for Soccer State Championships including the first round through the final contest
For Basketball or Soccer, officiated:
- at least 3 regular season contests in each gender in basketball to be eligible for Basketball State Championship assignments including the first round through the final contest
- at least 2 regular season matches in each gender in soccer to be eligible for Soccer State Championship assignments including the first round through the final contest.
Be a member of an association which services:
- 6A or 5A classifications during the regular season to be eligible for 6A or lower classifications assignments
- 4A or a lower classification during the regular season to be eligible for 4A and lower classifications assignments
Meet any additional requirements established by the official's local association

Consecutive Year Representation

Officials may represent their local association in State Championship final sites in consecutive years as follows:

Football - no limitation
Volleyball - limit of two consecutive years at any final site, regardless of classification
Soccer - no limitation
Basketball - limit of two consecutive years at any final site, regardless of classification
Wrestling - by selection process outlined in Appendix F of the Athletic Officials Handbook
Baseball - no limitation
Softball - no limitation

Local officials associations may impose stricter guidelines for selecting officials for OSAA State Championship events. League playoffs and play-in contests are not part of the OSAA State Championships.

OSAA Rules, Policies, and Forms for Officials and Contests

OSAA Contest Requirements

OSAA certified officials are required for all OSAA sanctioned activities at the varsity and junior varsity levels (including jamborees).

EXCEPTION: OSAA certified officials are required in baseball and softball at the varsity level only. OSAA certified officials are required in football at all sub-varsity levels. (OSAA Handbook)

Note: OSAA contest officials are not to interpret OSAA rules. Practice/game limitations, player eligibility, and other rules governing schools outside of the NFHS rules of that particular sport do not fall under the purview of the official.

Resource Links

These are some of the OSAA policies and forms that relate directly to officials.

» Officials Rules in OSAA Handbook
» Athletic Officials Handbook (AOH)
» Official's Code of Ethics

» Officials Transfer Form
Attendance Sheet: » PDF | » WORD
» Officials Disciplinary Action Form

» Football 45-Point Alternative Plan Report

» 2015-16 OSAA Officials Fee Schedule
» 2015-16 3-Person Basketball Fee Schedule
» Game Fee Cancellation Policy
» Interrupted Contest Policy

» Ejection Policies
» New Online Ejection Report

State Rules Interpreters

The following people are the State Rules Interpreters (SRI) for their respective sports. Commissioners and officials are encouraged to contact the SRI for rules clarifications.

Football	Clark Sanders
Volleyball	Debi Hanson
Soccer	Patrick Duffy
Basketball	Steve Bulen
Swimming	Jacki Allender
Wrestling	Rick Wallace
Baseball	Tad Cockerill
Softball	John Christensen

OSAA State Rules Clinics

The OSAA holds several rules clinics for each sport prior to each sports season for commissioners of local associations.

» 2015-16 Rules Clinic Schedule