Austin Chapter Volleyball (ACV) Newsletter 2018
Issue 5
4/9/2018
2018 Volleyball Season Kicks off First Week of August
Scrimmages for the 2018 volleyball season will be held on Friday and Saturday, August 3 & 4. As per Section F of the Stated Policies, “all members are expected to attend a minimum of three (3) hours of scrimmages.” Arrangements should be made with the Chapter Trainer, Christle Miersma, no later than May 1st if a member is unable to meet this requirement. Be sure to also notify the Assigning Secretary, Janiece Nelson, and your At-Large Representative.
Spring/Summer Leagues to Begin Soon
Please note that you must be registered with both TASO and ACV before you are able to officiate spring/summer league matches as well as attend any summer training sessions or meetings. Therefore, please do not delay in getting your registration completed with both TASO and ACV. Please note the following spring/summer leagues with the assigners included in parenthesis: Del Valle (Bob Block), Georgetown (Gilbert Mokry), Hutto (Gilbert Mokry) San Marcos (Bonnie Caddell), Taylor (Janiece Nelson with matches being played in Rockdale and Jarrell). The ACV Board approved these assigners at the April 4 board meeting. Please contact these individuals for more information on these leagues if you are interested.
New Member Orientations
Remember that spring/summer leagues are also used to train new officials. Please send the contact information of potential new members to Roni Downey so they can be assigned to train during this time. You can earn a $25 referral bonus if you refer a new ACV member who works a minimum number of matches during the season. All new officials must attend one orientation. Orientation dates are set for the following dates and times:
Monday, April 30: Austin Sports Center in Cedar Park at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 19: Hampton Inn in Buda at 10:00 a.m.
2018 ACV Calendar Now Available on Website
The 2018 ACV Calendar is now available on the Austin Volleyball Officials website. It is located under the heading of “Members” and is the first option listed, “ACV Calendar”. Please be sure to mark your calendar with these important dates. http://www.austinvolleyballofficials.com/acv-calendar/ You can also add the calendar to your Google calendar so that you have all of the important events noted. For your convenience, a PDF color-coded version of the calendar is available on the website as well. Please note that the “A” and “B” Returning Training meetings will have differing subject matter this year – members might want to attend both to further their officiating education.
2018 TASO and ACV Requirements
In addition to being registered for both TASO and ACV, please note the following mandatory requirements:
TASO Requirements: Prior to working a match, members must attend 1 Rules Clinic and complete the TASO Rules Test. Officials not in compliance will not be allowed to work any matches.
ACV Requirements: Must attend 5 Total Meetings consisting of 1 Returning Member Training, 2 Chapter Meetings, 1 At-Large Representative Meeting, and 1 other meeting of your choice.
What is WebEx?
The ACV board recently purchased a license to use WebEx, which is a video and web conferencing software system. At present, the ACV board is using it to hold board meetings. It allows members to attend a meeting in the comfort of your home, an added plus considering all of the traffic and construction encountered in getting from one area of town to another. Due to the success the board has had with WebEx, we would like to offer this same opportunity to officials, by offering the at-large representative meetings as a type of webinar, allowing officials to attend, learn, and ask questions from the comfort of home. The ACV board will offer a couple of “test runs” to familiarize yourself with WebEx in late April and early May. Test dates will be sent out soon and you are encouraged to take advantage of these tests so as to be prepared for when the actual meetings take place.
At-Large Representative Meetings Set
Please make plans to attend one out of the three At-Large Representative WebEx Meetings being offered. Attendance at one of these is a meeting attendance requirement for 2018. In addition to providing general information about the 2018 season, each meeting will have a training component focused on a particular topic, as seen within the parenthesis. Please note that you do not have to attend the meeting of your assigned at-large representative, which corresponds with the first letter of your last name as shown in parenthesis following the host name. You are welcome to attend the one that best fits your schedule and the training session that you feel will benefit you the most, or feel free to attend all of them for extra training.
· Monday, May 21: At Large Representative WebEx Meeting – Hosts Teresa Fierro (A-G) and Christle Miersma (Libero tracking)
· Wednesday, June 6: At Large Representative WebEx Meeting – Hosts Chez Slayton (H-N) and Christle Miersma (Scorekeeping)
· Monday, July 16: At Large Representative WebEx Meeting – Host Christle Miersma (O-Z) (Most missed test questions from the 2017 TASO Rules Test)
Message from Assigning Secretary
Arbiter is now ready for you to input your availability, blocks, and travel limits. As noted in the letter sent by Janiece, there are many upgrades and standardization of sites, so if you have a question, please feel free to contact her. The letter indicated a welcome email would be sent since Arbiter had done a tremendous amount of upgrading. Please read the letter included with the availability closely, complete your availability, and return it to Janiece by June 1st. Take notice there is an optional page 2! Don't forget to mark yourself “READY” on the left side of your profile when you have completed Arbiter and have sent your form to Janiece.
Registration Now Open for TASO State Annual Meeting
TASO sent an email announcement that registration is now being accepted for those who desire to attend the 2018 TASO Volleyball Annual Meeting, which will be held in Garland, Texas on Saturday, July 14. Please note that when you registered with TASO, you already prepaid to attend a State or Regional clinic. Nevertheless, you still need to register. At this time, registration for the Regional Clinics is still not available. Please note that Austin will not host a Regional Clinic this year. Instead, the nearest location to host a Regional Clinic will be San Antonio, which is scheduled for Sunday, July 29. Other Regional Clinic locations and dates are listed on the TASO website as well as on the 2018 ACV Calendar. Please note that TASO designates the locations for these clinics. Taking the On-Line Clinic is also an option.
Professional Association of Volleyball Officials (PAVO)
For those individuals who are interested in calling lines at collegiate matches, please visit www.pavo.org. Current information is available on membership, costs, and upcoming clinics/meetings.
Next ACV Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, 2018. As always, please contact your at-large representative at least 24 hours in advance if you are interested in attending this board meeting.