Issue 8
7/8/2018
2018 Volleyball Season Is Drawing Near!
With the 4th of July behind us, the back-to-school ads are a clear indication that the 2018 volleyball season is almost upon us. Officials now only have four weeks to get ready before the start of the season. During that time span, there are many requirements that have to be met before we can get on the court. A few are mentioned in this newsletter. Please review the checklist of requirements; it is the first selection under “Member” on the ACV website. If you have questions, please be sure to contact your at-large representative.
TASO Test Completion Required
Officials must complete the TASO Rules Test prior to officiating a match. The test is a mandatory TASO requirement and cannot be waived for any reason. The test is scheduled to be available in mid-July. No schedules will be posted until after the TASO test completions have been updated and the first August meeting has been held. Officials can see within the Arbiter calendar whether they have a match as indicated in blue on the blocks calendar.
Reminder about TASO Rules Clinic Requirement
All officials are required to attend a TASO rules clinic. This can be done in three ways: (1) attend the TASO State Meeting scheduled for Saturday, July 14 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland; (2) attend a TASO Regional Clinic; OR (3) plan on taking the rules clinic online (not available until mid-July).
Online Registration for TASO Regional Volleyball Clinics Now Available
Please read the email from TASO dated July 5. It contains important information as well as registration links for those officials planning on attending a Regional Clinic. The nearest one will be held in San Antonio on Sunday, July 29. Remember that the fee for the rules clinic was included in your TASO membership registration. Nevertheless, you must pre-register for the clinic in advance or you will be charged $10 for registering as a walk up at the clinic.
Important Message from Assigning Secretary
Please take time to read the email dated June 30 regarding important scrimmage information. Please note that officials can self-assign scrimmages; however, that option will close on Friday, July 27. Some locations will also have scrimmages on Monday, August 6. All officials are required to do a minimum of three hours. On another note, the number of Varsity tournaments has declined this season. We are currently down three Varsity tournaments (Hays, Brentwood, NBCA). This will result in less tournaments for officials to work.
Mandatory At-Large Representative WebEx Meetings
The last At-Large Representative WebEx meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 16. The host is Christle Miersma (O-Z) and the training component will be most missed test questions from the 2017 TASO Rules Test. If you have not attended one, this is your last chance to do so. This is a mandatory requirement for this season.
Returning Members Training (Advanced Level)
As a reminder, all returning members are required to attend at least one returning members training. The advanced-level training is scheduled for Thursday, July 19 at Pflugerville High School at 7:00 p.m. Please make plans to attend especially if you did not attend the intermediate training offered on June 16.
WebEx Trainings Continue
The dates for the three remaining WebEx training sessions are as follows:
· Tuesday, July 17 at 7:00 p.m. – Match Night Procedures
· Sunday, July 22 at 7:00 p.m. – TASO Rules Test Prep
· Sunday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. – Line-Up Card Training
These sessions are good training opportunities to freshen up your skills before the season begins. However, they are not a mandatory requirement.
First Chapter Meeting Scheduled for Wednesday, August 1
The 2018 volleyball season kicks off with the first chapter meeting of the season. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1 at 7:00 p.m. It will be held at the Austin Police Association Union Hall, located at 5817 Wilcab Drive in Austin. To celebrate the beginning of the season, a fajita dinner will be offered. Please be sure to RSVP to this event via Arbiter when it becomes available so that we can get an accurate count. Everyone who attends will be included in door prize drawings.
Next ACV Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, July 11, 2018 and will be held via WebEx. As always, please contact your at-large representative at least 24 hours in advance if you are interested in attending this board meeting in order to obtain the necessary participant information.
Check your uniform, especially black pants, belts, socks, and tennis shoes! Is it time for new ones?
Remember to clean your whistles!