1. IHSAA Tournament Officials Ratings System
Welcome to today’s webinar covering the IHSAA Tournament Officials Rating System. This webinar is presented in an effort to educate the IHSAA membership on the new protocol the IHSAA will use to assign tournament officials, to generate discussion and answer any questions you may have.
To begin, please mute your phone for the presentation. You may type any questions in the “chat” area and we will answer them as they come in.
The tournament officials ratings system is a product of three years of meetings and many hours of research conducted by a sub-committee of the IHSAA Association of Secretaries of Officials Associations. The new system attempts to utilize the school vote plus objective criteria relating to an official’s professional development.

2. IHSAA Tournament Officials Rating System
The ranking of contest officials applying for an IHSAA tournament series event shall have two components:
1. School vote - 50% of total rating
The composite number calculated by this method will represent 50% of the officials overall score for tournament assignment and advancement.
2. Individual Vote - 50% of total rating Each official or crew that applies for the IHSAA tournament series must meet the minimum requirements for working in the tournament. Multiple individual criteria
will total 50% of the officials overall score for tournament advancement.
The ratings protocol for member schools has not changed from past practice –
As a criteria for entering an IHSAA tournament, all member schools are required to complete a tournament officials ratings survey.
In team sports, each school will receive a list of those officials who have worked in a home or away contest in the past three years. This list is generated from those contests submitted by the officials on the official’s tournament application or games scheduled through Arbiter by member schools. The more complete the information in Arbiter, the more complete the list of officials a school will receive.
In individual sports, schools will receive a list of all officials who have applied for the tournament. At this point, the IHSAA is not identifying schools that the official has worked for in the past three years because many officials work large regular season tournaments that would be difficult to track. However, member schools should only respond to those official who have worked a home or away contest for them in the past three years.
The way in which a school’s rating will affect the officials total ranking has changed:
The school vote will account for 50% of the rating the in a team or individual sport, and the individual vote will account for the other 50% of the officials rating.
1. School vote - 50% of total rating
Each member school will rate those officials who have worked a home or away contest within the past three years. The composite number calculated by this method will represent 50% of the officials overall score for tournament assignment and advancement.
2. Individual Vote - 50% of total rating Each official or crew that applies for the IHSAA tournament series must meet the minimum requirements for working in the tournament as set forth by the IHSAA. An individual vote is a vote that is assigned to an official or crew for efforts displayed in professional development. Multiple individual criteria will total 50% of the officials overall score for tournament assignment and advancement.

3. School vote – 50%
Each school will be asked to rate an official or crew listed on the IHSAA Officials Voting Survey.
2. A rating scale will reflect a numerical rating system labeled as with criteria established for each category.
School vote – 50%
Each school will be asked to rate an official or crew listed on the IHSAA Officials Voting Survey. The IHSAA will forward the survey link to the athletic director that contains a response deadline. The athletic director will seek the coach’s input and return the survey within the deadline period. There is an option to send the survey to the coach, but the coach may not make the final submission of the survey. The coach must return that survey to the athletic director for the final submission.
Failure to respond in the appropriate time frame will require payment of a $100 penalty prior to the school being permitted to enter the tournament.
A rating scale will reflect a numerical rating system labeled as , with 5 being the highest category. In addition, a new list of expectations associated with each category has been established.

4. School Rating Rubric
5 The official/crew exhibits excellent communication skills, NFHS adopted mechanics, arrives at the contest site mentally and physically prepared, demonstrates excellent game management, and has control of the contest by making consistent calls from beginning to the end, and can work the highest level in the tournament.
4 The official/crew displays very good communication skills, and is in position to make most calls. The official manages the game well and has control of the contest but not at the highest level.
3 The official/crew demonstrates adequate rules knowledge and acceptable game management. Communication with coaches and players is acceptable but needs more experience to work the higher levels of the tournament.
In the past the IHSAA received inquiries from athletic directors and coaches regarding the rating scale, and the subjective nature of the categories. Officials often ask for constructive feedback with regard to their ratings as well. In an effort to clarify expectations of each category, and to provide feedback to assist officials, the following rubric will appear as a legend at the top of the survey -
5 The highest category is 5 -
The official/crew exhibits excellent communication skills, NFHS adopted mechanics, arrives at the contest site mentally and physically prepared, demonstrates excellent game management, and has control of the contest by making consistent calls from beginning to the end and can work the highest level in the tournament.
4 The official/crew displays very good communication skills, and is in position to make most calls. The official manages the game well and has control of the contest, but not at the highest level.
3 The official/crew demonstrates adequate rules knowledge and acceptable game management. Communication with coaches and players is acceptable but needs more experience to work the higher levels of the tournament.

5. School Rating Rubric
2 The official/crew has the ability, rules knowledge and communication skills to work the lowest level of the tournament. Improvement in one or more of these areas is required for advancement.
1 The official/crew is unable to adequately demonstrate the skill level, communication, judgment, mechanics, and rules knowledge expected for the tournament. Game management needs improvement in order to officiate a tournament contest.
Note: Schools that submit a rating of either 2 or 1 must provide specific feedback via a drop down menu .
2 The official/crew has the ability, rules knowledge and communication skills to work the lowest level of the tournament. Improvement in one or more of these areas is required for advancement
1 The official/crew is unable to adequately demonstrate the skill level, communication, judgment, mechanics, and rules knowledge expected for the tournament. Game management needs improvement in order to officiate a tournament contest.
Note: Schools that submit a rating of either 2 or 1 must provide specific feedback via a drop down menu. This feature will assist in providing information to officials who are seeking ways to improve their performance.

6. Observer Votes
In sports where an observer is utilized, the observer vote will be incorporated as a school vote, and will be calculated the same manner.
Associations are being asked to provide a list of prospective former officials in that sport to the IHSAA so the selection process can begin.
Only observers who have witnessed an official in the current year or previous year may provide a rating for said official.
Observer Votes
The IHSAA currently uses observers in football and girls and boys basketball programs. Future plan include the incorporation of observers in all team sports.
In those sports where an observer is currently utilized, the observer vote will be considered in the same manner as a school vote, and will be calculated as such. Associations are being asked to provide a list of prospective former officials in that sport to the IHSAA so that the the selection process can begin.
Only observers who have witnessed an official in the current year or previous year may provide a rating for said official.

7. Individual Vote – 50% A. Previous Tournament Experience (10%)
State 5 points
Semi-state 4 points
Regional 3 points
Sectional 2 points
Applicant 1 point
Previous tournament experience will be considered over the last six (6) years.
In football, each crew member will submit their highest level of advancement over the time period listed. The numbers for each of the 5 members will be added together and divided by 5, which will represent the previous tournament experience.
Individual Vote – 50%
The other 50% of a tournament officials rating will be calculated using five objective criteria demonstrating professional development. In the following slides, these criteria are defined:
A. Previous Tournament Experience (10%) 10% of the Individual Vote will come from an official’s previous IHSAA tournament experience. An official will receive points according to the scale on this slide -
State 5 points
Semi-state 4 points
Regional 3 points
Sectional 2 points
Applicant 1 point
Previous tournament experience will be considered over the last six (6) years. In football, each crew member will submit their highest level of advancement over the time period listed. The numbers for each of the 5 members will be added together and divided by 5, which will represent the previous tournament experience value.

8. Individual Vote B. Years of Licensure in Respective Sport (5%)
points
points
points
points
point
In football, each crew member will submit their years of licensure. The numbers for each of the 5 members will be added together and divided by 5, which will represent the average years of licensure.
Individual Vote
B. Years of licensure in respective sport (5%)
5% of the Individual Vote will come from an official’s years of licensure in that sport. An official will receive points for the years of experience illustrated on in this slide:
points
points
points
points
point
In football, each crew member will submit their years of licensure. The numbers for each of the 5 members will be added together and divided by 5, which will represent theaverage years of licensure.

9. Individual Vote Individual Vote C. Number of Contests Worked (20%)
Minimum games required to work the tournament series:
Basketball 10, Baseball 10, Softball 10, Volleyball 10, Soccer 10, Track 7, Gymnastics 6,
Wrestling 5, Swimming 5, Cross Country 5, Football 4.
Note: All regular season contests must be entered into the tournament application to be counted towards an official/crew number of games calculated.
Individual Vote
C. Number of Contests Worked (20%)
20% of the Individual Vote will be derived from the number of regular season contests worked in that sport during that season. The minimum number of points will be earned if the official works the minimum number of contests required to apply for the tournament, and additional points will be earned according to the chart on this slide. Points shall be earned according to the number of contests contained on the tournament application in Arbiter.

10. Individual Vote D. Test Score - Part 2 (5%) 100-98 % 5 points
% points
96-97% points
94-95% points
92-93% points
90-91% point
< 90% fail to meet minimum tournament requirement
Individual Vote
D. Test Score (Part 2) (5%)
5% of the Individual Vote will be calculated by an officials NFHS Part II test score. The point totals are listed on this slide for your convenience.
% points
96-97% points
94-95% points
92-93% points
90-91% point
< 90% fail to meet minimum tournament requirement

11. Individual Vote
E. Association Meeting Attendance & Member in Good Standing (10%)
10% of the Individual Vote will be determined by the number of association meetings attended by an official. The IHSAA in in the process of developing a curriculum, lesson plans, and teaching resources for each sport in order to provide education and consistency in delivery. Professional development of our officiating corps will continue to be a focus of the IHSAA.

12. IHSAA Tournament Officials Rating System - Reminders
In IHSAA team sports, member schools may only rate officials that have worked their contests in the most recent three year period.
In IHSAA individual sports, member schools may rate any official listed on the document.
All IHSAA member schools shall participate in the ratings of tournament officials in all sports.
D. When computing the school ratings for contest officials, the following equalizer shall be used:
Officials receiving votes shall have the top and bottom rating discarded.
Officials receiving 30 or more votes shall have the top two and the bottom two ratings discarded.
IHSAA Tournament Officials Rating System - Reminders
Contained on this slide are reminders and additional information for athletic directors, coaches, and officials.
There is a difference in how the IHSAA treats teams and individual sport officials. In team sports, member schools may only rate officials that have worked their contests in the most recent three year period. These contests are captured in Arbiter by those schools who choose to schedule in Arbiter, and the tournament applications submitted to using Arbiter.
In IHSAA individual sports, member schools may rate any official listed on the document.
B. All IHSAA member schools must participate in the ratings of tournament officials in all sports.
C. Last year the IHSAA instituted a process that permits the removal of the lowest and highest school rating of an official, which is depended on the number of votes received by the official. This protocol will remain in effect for
When computing the school ratings for contest officials, the following equalizer shall be used:
Officials receiving votes shall have the top and bottom rating discarded.
Officials receiving 30 or more votes shall have the top two and the bottom two ratings discarded.
D. The IHSAA will continue to provide photos of official on the survey instrument. This has proven to be beneficial to those coaches and athletic directors who are completing the survey.
E. In those sports utilizing observers, only observers who have witnessed an official in the current year or previous year may provide a rating for said official.

13. Questions?
The IHSAA believes that the changes in the officials ratings protocol will improve they way in which tournament officials are identified and selected for advancement in the IHSAA tournament series. We will continue to monitor the success of this program, and will depend on the membership’s feedback for future enhancements.
Are there any questions?
We appreciate your participation in today’s webinar, and hope this provides some clarity with regard to the Tournament Officials Ratings System. If you have any suggestions for topics of future webinars, please do not hesitate to forward them in our direction.
Thanks, and have a great afternoon!