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Rocky Mountain Region Volleyball

Professional Officials

Welcome letter from Officials Chair Jim Henthorn (23-24 Season)

Hello Returning RMR Officials:
 
The 2023-24 RMR volleyball season is almost upon us. I hope this email finds you in good health and spirits and that you’re psyched for another year of officiating in the RMR.
 
Below you’ll find information about how to get started. Please read carefully since there have been some BIG changes in the way we’ll operate this year. Read on, for more details...
 
Registration: Registration for the new season is now open in SportsEngine. It is important for you to use THIS LINK to SportsEngine to buy your membership, sign the required waivers, complete your SafeSport training, and initiate a background check. 
 
Please open the link and follow the prompts. When it asks for your email address, make sure to use the same email address as in the past. Once you have submitted payment, you should receive several welcome emails. One of those emails will include information on your eligibility requirements. You should be able to follow the links in that email to take you to those requirements in your SE account. 
 
Availability: We’re saying goodbye to an old friend this year, the RMRofficials.org website that we’ve used for so long. Thanks to Gary Houghton for creating it and maintaining it all these years!
 
To show availability this year we’ll be using the tm2sign.com website that the RMR uses to build and manage all its events. Most of you have an existing tm2sign account from Colorado Crossroads days. To register for RMR events, simply login to tm2sign (If you don’t have an existing tm2sign account, you should be able to quickly create one), switch to OFFICIALS DASHBOARD in the dropdown menu near your name in the upper-right corner, type “RMR” in the search bar to limit all the offerings to RMR events, and go crazy signing up for this season’s events.
 

Tournament Format: The Power Tournament series has been reformatted to return to 3-refs-on-2-courts format with crossovers for 1v1 and 2v2 only.  This means 7 rounds of play and all officials will work 5 matches in a day. It also means more referee interaction and oversight with less isolation felt by newer referees.

 

We will strive to staff the boys’ tournaments as well as the girls, perhaps with a slightly different tournament format.  The boys season kicks off with a Power event on October 14.  Also, USAV will hold a Boys Junior National Qualifier at the Denver Convention Center the first weekend of December.  This should be an exciting event sponsored by USAV and a great opportunity for RMR officials. 

 
New Pay Scale: A long-overdue change has been made to the RMR officials’ compensation rate, a change that I hope you’ll like and one that may influence how many events you work this season. The following pay rates are based on your level of certification and will be paid per match:
 
Provisional         $40         
Regional               $45
Jr National          $48
National               $50
 
In addition, bonuses will apply once you’ve worked a certain number of RMR-hosted events:
 
5 events              $100
10 events            $200
15 events            $300
20 events            $400
 
That’s right, on top of your regular match pay, you can earn up to an additional $1,000 working RMR events!
 
Training and Ratings: The RMR’s required training this year will be managed through the USAVolleyball Academy accessed through your SportsEngine account. There are a few changes here that you need to be aware of since the required course and the required modules vary depending upon your certification status. First of all EVERY paid official in the RMR must be a certified scorer. For nearly all of you that means that you need to complete the Maintaining Scorer Training course that has been automatically loaded into your USAV Academy account. You will also soon see a referee training course in your account that I will manually load depending upon your certification status from last year. If you’re a returning Provisional official, then you’ll find the Maintaining Provisional Training course in your account. If you’re a returning Regional official, then you’ll find the Maintaining Regional Training course in your account. 
 
You’ll also notice in the referee training courses that ratings are now required. Don’t panic. You’ve always been informally rated over the years. Now we’d like to make things more formal, especially since compensation is directly tied to certification level. We’ve created two levels of ratings: Level 1 means  that you may obtain your rating from a current Regional (or higher) official, and Level 2 means that a current Jr National or National official must rate you. If you’re a Provisional official, you can ask a Regional official to rate you as an R1 or R2. Regionals need ratings from Jr National or National officials. Please note that most certifications are now good for TWO years and that ratings do NOT need to be completed before you can be assigned to work. Complete the regular coursework in the Academy as soon as possible and then submit your ratings anytime during the season. Details about the exact process will be forthcoming. Note: training courses for maintaining Provisional and Regional will be available in your USAV Academy soon.
 
 
1.    Log in to My SportsEngine with your USA Volleyball Membership linked account. 
2.    Click Household, and click the desired profile. 
3.    To the right, you'll see the USAV Region Memberships. Under them, click View Details.
4.    Click the Credentials tab.
5.    In the top right-hand corner, click the USA Volleyball Academy button to access the USA Volleyball Learning Center.
 
Change of Certification Status: Changes to certification status are always dealt with on an individual basis. After two years as a Provisional official, you can ask in an email to the Officials Chair to be evaluated as a Regional. This requires a different training course in the Academy (don’t worry it’s just a few more steps beyond Provisional) and attendance at the RMR Showdown where we do the hands-on training and evaluation. Those desiring a move from Regional to Jr National need to write to the Officials Chair and include an officiating resume. Please understand that we currently can send no more than two candidates each year to the GJNC for Jr National evaluation.
 
Action Items: Thanks for making it this far in this long email. The big ask today is for you to do two things as soon as possible. One, renew your USAV membership by following the link at the top of this email. Two, visit the tm2sign.com website to register for upcoming events. Yes, we will need officials for the boys’ events beginning on October 14 and for the girls’ Friendship tournament in December. 
 
Thanks for all you do to support youth volleyball in the RMR!
 
Jim

Paid Referees

New Provisional: This certification is open to USAV members age 16 and older who would like to officiate RMR events. To have the USAV Academy coursework called NEW PROVISIONAL OFFICIAL TRAINING loaded into your account, please write to the RMR Officials Chairperson at officialschair@RMRvolleyball.org. The coursework includes online video modules, attendance at an in-person clinic, one rating as an R2, and two ratings as an R1, one from a regional official (Level 1) and one from a National or Jr National official (Level 2). Please note that if you are coming to this USAV Academy course after completing all the modules from the JR R1 certification under the Team Referee tab on the junior club side, ALL of your work there will transfer to the New Provisional Training course. New Provisional certification is good for two years. Also be aware that all paid officials in the RMR MUST be certified scorers. Information about attaining scorer certification can be found at the "Team Scorer" page.

Maintaining Provisional: The coursework for this two-year certification will automatically be loaded into the USAV Academy accounts of current RMR Provisional officials. It includes online modules, one Level 1 R1 rating, one Level 1 R2 rating, and continued scorer certification.

New Regional: This certification is open to returning adult RMR Provisional officials with 2+ years of experience who would like to advance their referee status. To have the USAV Academy coursework called NEW REGIONAL OFFICIAL TRAINING loaded into your account, please write to the RMR Officials Chairperson at officialschair@RMRvolleyball.org. The coursework includes online video modules, one rating as an R2 and one ratings as an R1 from a current or retired Junior National or National official (Level 2). Regional candidates are strongly encouraged to attend the RMR Showdown for advanced training and ratings. Upon completion of the NEW REGIONAL OFFICIAL TRAINING, certification is good for two years.

Maintaining Regional: This coursework for this one-year certification will automatically be loaded into the USAV Academy accounts of current RMR Regional officials. It includes a few online modules, one Level 2 R1 rating, continued scorer certification, and availability to serve as a rater at junior club trainings. In order to staff the new Jr R2 and Jr R1 certification programs, the RMR will ask current Regional officials to volunteer a few hours each year to help mentor, coach, and rate officials at junior club scrimmages. 

Joining USAV and the RMR as a Professional Official

The RMR offers FREE MEMBERSHIP to its officials!

Returning National or Junior National  Referees are extended a specific link that invites them into a specifically crafted, pre-paid membership type. Even  your Background screen is paid for!

--> If you have not received your invitation link by Sept 1st, please contact us at membership@rmrmvolleyball.org.

NEW OFFICIALS (Provisional. Regional) are also afforded a discounted membership. To sign up as a new professional referee-only member, please click this LINK

--> If you need assistance with the process, please contact us at membership@rmrmvolleyball.org.

 

Officials and Scorers Chairs:

Officials Chair:  Jim Henthorn:  officialschair@rmrvolleyball.org

Scorers Chair:  Kent Haggard:  scorerchair@rmrvolleyball.org

Navigating around Your SportsEngine Profile to initiate Background Screen and to take your SafeSport Course

This article from USAV displays how members can navigate through their SportsEngine Profile to find the SafeSport Course and (for Coaches) IMPACT training. Note that Background Screening (for athletes 17+ and all adult participants) is found just below the Safesport link. Also note that the dark blue ACADEMY button is visible, top-right. Thats' where athletes find their scorekeeping and referee modules, and coaches can find those, PLUS all types of coach-training. Enjoy!

Tell me about uniforms!

Professional referees wear the uniform stipulated by the agency for whom they work at any given event. Many officials end up with closets full of uniforms over the years!

Here in the RMR we're happy to allow refs to wear any of the agency-approved uniforms. In general that includes  long navy blue pants (should have pockets and belt loops), black belt, white shoes,  and (any of the) approved "referee polos" from USAV, NCAA or FIVB).  A full description of USAV referee-uniform regulations appears HERE.

Finally, here are some vendors that you might consider shopping with:

 

RMR moves Ref-Assigning to TM2 platform

NEW FOR 23-24 SEASON:

The RMR will manage referee assignments for the 2023-24 season through the TM2 assigning platform. 

There, officials "register for events" just as a team would. Log in online at TM2, then navigate to the "Officials' Dashboard to "Register For Events." Being "accepted" into the event is your confirmation, and TM2 will display your work schedule at the event.

Many thanks to Gary Houghton for building the RMR referee assigning program years ago, before TM2, SportsEngine, or even Arbiter even existed. And many thanks to him for maintaining that platform for us for (decades)! THANKS GARY!

SIGN UP TO OFFICIATE!

This year you register to officiate, at TM2, just like our teams register to play. Here's how

1) Log into your TM2 account

2)  Use the drag-down menu under your name (at top right), to choose "Officials Dashboard"

3) In the Blue header bar, choose "Register for Events'

4) In the search bar on the left, type "RMR"

5) Click the green "register to officiate" button of all the events you're interested in officiating!

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS 

You will find important documents below so you can be a paid official in the Rocky Mountain Region, these include an ACH form for direct deposit, W-9 and Independent Contractor Agreement. All three forms should be returned by email directly to our bookkeeper Brandi, at accounting@rmrvolleyball.org.

USAV-Important Materials for Indoor Officials

Here you'll find info for all officials, including rulebooks, application forms, uniform information, AES information, USAV Academy info, housing at national events, etc.

PAID OFFICIALS IN THE RMR:

 

 

  • GREAT CHANCE TO STAY IN THE GAME AND EARN!
  • Season – October through May
  • Location – All across Colorado and Wyoming
  • Training is available
  • Excellent per-match pay!

 

  • REQUIREMENTS:
  • USAV Membership Dues – Free to JN and Nationals! 
    • Regional Officials pay usual USAV membership 
  • Cleared Annual Background Screen –  Fee $14
  • Annual SafeSport Certification – Free 90 minute course 
  • Must attend the annual RMR Paid Officials Meeting 
  • Official Uniform – navy blue slacks, back belt, logo Certified Official polo shirt, white socks and white tennis shoes.

 

  • PARENTS are welcome to train as officials!
  • JUNIORS are welcome too, through our "Paid Junior Ref" program

 

 

CODE OF PROFESSIONAL & ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR RMR OFFICIALS

Conduct of all RMR officials shall be at the highest standard at all times. The RMR has a set of standards to the behavior of its members, and those standards are detailed in the USA Volleyball Participant Code of Conduct.

  • Officials are free from bias, are impartial, and render neutral decisions.
  • Officials avoid a conflict of interest or situations that may create the perception that there is a conflict of interest.
  • Officials treat other officials with dignity and respect.
  • Officials always seek self-improvement.
  • Officials do not condone or participate in activities that unfairly limit access to participants based on age, gender, race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status.
  • Officials do not fraternize with coaches, players, spectators, event administrators, or other participants.
  • Officials do not exploit or misuse their power for personal gain, to give unfair advantage to certain individuals, or harm other officials' careers and opportunities.
  • Officials do not engage in sexual harassment.
  • Officials do not use illegal substances of any kind.
  • Officials do not engage in physical, verbal, or emotional harassment, or abusive words or actions.

JUNIOR ATHLETES ENCOURAGED TO WORK AS PAID OFFICIALS

We love to see our athletes "get involved" with officiating.. and it's a great way to make a few extra dollars! Our guys might referee for pay during the girls' season, and our girls can officiate the boys in the fall! Another idea is to have girls that play "odds" referee on the "even" weekends and vice versa! (this can work for COACHES as well.. .they can referee for extra pay on their off weekends!)

Parents are also encouraged to enter the officiating ranks...

Come on out to make a few bucks!