Below are some mid-season reminders to take with you into your next scheduled match!
Keys of Professionalism
Knowledge & Skill: Deep understanding of rules (NCAA, USAV, NFHS), continuous learning via tools like PAVO RuleSchool and iREF, and strong decision-making skills.
Physical & Mental Readiness: Proper nutrition, adequate sleep, hydration, fitness, and focus to handle fast-paced play, especially at higher levels.
Appearance & Equipment: Professional attire (black uniform, belt, socks, athletic shoes), essential tools (whistle, cards, watch, lineup cards), and a well-packed bag.
Conduct & Communication: Be authoritative yet diplomatic, use clear signals (hand signals for calls), limit non-match talk with coaches/players, and cooperate as a crew (First Ref, Second Ref, scorer, line judges).
Integrity & Fairness: Uphold the rules impartially, avoid fraternizing, and focus on the match events, not socializing. (We should not be sitting anywhere at a contest, except to sit and fill out a voucher.)
(We fail to realize how much socialization we do when at a contest with coaches, AD’s, school personnel, concession stand, friends, etc.) There are many eyes out there. Volleyball officials are expected to maintain high standards in the following areas:
Impartiality and Integrity: Decisions must be based solely on court action, avoiding any favoritism or perceived conflict of interest.
Ball Handling Reminders
- *Consistency in ball handling judgment is paramount.
- *Only the contact point should be considered when determining legality of the contact.
- *Outside influences such as player technique, spin, coaches’ expectations or crowd reaction should not be considered when judging the legality of the contact.
- *There is no body/ball position or playing technique that automatically results in illegal contact.
- *Successive or multiple contacts on a third team hit is a fault and should be whistled immediately
- *A caught or thrown ball, or prolonged contact with the ball on any team hit is a fault, irrespective of what happens after the ball is played.
- *Successive or multiple contacts are legal during blocking or the team’s first contact
- *The language in NCAA Rule 14.2.3.1 only allows successive contacts on a team’s second hit if the ball is next contacted by a teammate.
Other Reminders:
- Make sure the sub is in the sub box before you (R2) whistles for a sub.
- 1 player at a time in the sub box
- Screening-Players on the serving team must not take action to prevent receiving team players from seeing the contact of the serve and the path of the ball. (See rules interpretation section for more information).
- Rotational faults (or illegal alignments/overlaps) result in a loss of rally and the opponents are awarded a point and the serve. The referees are responsible for calling these faults, and while players can communicate with each other, it’s generally the setter or team captain who may officially request a line-up check to prevent a fault.