Metro DC-Virginia State Referee Program s1

Metro DC-Virginia State Referee Program CONFIDENTIAL For Distribution to SRC Members Only

Minutes for SRC Meeting October 18, 2004

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM at the State Office. Committee members present were:

Gil McCallister, Chairman Scott Meyer, SRA Dan Heldman, SDI Alan Liotta, SYRA Christie Bernas, VYSA Representative (present via phone) Jim Sadowski, MDCVSA Representative Denise Edwards, VYSA President

Also present were Bill Robertson, Registrar, and Carol Shaeffer, Office Administrator.

Minutes Minutes of the July 11, 2004, meeting were approved as submitted.

Financial Report Scott Meyer presented the financial report. The report presented at this meeting represented income and expenses for the past fiscal year which ended on August 31. The report shows income exceeding expenses by approximately $12,000. Donations, uniform sales, State Cup, and equipment for the instruction program were noteworthy budget items that were discussed.

Reports Chairman No report.

SRA Scott thanked Jim Sadowski, Alan Liotta, and Paul Mungra for hosting referees and FIFA representatives at RFK Stadium.

Scott noted that Virginia will be hosting the Region 1 Youth Tournament for the next two years which will be held in Virginia Beach. Scott is to be the referee coordinator.

There will be a Region 1 Referee Workshop scheduled for June 6-7 in Philadelphia.

The Referee Office will be moving to a new suite within Tackett’s Mill. Actual move date is not yet scheduled.

Moo Bell, Steve Wiley, and Christel Winston are DCV referees who participated in summer youth tournaments and represented our state program very well. At the pro

1 level, Andy Chapin has had three center assignments and Steve Taylor, Bill Dittmar, and George Vergara regularly get AR assignments. George Vergara has been re-appointed to the FIFA panel. Ben Jones has gotten D2 finals and is also doing well.

The Region 1 Tournaments have been expanded to more days. The Region 1 Referee Committee will be asking the state association presidents to vote to send more referees so that the number of games needing to be worked can be reduced. This is particularly important for the older age groups. If players cannot play more than one game a day, then the same should apply to referees who officiate.

Referees will continue to be instructed to always review and enforce the match rules of the tournaments they officiate.

In response to an incident that occurred at a tournament in Richmond, it was suggested that a policy be considered to prohibit the availability and consumption of alcohol at state referee events. There was discussion about responsibility and whether it would be possible to enforce alcohol-free policies. Scott will draft a statement to be sent to all referees concerning appropriate behavior.

SYRA Alan Liotta stated that plans for the State Cup weekend were underway.

A request for nominations for Young Referees of the Year will go out to all instructors, assessors and assignors.

The ODP Tournament will require 15 referees and 2 assessors for June 11-13 with a list due by April 11 and for the Region 1 Tournament, to be held June 30-July 5, the requirement will be for 10 referees and 3 assessors with a list submitted by May 16.

SDI Dan Heldman attended the Coaches Meeting in Dallas. This resulted in dialogue with our own state youth coach concerning possible training opportunities and events.

The DC United seminars concluded yesterday. Referees are given certification credit for attendance at all three seminars.

Dan stated that he has gotten a poor response from instructors to participate in the State Cup training. It was suggested that all National Referees be invited to assist with training for this weekend event.

USSF has instituted certification for indoor soccer. Materials are now available. It is likely that training will occur in the north. Promotion to clubs and facility managers should specify that officials will be more experienced, better trained, and able to wear a USSF badge. Alan stated that the Dulles club is very interested in this and could make training and court space available.

There is a commitment from USSF to provide national instructors for a joint instructor/assessor training followed by an advanced referee training the next day. Dates would be January 22-23. The advanced clinic would be intended for Grade 6s and higher and rising Grade 7s. Collection of a fee would assist in covering room rental and lunch costs. A motion was made and approved to move the January meeting from

2 the college location to a hotel in order to accommodate potentially larger attendance and require a fee to offset expenses.

The SRP has committed to four referee sessions at the VYSA Workshop. Planning for presentations should begin soon.

There will be a New Instructor clinic to be held the last weekend in January in the Richmond area.

SDA Not present – no report.

Registrar Bill Robertson reported on the number of clinics scheduled and registrations processed to date. The comment was made that the number of clinics that have been scheduled before the end of the year seemed low. Instructors and clubs should encourage early referee certification to reduce the need for so many classes close to the start of the season.

Youth Representative Nothing to report.

Amateur Representative Jim Sadowski reported on the new composition of the amateur board. He also reported that 16,347 players have been registered.

Money has been budgeted for a State Office, office administrator, and contributions to the SRC.

Official name of the association should be “Adult” instead of “Amateur”.

Unfinished Business National Referee Certification Policy (S.M.) No progress to report.

Emeritus Referee Policy (A.L.) No progress to report.

ADI South Dan Heldman stated that Chris Mulholland has returned to the position of Area Director of Instruction for the south.

Jim Down Endowment Fund (G.M.) No progress to report.

Referee Development Brochure (S.M.) No progress to report.

New Business

3 Christie Bernas wanted to discuss what actions are to be taken against an assignor who misrepresents the affiliations of teams scheduled to play in tournaments he is assigning. There was discussion about how referees are supposed to find out about affiliated leagues and if youth referees even understand what affiliation is all about. Dan proposed this as an additional training topic at recertification clinics. Also, it was suggested that the SRP consider producing refrigerator magnets with useful telephone numbers and websites for referees.

Next Meeting The next meeting will be Saturday, January 22, 2005.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 PM and appropriate members moved into Executive Session.