Capital District Board of Women's Soccer Officials

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I

The name of the organization shall be the Capital District Board of Women's Soccer Officials. (CDBWSO)

ARTICLE II

The object of this board shall be to promote quality officiating for soccer by:

providing rated officials to the schools of Section 2
developing the best officiating techniques, in accordance with the latest accepted national and state rules and interpretations
running regularly scheduled meetings to inform the membership of the latest accepted national and state rules and interpretations
stressing the importance of consistency among officials in calling the game as instructed at clinics
stressing the importance of officials looking and acting as professional as possible whenever involved in a soccer contest
evaluate and determine the best method for rating officials
implement the use of a form for rating officials and be responsible for seeing that officials are aware of the correct procedures to get those forms to the chairman

ARTICLE III

The membership of the organization shall consist of the following classifications:

VARSITY

An Official who has paid his/her annual dues, attended all required clinics and meetings, has achieved a score on the National Federation test of at least an 90, and has at least two years experience in the organization is eligible for Varsity status. .

An Official will be given Varsity status, subject to a decision by the board, if:

the Official had Varsity status the previous year; or
the Official joins the organization from another New York high school soccer referee association, and has been certified as a Varsity official in that organization; or
the Official successfully completes two years of performance as a Varsity Probationary official.

The board's decision to maintain an Official at the Varsity level is based on the following:

the Official's ability to officiate varsity games without major concerns from the schools or board of directors of the CDBWSO;
discussions with other CDBWSO Officials;
discussions with coaches in the section; and
personal observations of the Official's working varsity level contests by members of the board of directors.

Any movement to the varsity level follows a two-year probationary period.

NON-VARSITY

An Official who has paid his/her annual dues, attended all required clinics and meetings, and has received a score on the National Federation test of at least a 90 (85 for first-year officials) shall be classified a Non-Varsity Official. This classification automatically includes any Official with less than two years experience in the organization, unless waived by the board of directors. In addition, the Official must be able to officiate JV and modified games assigned without major concerns from the schools and/or board of directors of the CDBWSO.

VARSITY CANDIDATE

A Non-Varsity Official who seeks Varsity status may be designated a Varsity Candidate.

An Official seeking Varsity status must make a request in writing to the Membership Chairman of the Board by May 1, and the Board of Directors must approve the application, for a member to be considered a Varsity Candidate. In addition, a potential Varsity Candidate must achieve a score of 90 on the National Federation test.

A Varsity Candidate will be evaluated by the same criteria the board uses to evaluate the status of any Varsity Official. The Board will use these criteria to evaluate the potential of the Varsity Candidate to be a successful Varsity Official in the future.

A Varsity Candidate who successfully completes one year of service will be placed in the Varsity Probation program. A Varsity Candidate who fails to complete a year of service successfully will be returned to Non-Varsity status. Varsity Candidates who are not granted Varsity Probationary status are encouraged to re-apply for Varsity Candidate status as their experience and skills develop.

VARSITY PROBATIONARY

A Varsity Candidate who successfully completes one year of service becomes a Varsity Probationary Official. Varsity Probationary Officials stay in the Varsity Probation program for at least two years. During this time, they must meet the requirements of a Varsity official.

Varsity Probationary Officials will be evaluated by the same criteria the board uses to evaluate the status of any Varsity Official. In addition, Varsity Probationary officials will be formally assessed, with or without prior notice, during at least one game during the season. These evaluations will be written and shared with the candidate at a later date. The Board will determine the appropriate number of evaluations for each official. These assessments are performed at no charge to the official.

A Varsity Probationary Official may request additional evaluations at the cost of one-half game fee charged to the official.

At the end of the first year of the program, the board reserves the right to:

continue the Official in Varsity Probationary status; or
return the Official to Non-Varsity status

At the end of the second year of the program, the board reserves the right to:

grant the Official Varsity status;
continue the Official in Varsity Probationary status; or
return the Official to Non-Varsity status

ARTICLE IV

The fiscal year shall be the calendar year.

ARTICLE V

The CDBWSO is run by a board of directors. This board shall consist of the chairman of the board, the rules interpreter, the assignor, the member(s) appointed to run the training clinics, the two members who have been appointed to oversee contract negotiations, the member(s) placed in charge of setting meeting agendas, and one member-at-large . In addition to these, board of director members shall also be delegated to handle the jobs of treasurer, attendance taker and fine collector, wellness/bereavement committee member, general forms collector, and rating form collector.

ARTICLE VI

The duties and additional jobs of the board of director members are:

CHAIRMAN

call and preside at all general and board of director meetings
attend the NYS annual meeting, or appoint a designee to attend
authorize all expenditures of the organization
collect all liability forms from officials who have had a major injury occur at their game
work with the board of directors to set up and chair clinics, workshops, and training programs for the membership
notify the fine collector of any member who violates the soccer officials' operating code and/or by-laws
perform all other duties pertaining to the office

RULES INTERPRETER

attend NYS annual meeting in August to hear the latest national rules interpretations and changes in mechanics
attend, when requested, the annual Section 2 meeting to give the league representatives the most recent rules interpretations to pass along to their coaches
present the most recent rules interpretations and mechanics to the entire CDBWSO membership at the first meeting each year
present the most recent rules interpretations and mechanics to the candidates involved in the training clinics each year
be available at each CDBWSO meeting to give appropriate interpretations to the membership regarding any specific game situations, and/or questions on rules and/or mechanics
work with the board of directors to set up workshops, and training programs for the membership
work with the board of directors to set up meeting agendas, see that any major concerns of the organization are addressed, and assist the chairman as requested
perform all other duties pertaining to the office

ASSIGNOR

receive schedules (of games and scrimmages) from schools in the time frame set forth by the contract
notify the Section 2 officials of any school that does not meet the appropriate deadlines
assign officials based on that availability and each official's ability to do specified contests
secure from schools and officials up to date information regarding addresses, phone numbers, etc.
provide to schools and officials up to date information regarding addresses, phone numbers, etc.
keep the schools and membership informed of assignments and changes as the season goes on
work with the board of directors to set up workshops, and training programs for the membership
work with the board of directors to set up meeting agendas, see that any major concerns of the organization are addressed, and assist the chairman as requested
perform all other duties pertaining to the office

CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

receive all communications from the main officials' negotiation committee
obtain from the membership any contractual concerns they may have when it is time to negotiate
communicate with the board of directors and, if possible, the entire CDBWSO membership any contractual items that need approval
present to the membership an overview of the contract at one or more CDBWSO meetings
be available to the membership to answer any questions that relate to the contract when necessary
perform all other duties as requested to by the chairman

TRAINING CLINIC MEMBERS

work with the board of directors to set up workshops, and training programs for the membership
communicate with all prospective trainees and determine which training sessions each candidate must attend
oversee the closed book written test for all candidates at the end of the training clinic
meet with all new candidates, as a group, at the first two major CDBWSO meetings , and at any other meeting deemed necessary
act as mentors to the new members in order to insure a smooth transition into the organization, provide strong leadership, and instill consistency in each candidates interpretation of the rules and mechanics of the game
work with the board of directors to set up meeting agendas, see that any major concerns of the organization are addressed, and assist the president as requested
perform all other duties pertaining to the office

MEETING ORGANIZERS

work with the board of directors to set up meeting agendas, see that any major concerns of the organization are addressed, and assist the chairman as requested
be the main leaders for all meetings and determine the order of agenda for the same
select specific members of CDBWSO to assist at the meetings when needed
be sure that all selected members are aware of their responsibilities and prepared for the particular meeting they are needed for
provide a means for the general membership to make requests to the meeting organizers for specific topics to be placed on future agendas

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

act as a liaison person between the membership and board of directors
work with the board of directors to set up meeting agendas, see that any major concerns of the organization are addressed, and assist the chairman as requested

ATTENDANCE KEEPER / FINE COLLECTOR

keep attendance for all required CDBWSO functions
discuss with the Board any excuses that are questionable, and determine if a fine is warranted
send out notices of fines to any member who has been deemed to have violated the CDBWSO policies and/or missed a required board function without a legal excuse
collect fines and send the same to the treasurer in a timely fashion
notify the chairman of any member(s) who does not pay a fine(s) in the prescribed time frame

TREASURER

keep a record of all receipts and expenditures
order rule books and tests
pay authorized bills
perform all other duties pertaining to the office

WELLNESS/BEREAVEMENT COMMITTEE

receive notification of deaths and/or illnesses for the general membership and their immediate families
be responsible for sending a card from the CDBWSO and if appropriate a donation to a charity
be responsible for notifying the board of directors of said death and/or illness

GENERAL FORMS COLLECTOR

collect all caution/ejection forms given for the issuance of yellow and red cards
mail/fax a copy of the form to the designated Section 2 person

RATING FORM COLLECTOR

collect all rating forms from officials and coaches
share with the assignor any major concerns noted from these forms that may indicate a need to modify assignments
share with the board of directors the results of these forms so that they can deal with any major concerns, assist in determining the ratings of officials, and assist in the direction the group needs to go towards in the training of officials

ARTICLE VII

Movement into leadership positions shall happen in the following ways:

BOARD OF DIRECTOR MEMBERS

the chairman of the board appoints all members to the board of directors
varsity level officials who are in good standing with CDBWSO and have been a varsity official in the CDBWSO for at least two years are eligible to become members of the board of directors

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

when the chairman resigns, a new chairman will be selected from the current members of the board of directors.
in order to be eligible for movement into the chairman's position, the member must have served on the board of directors for at least two years

CONSTITUTION | BY-LAWS | OPERATING CODE