WIAA (Wisconsin) question

[pfan1981]

Howdy all,

Looking to move up the ranks as fast as my partner and I can. He has been reffing off and on for 12ish years. He is listed on the WIAA spreadsheet as an L0 and this was my first year ever but I'm listed as an L1. That is weird in itself isn't it? We both took the test together last fall

So this summer when we take the test again, I assume I will be an L2 and him an L1, is this correct?

How many WIAA certified camps would we need to attend to do varsity games? And when could we do them? I would think the 2013-2014 season would be not possible to do varsity games, but what about the following one?


Last one, who do we need to get into contact with to get into the rotation of varsity games. Our local association that we are a part of helps us get JV and middle school games, but not varsity games.

Thanks for any help,

[Rich]

Originally Posted by pfan1981

Howdy all,

Looking to move up the ranks as fast as my partner and I can. He has been reffing off and on for 12ish years. He is listed on the WIAA spreadsheet as an L0 and this was my first year ever but I'm listed as an L1. That is weird in itself isn't it? We both took the test together last fall

So this summer when we take the test again, I assume I will be an L2 and him an L1, is this correct?

How many WIAA certified camps would we need to attend to do varsity games? And when could we do them? I would think the 2013-2014 season would be not possible to do varsity games, but what about the following one?


Last one, who do we need to get into contact with to get into the rotation of varsity games. Our local association that we are a part of helps us get JV and middle school games, but not varsity games.

Thanks for any help,

Wisconsin typically assigns varsity games through conference commissioners (conference games) and through athletic directors (non-conference games). There is no formal level requirement for an official to work a varsity game. Any licensed official can work a regular season varsity basketball game, even a first year official can do this.

Whether a commissioner or AD will hire you could be another story.

When I moved to Wisconsin 11 years ago, I had 15 years prior experience. I came in as an L1 as the state would not accept my transfer materials. That first season, I worked about 20 varsity games. Some scheduled, some filling in for other officials, some due to bad weather reschedules.

I've heard some commissioners won't hire officials unless they are a certain level or unless they have seen you work -- I've not personally experienced much of that. Once you open a door, you must be able to perform at that level or you won't get rehired.

It's all in your hands. Find some camps this summer and let people watch you work and teach you about officiating. The WIAA website lists camps, you should find a few of them and go and just focus on learning and meeting clinicians and being a sponge. Doors will open if you do the right things and work hard. And if you attend a camp and meet the other requirements you will jump through the levels quicker. I went from L1 to L5 after two seasons and L5 is when you become eligible for postseason games (I worked postseason games my third year in the state). You can be a Master level official in your fourth year if you can build a schedule of 16 games and meet the other requirements.

If you have any specific questions, send me a PM and I'll do what I can to try to answer them for you.