Hope everyone enjoyed the great weather last week. Hard to believe this is the month of February. Hopefully, this doesn’t mean we will have a rough month of March, weather-wise.

1. PRE-GAME REMINDERS – With the GHSA regular season beginning this week, here are a few general reminders.

A. Officials are suppose to meet at the game site, no later then 30 minutes prior to face-off. Typically this happens at a predetermined spot in the parking lot at the game site. This pre-game meeting can also happen on the field, if one of the officials has the first game of a doubleheader. The UMPIRE contacts the REFEREE to initiate the pre-game meeting site/time, no later then 72 hours before the contest.

B. If you have a player/coach ejection or a special situation that requires reporting (serious injury, major field problems, major crowd control problems, protests, referee security), the Head Referee is required to fill out the GAME REPORT online at GALAXREF.com: http://galaxref.com/game-report

• This report should be filed online within 12 hours of the conclusion of the contest.

C. In the event that a team wants to cancel a game due to weather on game day, the home Head Coach will contact the game officials. They are obligated to continue to call the two referees by phone until they connect with the referees.

• Once you get the message, it is the Head Referee’s responsibility to contact his Umpire via PHONE and notify the GLOA assignors of the game cancelation via EMAIL to update Arbiter.
• After calling your partner, a simple email note to the assignors as follows should suffice:

Atlanta High School Coach John Doe called this morning at 11:00am to cancel today’s (Feb. 21, 2011) Varsity game with Marietta. I have contacted my assigned partner Fred Flintstone of the cancelation.

Signed, Barney Rubble

2. STARTING A GAME WITH LEGAL # of PLAYERS PLUS LEGAL GOALIE EQUIPMENT – Remember, we will never start a game without at least 10 players on each team, including one legally equipped goalkeeper per squad. A legally equipped goalkeeper must have a goalie stick, helmet with throat protector, and a chest protector.

If the goalie’s equipment was to break during play and the team didn’t have any legal back-up equipment to replace the broken piece(s), then you would be forced to abandon the remainder of the contest. We wouldn’t let a goalie participate in a game without all of the required equipment (including goalie stick) for liability reasons. And a team must have a legally equipped goalie on the field at all times.

3. UNIFORMS & EQUIPMENT – If you have any questions on the required uniform, the association’s uniform requirements are listed online at: http://galaxref.com/uniforms-equipment

4. GLOA MEMBER INFORMATION – Based on input from last year, we are canvassing the association membership to gather information on game assignment preferences plus reconfirm contact information. (If you haven’t already done so)…. please visit this web page to input your information: http://galaxref.com/contact-update

If you have further questions on assigning, please contact your individual assignor. You can also e-mail the four GLOA assignors together at: gloassigners@galaxref.com

5. FIRST GLOA BULL SESSION THIS SUNDAY – The first Bull Session of the season will take place on Sunday evening, February 27 at Westminster’s Turner Gym from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. Please bring your 2011 NFHS rule book and make plans to join us for rules discussion, game situation discussions, and special presentations.

GLOA & GHSA patches plus GLOA apparel will be available for sale, so bring your checkbook if you required any of these items.

If you have a topic you would like addressed this Sunday or have a particular rules question, please feel free to email us prior to the bull session. Also, if you would like to help present at a future Bull Session, please contact us. Our membership has many talents and this is an excellent opportunity to get involved with the association.

A small group of GLOA refs usually goes to Tilted Kilt on Cobb Parkway following the Bull Session for post meeting libations.

I hope to see you this Sunday.

Regards,
Sonny Pieper

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