Thanks to all who attended last Sunday night’s Bull Session!  We had good turnout and more importantly some valuable discussion.  Those of you without a late afternoon GLOA assignment on Sundays that are missing the Bull Sessions are missing some important information and a good time.

Our next Bull Session is set for Sunday evening, March 13th from 6:00pm – 7:30pm. Please make plans to join us then for the second bull session at Westminster.

Some updates and friendly reminders to all GLOA members as we recap the first Bull Session of 2011.

1. SEVERE WEATHER – We are entering the part of the season when severe weather can impact our lacrosse games. Thunderstorms are expected tonight around the Metro Atlanta area. Remember that we always want to error on the side of player safety when it comes to thunderstorms and lighting.

For GHSA games, the home school is supposed to have a lighting detector present at the school.  The lighting detector doesn’t have to be physically located at the lacrosse field, but it needs to be at the school in the possession of a school employee (usually the site administrator).  The site administrator is supposed to notify you immediately when lightening is detected in the vicinity of the school and you should suspend play immediately. Clear the field immediately. You shouldn’t resume play until the lightening detector indicates it’s safe to resume the contest.

If there appears to be any possibility of severe weather on game day, you should ask the home coach if the site administrator has the mandatory lightening detector during the pre-game certification process. If a team does not have a working lightning detector, please file a game report so we can address this problem with the GHSA.

Unlike in past seasons, there is no maximum delay time for any GHSA contest.  Hopefully, if the GHSA game is NOT an area contest, the coaches will agree to terminate the contest if there is an extended weather delay.

If your GHSA game IS an area contest, both coaches can agree to wait all night to resume the contest.  There is no curfew anymore.  Hopefully, you can appeal to both head coaches to suspend the game and resume it at another date/time (if there will be a lengthy delay).

For all non-GHSA games (NGLL, MAYLA, Middle School, etc.) or in the event that you don’t have a lightening detector, we revert back to the old 30/30 “Flash to Bang” rule. Once play has been suspended, you should wait at least 30 minutes AFTER the last thunder is heard or flash of lightening is witnessed before resuming play.

There is a maximum of one hour of total delay for these non-GHSA contests. This means if you suspend play for the first time and after waiting 29 minutes and you see lightening/hear thunder a second time, the game is immediately terminated due to the second mandatory 30-minute delay.

You should always remove participants and fans from the field if you encounter severe weather. Use common sense.

And ask coaches/table personnel to keep their eyes and ears open. Extra eyes scanning the skies should help you.

All GLOA refs should review the NFHS guidelines on Handling Contests during Lighting Disturbances in the back of the NFHS Rulebook.

2. GAME REPORTS - Remember to file your post game report online at GALAXREF.com/game-report immediately following your contest if you have any special issues or problems.

There are SIX (6) special circumstances where a post game report is mandatory

1. Player/Coach Ejections
2. Protest situations
3. Major Injuries
4. Security Problems with Host School
5. Field Conditions
6. Pre or post-game problems with players/coaches/fans

Field Conditions Game Reports should also include problems with field markings (i.e. Center Lines that do not extend through Midfield Logos or End Lines that do not fully extend through end zone letters/logos).

The Head Referee only should file this report online at GALAXREF.com/game-report within 12 hours of completion of the contest. (Click “Game Report” on the left side of the main page.)

All game reports should be factual narratives without any editorial comments. The comments should be written professionally so that they thoroughly describe the behaviors involved without any editorial comments.

If you have a question on whether a report should be filed or not, please go ahead and file one. Better to be safe, then sorry.

3. SCHOOL HEAD COACH VS. COMMUNITY ASSISTANT COACH – Remember that we only certify the Head Coach on game day.

The GHSA has mandated that only the School Employee can serve as the Head Coach for liability reasons.  This policy is not unique to lacrosse and applies to other high school sports such as basketball.

Assistant Coaches are to be “seen, but not heard” during the game.  If an assistant coach has a question or wants to make a comment, he should direct that through the Head Coach. You have tools at your disposal to modify behavior, if certain assistant coaches can’t follow the rules.

The bottom line is that in the state of Georgia, the only coach we are to deal with is the Head Coach and the GHSA has defined that person as the school employee.

I expect all GLOA referees to be consistent on this issue for the remainder of 2011.

4. DEEP POCKETS/ILLEGAL STICKS – There is nothing in the rulebook preventing a player or a coach from adjusting his crosse during a 1-minute Illegal Stick Penalty for a Deep Pocket.

All other illegal stick penalties are 3-minutes non-releasable personal fouls and the crosse is removed from the game immediately.  This type of illegal stick will remain at the scorer’s table for the remainder of the contest.

Remember when we have any type of stick penalty; we always want to inform the Head Coach (and the player) of what was illegal about the stick (i.e. Too Short, Too Long, Pinched Head). Use your communication skills here.  However, we do not re-measure the stick OR display the pinched head & ball ever.

5. GLOA WEB SITE - The newly improved GLOA web site has tons of information. If you aren’t visiting GALAXREF.com on a regular basis, you are missing out.

Of particular interest is the Training Documents section of the web site where you can download several documents include timer/scorekeeper instructions, game cards, and more.

The Message Forums are also a great way for you to get involved with the association. Kudos to Stuart Smith and Gordon Corsetti for developing and expanding the new GALAXREF.com web site.

6. NEW UNIFORM OPTIONS - As unveiled last night, there are two new uniform options for referees to wear during future GLOA assignments in 2011 – Black Shorts and Low Cut Black Socks.

The GHSA recently approved these two new uniform options for the current season. Other states & areas that play NFHS rules are using the new uniform pieces for 2011.

The Key word here is “OPTION.”  This new offering is an option to wear at GLOA assigned games, provided the crew is uniform in their game attire.

Note that GLOA is not mandating that our referees purchase black shorts or low black socks at this time. The default uniform is white shorts, if both referees do not have black shorts.

We anticipate 1-2 seasons of wearing both black and white shorts to fully implement the new uniform items. The new black shorts will likely become permanent at some point in the future for all high school games.

Both of these items should be readily available for sale at most major retailers such as Kohls, Target, JC Penney’s, etc.  You should be able to locate Black Microfiber shorts much easier then the white cotton shorts, plus they are easier to keep clean.

The short black socks will be a much cooler option as the temps start to rise.  You can buy a four-pack of New Balance Low Cut Black Socks for $9.99 at Kohl’s.

The Uniform And Equipment page on GALAXREF.com/uniforms-equipment will be updated this week to reflect the new uniform options.  Please let me know if you have further questions on the GLOA approved uniform.

7. RAFFLE PRIZES AT GLOA PARTY – We are soliciting raffle items once again.  These items will be raffled off at our end of season GLOA party in May to raise money for the two GLOA Charities (Ron Mallonee Fund and the Kevin Moore Fund).

The Georgia Lacrosse Foundation (GLF) can write you (or your business) a letter stating the dollar value of the donation for your tax purposes.  We are specifically looking for electronics, vacation related items, sporting tickets, sports memorabilia, golf items, restaurant gift certificates, auto accessories, etc.

If you, or your company, would like to donate other items of value to for this raffle, please contact Tom Smith at:

• tomdsmith@na.ko.com
• Phone: 404-676-0815

Good luck with your upcoming assignments and please keep your Arbiter blocks updated through the end of March.

Tags: assistant coaches, black shorts, black socks, documents, downloads, game reports, head coach, illegal sticks, kevin moore news, lightning, notes, optional, president, raffle, ron mallonee, Sonny Pieper, training, uniforms, weather, website