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About Us
NIOA Mission Statement:
The mission of the NIOA is to recruit, develop, and mentor new officials and create a learning environment for all officials. NIOA also will work closely with area schools to provide highly qualified officials for athletic contests.
2008 Officers
President ~ Todd Thompson
Vice President ~ Matt Graham
Treasurer ~ Tim Esbeck
Secretary ~ Karl Wooldridge
The following article is an article that Matt Graham did for the NIACC newspaper about the North Iowa Officials:
What is your specific role in the North Iowa Officials Organization? (are you president, board member, etc.)
"I am currently the Vice President of the North Iowa Officials Organization. I was elected at a meeting in April for the position."
When and why was the organization formed?
"The organization was formed to give officials a place to share their experiences (game situations) and a place to network. Also, there is a need for new officials so we use the organization as a recruitment tool. If a new official joins, we can guarantee they get games to work. The organization also is able to match new officials with veteran officials so they have some veteran leadership when working games. When I first started officiating in 1995, I had to call the Athletic Directors in the area and get my name on a list. Now the organization has about 10 area schools which we assign officials to for the under games (Junior High, Junior Varsity), so it is much easier for new officials to work games and get experience."
How long have you been an official?
"I have been an official since I was a sophomore at NIACC in 1994. I worked games while at NIACC and then when I transferred to UNI, I worked many Junior Varsity games @ Cedar Falls and Waterloo High Schools. I have worked football, basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball. I am currently just working basketball (girls and boys) and softball."
How does one become an official?
"There are many ways to become an official. You can contact the organization and we can give the information of call the Iowa High School Athletic Association @ 515-432-2011 or go on their website @ www.iahsaa.org (this is for the boys union). To join the girls union you call the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Association @ 515-288-9741 or go on their website @ www.ighsau.org. If you want to do basketball, you must belong to both unions. For a college student or high school student to join, there is a discounted membership fee."
If one is already an official and wants to be a part of the organization, how would they go about joining?
"If one is already an official and wants to join the North Iowa Officials Organization, all they have to do is attend a meeting and pay the $25 membership dues. You can join at any time and we have meetings usually on the 2nd Wednesday of the month about six months a year."
Are the officials paid? What are the perks of being an official?
"Officials are paid on a per event basis. If I work 2 JH basketball games, usually get $50 (about 2.5 hours of "work"). When you work Varsity games you get paid more, usually $75-$90 (about 3.5 hours of "work") for working basketball, volleyball and softball are usually $75 for JV-V so you can make anywhere from $50-$90 per night of working games; so you get paid to run and exercise."
You mentioned in a previous e-mail that officiating is a great way to stay involved in sports after high school. How is this so?
"It is a great way to stay involved in HS athletics because we can no longer play high school ball, and the likely hood of many of us playing in college is not good. So instead of getting out of athletics altogether, you can stay involved by officiating. Coaching is a good way to stay involved also, but then you have to worry about practices, who plays, who wins, parents, etc., but with officiating you get to officiate the game, not care who wins or loses, not care who plays, not care about practice plans for the next day. Just read the rules book and improve on a nightly basis."
Along the same lines as the previous question...how is officiating rewarding?
"Officiating can be very rewarding as I have met a lot of very nice people in the North Iowa area because of working so many games. It is also a very rewarding experience to work a game adn have the AD or other officials tell you that you do a good job. You also get rewarded by getting assigned state tournament games. IT is exciting to work a game in front of 1,500 people who are into the game."
Also, is there a website for the North Iowa Officials Organization, or perhaps an official officiating site, just so I can get more information about officiating if necessary?
"Website is www.northiowaoffials.org"
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