The Capital Area Chapter of PIAA Football Officials (CACPFO - is seeking new recruits to join our chapter. The CACPFO is an organization dedicated to providing quality officiating for all levels of football for the greater Harrisburg area. The CACPFO provides officials for all levels of the sport including area youth leagues such as the Keystone Midget Football Conference ( the CFA Football League ( and a few other youth leagues. In addition to the youth leagues the CACPFO provides officials for most PIAA affiliated school programs in the Mid-Penn Football Conference as well as a few schools in the Twin Valley Conference.
Each potential official is required to pass a certification exam administered by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Agency (PIAA – and also join a PIAA recognized chapter of other officials before performing officiating services at any of the PIAA affiliated event. The CACPFO provides a “hands-on” learning experience by providing the opportunity to attend a weekly class in preparation for the PIAA exam. The class is led by a training coordinator and provides the opportunity for participants to review the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS - The class also uses veteran officials to relate personal experience as well as answer any questions the attendee might have. Attendance at the class is not mandated by the PIAA, however the CACPFO strongly suggests attending during at least your first year of active officiating. The CACPFO also suggests planning to attend the class a second year as a refresher. The class is typically held on Wednesday evenings for two hours and attempts to cover each of the rules so that potential new officials are comfortable with the rule book. The class schedule typically starts in August and runs for approximately 13 weeks, with an introductory week, 10 weeks covering one of the ten sections of the rule book, one week to prepare for the exam and one week to actually take the PIAA certification exam.
After a few weeks in the class room each potential new official will be given the opportunity to work with veteran officials on the football field. The youth assignor will provide thepotential new official with a schedule to work games for many of the local youth leagues. Theopportunity to work these games can be instrumental in helping the new official prepare for the PIAA exam. In addition to actually making some officiating calls, you’ll be working with veteran officials who can help you in many ways, including rule administration, mechanics and answer any questions you may have regarding how to become a better official. Mechanics is the term officials use to describe the way we move while on the field. Mechanics include but are not limited to how to signal the other officials while on the field, how to signal the press-box when administering penaltiesand how to read specific keys and ensure you’re in the best possible position to make the correct calls.
After he/she successfully completes the PIAA exam the CACPFO will extend an invitation to the new official and upon acceptance he/she can anticipate working some non-varsity level PIAA football games the following season as well as continuingto refine his/her skills on the youth level fields. After the new official demonstrates his/her ability on the field the level of contests should continue to increase with the ultimate goal being the opportunity to officiate at the varsity level of high school football. The CACPFO employs a feedback system that provides an opportunity for each official working a contest together to evaluate each other and to provide constructive criticism as well as positive feedback. In addition to an evaluation by other officials, the coaches from each PIAA affiliated game will be asked to provide feedback as well. The final input to the feedback process is the CACPFO assignor who provides feedback related to your commitment to fulfilling your assignments as well as completing any tasks required by the assignor to successfully ensure no assignments (games) are missed. The final result of the feedback process is to provide information to help every official continue to improve their performance. As an official continues to improve on the field, continues to meet his/her obligations to the chapter and PIAA the more likely he/she will continue to be assigned to work higher level games.
Once the new official has successfully passed the PIAA exam and joined a recognized chapter he/she is required to attend at least 6 chapter meetings per season to retain their certification (The CACPFO recommends 8 meetings per year). All CACPFO members, not just the new official must meet the same requirements for meeting attendance. There is one mandatory meeting held every season to review any changes to the NFHS rule book, if you miss the CACPFO sponsored mandatory meeting you will be required to attend the mandatory meeting provided by another recognized chapter of PIAA officials. Meetings are held every Thursday evening at 7:00 PM from August through early November, so attendance at 6 or 8 meetings is not difficult.
The CACPFO is a group of individuals from varying backgrounds dedicated to providing quality officiating services for the local area. A strong commitment to the game of football, the participants in the game, your fellow officials and yourself are a few of the requirement to successful officiating. Perhaps the most important requirement of all is a strong level of self-confidence and a “thick skin” to withstand the criticism of fans, players and coaches. The CACPFO provides a great opportunity to build new friendships, learn more about the game of football and continue to develop your officiating skills. The challenge of being a football official is not for everyone, but if you have a love of the game and want to find a way to be involved this might be a great opportunity. If you are interested please check out the following web site – Near the bottom of the first page is a link to contact Ken Broome, the current CACPFO Training Coordinator as well as a phone number. Please contact Ken at or 717-545-2731 for additional information if you are interested in being part of a great game. Many current and former members of the CACPFO have gone onto officiating at the college level. If you’ve got aspirations to see yourself on National TV in front of millions of college football fans, this could be the place to get your start or if you’re interested in providing the local youth and high school teams with quality officials this could also be the opportunity you’re seeking.