Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.

TOURNAMENT OFFICIALS RATINGS SYSTEM

The ranking of contest officials applying for an IHSAA tournament series event shall have two components:

I.  School vote (50% of total rating)

The athletic directors from each school may rate an official or crew listed on the IHSAA Officials Voting Survey. The athletic director will receive a separate survey for each sport where officials may be rated. Athletic directors can seek input from coaches on how to rate officials, but they are not required to do so. A rating scale will reflect a numerical rating system labeled as 5-4-3-2-1 with criteria established for each category. The ratings rubric shall read as follows:

5 The official/crew exhibits excellent communication skills, top notch (NFHS) mechanics, arrives at the contest site mentally and physically prepared, demonstrates excellent game management, and has control of the contest by making consistent calls from beginning to the end and can work the highest level in the tournament.

4 The official/crew displays very good communication skills, is in position to make most calls. The official manages the game well and has control of the contest but not at the highest level.

3 The official/crew demonstrates adequate rules knowledge and acceptable game management. Communication with coaches and players is acceptable but needs more experience to work the higher levels of the tournament.

2 The official/crew has the ability, rules knowledge and communication skills to work the lowest level of the tournament. Improvement in one or more of these areas is required for advancement

1 The official/crew is unable to stay with the highest skill level, communication, judgment, mechanics, and rules knowledge expected for the tournament. Game management needs improvement in order to officiate a tournament contest.

Note: A drop down menu will be provided for schools to provide rationale for a rating of either 2 or 1. A menu item must be selected for the rating to count toward the officials’ final rating.

Each official or crew that applies for the tournament and meets the minimum requirements for working in the tournament as set forth by the IHSAA will have all school ratings tabulated and divided by the number of schools that submitted a rating. The composite number calculated by this method will represent 50% of the officials overall score for tournament advancement.

Exception: In sports where an observer is present, the observer vote will be incorporated into the school vote. The observers vote will be calculated the same way as a school does. When the IHSAA deems it has adequate coverage of observers throughout the state, their rating will become a percentage (%) of the overall official /crew score. Associations are being asked to provide a list of prospective former officials in that sport to the IHSAA so they can begin the selection process.

Observers - your vote, as you know, is very important to the integrity of this system. Therefore, please vote ONLY for those officials who you believe that you can honestly and comfortably attest to the quality of officiating that the individual brings to this IHSAA tournament. If you are unfamiliar with an individual or you cannot attest to an official's proficiency because you are uncertain as to whether or not you have seen him/her officiate, please DO NOT vote for that individual. If you have not seen an official, but feel confident in your knowledge of and/or assessment of his/her ability; please DO vote for that individual.

II.  Individual Vote (50% of total rating)

An individual vote is a vote that is assigned to an official or crew for efforts displayed in self improvement. An official/crew must enter his/her information into Arbiter for tracking purposes. Each of the following metrics will add up for 50% of the officials overall score for tournament advancement.

A. Previous Tournament Experience (10% )

State 5 points

Semi-state 4 points

Regional 3 points

Sectional 2 points

Applicant 1 point

Previous tournament experience will be considered over the last six (6) years.

In football, each crew member will submit their highest level of advancement over the time period listed. The numbers for each of the 5 members will be added together and divided by 5. That number will represent the previous tournament experience.

B. Years of licensure in respective sport ( 5% )

12+ 5 points

10-11 4 points

8-9 3 points

5-7 2 points

0-4 1 point

In football, each crew member will submit their years of licensure in football. The numbers for each of the 5 members will be added together and divided by 5. That number will represent the previous tournament experience.

C. Number of Games Worked (20%)

Points Credited / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Basketball / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 / 10
Baseball / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 / 10
Softball / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 / 10
Volleyball / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 / 10
Soccer / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 / 10
Track and Field / 12 / 11 / 9 / 8 / 7
Gymnastics / 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6
Wrestling / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5
Swimming and Diving / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5
Cross Country / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5
Football / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4

Minimum games required to work the tournament series:

Basketball 10, Baseball 10, Softball 10, Volleyball 10, Soccer 10, Track 7, Gymnastics 6, Wrestling 5, Swimming 5, Cross Country 5, Football 4.

Note: All regular season games must be entered into the tournament application to be counted towards an official/crew number of games calculated.

D. Test Score (Part 2) (5%)

100-98 % 5 points

96-97% 4 points

94-95% 3 points

92-93% 2 points

90-91% 1 point

< 90% fail to meet minimum tournament requirement

E. Association Attendance & member in Good Standing (10%)

(Sports that require 8 meetings minimum)

Meetings Attended / Points
8 / 5
7 / 4
6 / 3
5 / 2
4 / 1
Less than 4 / Fails to Meet Minimum Standard

Additional Notes

A.  In IHSAA team sports, member schools may only rate officials that have worked their contests in the most recent three year period.

B.  All IHSAA member schools shall participate in the ratings of tournament officials in all sports.

C.  When computing the school ratings for contest officials, the following equalizer shall be used:

a.  Officials receiving 12-29 votes shall have the top and bottom rating discarded.

b.  Officials receiving 30 or more votes shall have the top two and the bottom two ratings discarded.

D.  Only observers who have witnessed an official in the current year or previous year may provide a rating for said official.