May 2014

In 1978, United Flight 173 crashed near Portland, Ore. The airliner simply ran out of fuel because the entire crew became distracted trying to determine if the landing gear was down or if it was simply a burned out bulb giving a faulty indication. It was the bulb. Three pilots worked the gear issue, but no one monitored the fuel indicators until it was too late. After the crash, United began intense studies of crew dynamics on the flight deck and pioneered what is known in the industry today as Crew Resource Management (CRM). CRM is generally defined as “a management system which makes optimum use of all available resources - equipment, procedures and people.” Officials can benefit from that same management system.Just as it was for the crew of United 173, failure of an officiating crew to utilize every asset can result in an undesired outcome. Every official needs to know what is expected and then deliver. For example, have you ever had something ugly happen during a dead ball but no one on the crew saw it? It’s really embarrassing to admit to a coach, “I have no idea how that player wound up on the ground.”Success in that area starts with a good pre game. How will the crew handle an ejection, an injury to a player or an odd play situation? It’s a lot easier if the crew knows that before taking the field or court. Once the game is

under way, officials must trust partners and not referee the entire playing area themselves. Trying to call it all does not make an official look good but instead marginalizes the crew and puts everyone’s game in jeopardy.The worst accident in aviation history happened prior to CRM. In 1977, two jumbo jets collided at Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The fog was obscuring the runway and the captain of a KLM flight was under enormous pressure to get the aircraft airborne before the visibility went below takeoff minimums. The captain did not wait for the tower to clear him for takeoff and began to roll. The first officer knew they hadn’t received permission and put his career at risk by overriding the captain and stopping the aircraft. That was unheard of at the time because no one ever questioned the captain. Moments later, the captain again advanced the throttles and the first officer felt that all he could do was announce that they were departing. Due to the factors at the airport, another aircraft was using the runway to taxi. That crew heard the call of the first officer and tried to clear the runway but was unsuccessful.The autocratic crew dynamic onboard the KLM jet was similar to when many of us started officiating. The crew chief had been officiating since Moses was a child and knew it all. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn’t. The aviation, and

officiating worlds have changed. Now we are encouraged to come together and get it right as a crew rather than let one official try and “sell it.” We are to be more concerned with getting it right rather than thinking we are right and communicate with our partners when something looks amiss.Do we have peers that don’t want to listen to someone with less experience? Are there officials that won’t take input from fellow crew members? Is so, I project a figurative crash for that official and the crew.Some officials consider their crew to consist of only those in uniform. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our crew might include the personnel at the scorer’s table, the athletic director or game management. Do we identify all the members of our crew, let alone utilize them? Do we communicate with those people before the contest about expectations we have of them or what they might need from us? If not, we are not managing our crew resources. Remember, there are three teams out there, not two.Good crew resource management takes a little more time and effort, but you’re going to be glad you did the next time the proverbial landing gear light won’t come on. In that situation, I hope it’s just the bulb…and that someone watches the rest of the action.(This article can be found in, Referee magazine, June 2014.)

Volume 5 Issue 8

Special Points of Interest:

• Once the game is under way, officials must trust partners and not referee the entire playing area themselves.

• Remember, there are three teams out there, not two.

• Success in crew resource management begins with the pregame.

• Communicate with partners when something looks amiss.

• We are to be more concerned with getting it right rather than thinking we are right.

• Richard Kennington is an air traffic controller and WOA member. He officiates for Evergreen Basketball and Vancouver Volleyball.

Inside This Issue:

WOA Conference Registration

2

WOA/ArbiterSports Summer Golf Classic

3

WIAA Hall of Fame 4

!W a s h i n g t o n O f f i c i a l s A s s o c i a t i o n

Make the Right Call

Crew Resource Management Prevents the Crash and Burnby Richard Kennington

Reprinted with written permission from Referee magazine.For subscription information contact Referee magazine at (800) 733-6100 or www.referee.com

ANNUAL CONFERENCE New Format = New Vision

A U G U S T 8 - 9 , 2 0 1 4 | Y A K I M A C O N V E N T I O N C E N T E R

CONFERENCE INFORMATION REGISTRATION INFORMATION

. • Before July 15 $50 • On-Site RegistraPon $100

Online registra;on available at www.woa-officials.;cketleap.com (payment by credit card available—service fee applies)

REGISTRATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER JULY 15, 2014. AFTER JULY 15, 2014 - REGISTER ON-SITE.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2014 4:00pm ExecuPve Board MeePng FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014 11:00am Golf Tournament Sign-in/Lunch 12:30pm Shotgun Start 6:30pm AWARDS DINNER 9:00pm Official’s Social (Red Lion Poolside) SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2014 8:30am Conference RegistraPon 9:00am General Session 10:00am Sport Training Session 12:00pm Box Lunches Provided Region ElecPons 12:30pm - Sport Training Session 3:30pm

The Red Lion Hotel has given the Washington Officials AssociaPon an outstanding room rate of $75.95 single/double.

Please make lodging reservaPons directly with the hotel at (509) 248-5900. IdenPfy yourself as an afendee of the 2014 WOA Annual Conference to receive the group rate.

HOTEL INFORMATION

SPORT SPECIFIC TRAINING: Training sessions will include: • Local, State, Na;onal Issues • Rules Changes • Mechanics • Trends • Concerns from Local Associa;ons • WOA policies and procedures OFFICIALS SOCIAL: Hosted by the Red Lion Hotel—Friday evening a]er dinner. Drinks and snacks provided.

Name _____________________________________________________Association/Board ______________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________City _________________________State ____Zip ______________ Email ______________________________________________________ Sport-Specific training I would like to attend (one only) ______________________________________________________________ !!!! $50 — Conference Registration (Before July 15th) !!!! $125 — Conference Registration and Golf (Before July 15th) !!!! $150 — Golf Tournament Hole Sponsorship (does not include conference registration) !!!! $200 — Golf Tournament Hole Sponsorship with player (does not include conference registration) !!!! I would like to make a personal contribution to the WOA Student Scholarship fund $_______ Please send check payable to: WOA, 435 Main Ave S, Renton WA 98057 or use the online credit card payment option at: www.woa-officials.ticketleap.com

WOA / ARBITERSPORTS SUMMER GOLF CLASSIC

APPLE TREE GOLF COURSE (YAKIMA) | FRIDAY, AUGUST 8th (All proceeds fund the WOA Student Scholarship Fund)

• Check-in 11:00am - BBQ Lunch Provided • Shotgun Start 12:30pm - Four Person Scramble • $75.00/person • Includes: Green Fees, Power Cart, Range Balls ,

Golf Awards • Must be signed up and paid by July 15th • Tournament committee will provide pairings for

those signing up individually • Prizes will be awarded at the Friday night dinner for

KP’s, Long Drive, and the six top placing teams.

Pay golf registration fees with conference registration to WOA by check or credit card. For further information contact Steve Colby at steve.colby@comcast.net.

HOLE SPONSORSHIP

An opportunity to give back by contributing to college scholarships given annually to high school students that are WOA officials or children of WOA officials. If your board or business is interested in sponsoring a hole, please contact:

Steve Colby at steve.colby@comcast.net (360) 708-8230

Single hole : $150 includes sign prominently displayed at designated hole

Single hole with 1 player entry fee: $200.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Once paid, your entry fee is non-refundable. At the approval of the tournament director only, and prior to July 15th, a registrant may be allowed to find a substi-tute golfer to take their place. If approved, the cancel-ing golfer is solely responsible to seek reimbursement from their substitute directly.

WASHINGTON OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION 435 Main Ave SRenton, WA 98057

425.687.8009 www.woa-officials.com info@woa-officials.com

WIAA Hall of Fame - Steve Colby

www.woa-officials.com

Congratulations to all the officials selected to work a spring state tournament. Have a great time at your assigned tournament. Thank you to all the officials who worked games throughout the 2014 spring season. We hope to see many of you out at the different tournament sites. It means a lot to those selected to know they have the support of the officials they are representing. As we bring 2013-14 to a close and begin looking ahead at 2014-15, it is important to review the changes that were made and whether or not they improved the overall effectiveness of the association. From the state level to the local level, we need to make sure all the “new” methods and procedures are beneficial. The other key component is to identify areas of concern and areas that need a little more attention in order to continue the growth as an association.NASO-On recently discussed the need for self-evaluation and how it applies to officials and local associations/boards. This also would apply to the state association. We encourage all officials and local associations/boards to evaluate this past year and see if there are areas of concern that should be addressed prior to the new school year. In addition to the areas of concern, it is also important to identify the areas that we do well. The areas that deserve recognition and making sure to commend those that that deserve the accolades.Thank you for a great year! We are looking forward to picking up where we left off come 2014-15. Todd Stordahl WOA Executive Director

Note from the Executive Director:

On May 7, Steve Colby was inducted into the WIAA Hall of Fame - Class of 2014.Steve has spent the last 41 years as a Washington Officials Association (WOA) official for high school basketball in the state. He has officiated at the league, district (19 years for girls, 15 years for boys), and State tournament (seven years for girls, six years for boys) levels. He has also officiated women’s college basketball games (1996-2002). He worked five state championship games and two semifinal games during his officiating career.Steve worked as an officials’ observer for several years at various state tournaments. He served as WIAA/WOA camp co-director for three years (2000-03) when the WIAA and WOA converted

to three-person mechanics. He was instrumental in getting three-person basketball officiating crews finalized and approved while serving as president of WOA. Steve was responsible for creating and starting the WOA Summer Golf Classic in conjunction with the WOA conference in Yakima in 2007. He continues to work organizing and directing the golf tournament.Named the WOA Girls Basketball Official of the Year 2001, Steve received the WOA Meritorious Service Award as a member of both the boys and girls groups. He was elected to the WOA Executive Board in 1999 and continues to serve and represent Region 1. He was WOA Vice President for three years (2000-03) and

President for five years (2003-07) . Steve created the WOA Scholarship program in conjunction with the WOA Executive Board (2011). He has been a member of the WOA Fee Review Committee since being elected to the WOA Executive Board. He continues to provide observation services to the Northwest Basketball Board. He is the Officials Coordinator at the Tacoma Dome for the past seven years in charge of various combinations of the 2A, 3A, and 4A tournaments. Steve was inducted into the WOA Hall of Fame in 2012.!Congratulations to Steve on his induction to the WIAA Hall of Fame!

Steve Colby, WIAA Hall of Fame - 2014

Photo Courtesy of WIAA

www.gerrydavis.com1-800-916-9088

safe@gerrydavis.com

www.aflac.com/woa Please contact:Steve Pohlman206.310.9981

steven_pohlman@us.aflac.com