NFHS Launches Interscholastic Officiating Course

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     Contact: Bruce Howard

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (December 16, 2011) — The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has officially launched its Interscholastic Officiating Course.
The online course is the “first-of-its-kind” in a series of officiating courses from the NFHS, and is designed to introduce new officials or individuals interested in becoming an official to the world of interscholastic officiating. The course covers topics such as the basics of becoming and staying an official, the science of officiating a contest, the art of officiating a contest and putting it all together.

“The course gives aspiring officials some of the general tenets involved in the avocation,” said Mary Struckhoff, former NFHS director of sports and officials education who continues to serve as a consultant. “Therefore, we believe it will better prepare individuals to have successes on the court, field or mat.”

In addition to the many in-person training options at the local level with officials associations, the NFHS is providing interested parties an online option to become familiar with interscholastic officiating. The course is modeled after the highly successful NFHS Coach Education Program, which has delivered more than 700,000 courses in five years.
Designed to take 30 to 45 minutes to complete, the NFHS Interscholastic Officiating Course is free for members of the NFHS Officials Association, while non-member individual officials may take the course for a fee of $20. A discounted bulk rate of $10 is also available to non-100-percent states and officiating groups when 50 or more licenses are purchased.
“When officials have early successes and feel more confident in what they are doing, they tend to stay longer in the avocation,” Struckhoff said. “Increasing the pool of quality officials and retaining those quality officials is good for interscholastic activities and the young people participating.”

The course can be accessed at www.nfhsofficials.com. For more details, contact the NFHS Officials Department.
 
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This press release was written by Shane Monaghan, an intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications and Events Departments. Monaghan is a graduate of Ball State (Indiana) University, where he specialized in sports administration.
 
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,000 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.6 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.
 
MEDIA CONTACTS:          Bruce Howard or John Gillis, 317-972-6900
                                         National Federation of State High School Associations
                                         PO Box 690, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206
                                         bhoward@nfhs.org or jgillis@nfhs.org
 
 
 
Bruce Howard
Director of Publications and Communications
National Federation of State High School Associations
PO Box 690
Indianapolis, IN 46206
317-822-5724
317-822-5700 (Fax)
bhoward@nfhs.org