2023
VOLLEYBALL OFF-SEASON MEETING RECAP
by Sandra Welch, TASO Volleyball President
Welcome to TASO Volleyball 2023! It’s time to renew memberships and recruit new members.
I am especially thankful to our leadership both at the state and chapter level. I am appreciative of the officials who work hard to provide good, solid officiating for our student athletes. Thanks to each of you for all you do to make us successful and for your contribution to volleyball. We couldn’t do it without you!
The TASO Volleyball Board met for their Off‑Season Board Meeting in Dallas on February 3 and 4. The meeting report follows.
Meeting Report:
The Board was pleased to have the opportunity to speak with Brandy Belk and Dillon Bankston from UIL via ZOOM. Steve Prud’Homme from TAPPS also joined the meeting via ZOOM. Sam Tipton and Lee Grisham from the Texas Girls Coaches Association were able to attend the meeting. These individuals all spoke highly of the relationship their organization shares with TASO and how thankful they are for the knowledge our officials provide. Our Board extended their sincere appreciation to the members of these organizations for their continual support.
The Board was also pleased to have Don Whitaker attend their meeting. Don provided the TASO Financial and Insurance Report.
2023 State Meeting – July 7‑8: Our Annual State meeting for 2023 will be held at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. Hotel contracts are being finalized and information will be forthcoming.
July 7
- Board of Directors Meeting
- Tentative interviews – Clinicians
- President/Secretary Workshop – General information to include top crew forms and expectations from chapters. Review of policies including insurance, changes to uniform policy, questions/answers.
- Train the Trainer will run concurrently with the President/Secretary Workshop and will provide a round‑table discussion with training ideas being shared.
July 8
- General Session, Rules Presentation, Award Presentations and Breakout sessions. Possible breakout sessions include an all‑inclusive new members session, Coaches Panel, Conflict Resolution & Sportsmanship, Mentor/Mentee relationships and Active Shooter.
TGCA All Star Matches are scheduled in Arlington on July 11(1A‑4A) and July 12 (5A‑6A). Information can be found on the TGCA website http://www.austintgca.com/
Elections:
- District Director Elections: Odd numbered districts (1,3,5,7,9,11,13) will have their District Director elections. You may declare your intent to run as early as August 1. The deadline to declare is October 1. Please review requirements to hold office in the TASO‑Volleyball Operating Procedures, Section 6.2. Declarations should be sent to volleyball@taso.org
- Elections for President and Vice President will be held at the same time. Declare as early as August 1. Deadline to declare is October 1. Please review requirements to hold office in the TASO‑Volleyball Operating Procedures, Section 6.1. Declarations should be sent to volleyball@taso.org
- A Candidate Profile form is available on the TASO website in the Member’s Portal for those interested in running for a position.
Finances: The Finance Committee presented the TASO‑Volleyball Financial Report. The report is unaudited at this time of the year, however, TASO Volleyball is solvent. Due to rising costs, the BOD, in a previous meeting, increased our membership fee from $100/year to $115/year.
Policies and Procedures: A few changes were made to the Operating Procedures/Addendums (OPRs). Those changes are being incorporated into the OPRs and they will be placed on the TASO website in the Member’s Portal. Look for changes in section 8 (pg 9)
Playoff Eligible Officials:
- To be able to officiate a playoff match, an official must be “Playoff Eligible”. A Playoff Eligible Official is required to score a 90 or above on the current year’s annual volleyball exam and meet all criteria of being a member in good standing for the current year.
Regional Tournament Assignment Policy:
- If selected for a Regional Tournament Final, an official may not also officiate a Regional Tournament Semi‑Final match for any division.
- If selected for a Regional Tournament Final, an official may not cancel their assignment to officiate a Regional Tournament Semi‑Final for any division.
TOP CREW LIST – MODIFICATIONS TO ITEM #C
Awards Committee: The committee reviewed applications for our Special Awards. (Distinguished Service, Honorary Life and Posthumous Distinguished Service). We will continue our traditional ‘gift basket give‑away’ and grand prize $250 gift card at the state meeting.
Years of service information will be due April 1. Instructions will be provided by TASO.
Rules Committee: The Rules Committee discussed the format for the State Meeting. Breakout sessions will be held in the morning. The afternoon will be filled with the general session, NFHS new rules interpretations, awards, TASO report and other points of interest.
2023‑2024 Volleyball Rule Changes have been released and will be available on the website. Gloria Cox will present changes at the State Meeting. You can find them here:
https://nfhs.org/sports‑resource‑content/volleyball‑rules‑changes‑2023‑24/
Regional Clinics: Five clinics will span two weekends. Times and locations of clinics will be announced later. Look for them on the website. Sites are:
- San Antonio
- Fort Worth
- Lubbock
- Corpus Christi
- Overton
Annual Test and On‑Line Clinic
- Open – July 12
- Close – August 13
Please keep in mind that you may not be assigned any match at any level until you have completed the following criteria:
- Attend either the State Meeting, a Regional Clinic or On‑Line Clinic
- Take the test and pass the test with at least a 70.
- Inclusion in the top crew list requires a score of 90 or above.
- Inclusion for playoffs requires a score of 90 or above.
Use of Electronic Equipment: We continue to encourage the use of headsets. This is the future. Many benefits are available in being able to communicate during a match and especially with training the newer official/s.
TASO Volleyball – Clinicians: We are beginning the process of soliciting applications for those individuals interested in serving as a clinician. Applications are available on the TASO website in the Member’s Portal. If you are interested in applying, please review the form and requirements. Send your application to volleyball@taso.org with Clinician Application in the subject line. Those individuals selected to interview should be available at the State Meeting. Those selected will be provided an opportunity to present a PowerPoint training selected by the committee and then answer any questions that might be asked by the committee.
Training Resources for Chapters: Each chapter has access to ‘The Box’ via TASO‑Volleyball. If your chapter trainer does not have access, please contact TASO at volleyball@taso.org
Uniform Policy: Updates include the following.
- No chapter will have the authority to mandate its members purchase the gray uniform shirt since white is the default uniform shirt.
TASO‑Volleyball Calendar: Has been revised and is available on the website.
Pay Sheets: Pay sheets for both regular and playoff matches have been updated and are posted on the website. We are excited to announce that match fees at all levels have been increased by $5.00. This increase is part of the 10‑year plan for official’s compensation. Center point mileage will remain the same as last season. Portal‑to‑portal will be .655/mile for one vehicle… see your paysheet for adjustments if more than one vehicle driven.
TASO Report/Mike Fitch:
- Mike provided information on many items of concern. One of the items that was particularly eye‑opening was that of our 2022 Membership Data for each of our chapters…. Membership‑At‑A‑Glance. The analysis provided chapter trends from 2017 forward on retention, exam scores, continuing education, eligible members and membership age.
- Last year we asked officials to complete an incident report if a yellow card was given to a coach for unsporting conduct. We will no longer ask officials to submit those particular incident reports.
- There are plans to implement ‘Active Shooter’ training…. What to do if.
MEMBERSHIP FACTS FOR 2022:
- There are 29 volleyball chapters
- There are 14 districts
- Average age of all members is 52.1
- Average age of new members is 41.4.
- Largest chapter is Dallas (352)
- Smallest chapter is Gulf Coast (15)
- 3% of our membership renewed on time
- Permian Basin had the highest percentage of new members (30.4%)
- Victoria had the highest new member retention (100.0%)
- Tyler‑Longview had the highest chapter exam score when everyone tested (95.4)
- San Antonio, South Texas, Victoria and Tyler‑Longview had 100% of their membership eligible for matches.
It was a good meeting for the Board of Directors. We accomplished many things in preparation for our service to our members and the upcoming volleyball season. Thank you for allowing us to serve you!
My challenge to you …. Help us bring an awareness of our need for recruitment and retention of officials. Help us find new officials and help us retain the ones we have. Be a mentor and help our new officials succeed!
Please, let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
