Welcome

Week 3 Test

The week 3 rules test is now available in the current officials tab. Remeber, best score will win tickets to the local Regal Cinema and in case of a tie, a drawing will be held to break the tie.

News

September 2, 2010 - Bylaw Vote Notice
All EFOA members should have received an email from John Williams notifying you of the upcoming election for the new bylaw ammendment. You can read the full text of the email by clicking here.

September 1, 2010 - WOA State Mechanics for 2010
The official state mechanics have been posted on the reference tab on the web site. Be sure to print out a copy and bring to your games.

August 31, 2010 - Special Uniform Sales
Paul Levine has reported that the Officials Choice, an online seller of sports officials uniforms is having a sale. For today, and today only, referee shirts are only $10 (plus shipping). Go to The Officials choice to check it out.

Also, you can visit Sound Athletic Supply for uniform items. This is the vendor who provided our black pants last year when no other vendor could.

August 31, 2010 - WOA Test is now ready
The WOA state test is now ready for prime time. It is a 50 question multiple choice type test and the questions will get you thinking. Remember, the test and clinic must be completed by 9/30 and we have a study session on Wednesday, 9/15, 7pm at Mt. View HS.

August 30, 2010 - NFL Official Terry Gierke to visit EFOA
Terry Gierke, retired NFL Headlinesman will be attending our meeting on Sept. 8 and talking on coach/player communications before, during, and after the game.

Terry started officiating in 1962 in Portland, Oregon, began working Division II and III college games in 1966 and subsequently officiated in the PAC-8/PAC-10 from 1971-80. In 1981 he joined the staff of the National Football League and worked for 21 years as a Head Linesman before retiring at the end of the 2001 season. During his NFL career, Terry officiated in the playoffs for 19 years including 3 Championship games and Super Bowl XXI.

Since retiring from the field, Terry continues to work for the NFL as a Game Observer and College Scout. He has also served as the Western Division Supervisor of Officials for both the Indoor Professional Football League and the National Indoor Football League. In addition, in 2000 he founded the "Alliance To Promote Football Officiating" where he continues to assist and train high school, Division II and III officials to advance to the next level.

August 28, 2010 - NFL Tests 8th Official on Crew
Called a "deep judge," the official was part of crews working Saturday's Tennessee Titans-Carolina Panthers and New York Giants-Baltimore Ravens games. The official also was used at Friday's Atlanta Falcons-Miami Dolphins contest and is scheduled for Thursday's Cincinnati Bengals-Indianapolis Colts game.

The official is positioned in the defensive backfield opposite the back judge. His primary responsibility is to watch for eligible receivers, but he also can help with watching other parts of the field as assignments have changed since the umpire was moved into the offensive backfield.

The NFL competition committee will evaluate video of the four games before deciding whether to add the official for the 2011 regular season.

August 22, 2010 - Test #1 Clarifications
Rick Gilbert has submitted the following additional clarifications to test #1:

1. On question 13 - R has to decline the penalty to keep the ball
2. On question 14 - the man was not playing the ball
3. On question 15 - the pass was incomplete.

August 20, 2010 - Weekly Tests
Weekly rules tests are now being posted on the web site for each meeting. The tests are on the "Currrent Official" tab on the right hand side of the page. Each week we will post another test and answer sheet. Please print out the answer sheet, fill in your answer, and then turn in at the following meeting. The person with the highest score wins two tickets to the Regal Cinema. In case of a tie, a drawing will be held of the top scorers.

August 19, 2010 - WOA Online Clinic
This year the WOA online clinic also includes a separate section on Concussions. Both parts must be completed to get credit for the clinic. Current Officials may now take the two-part clinic by by clicking here.

New Officials cannot take the clinic until they turn in their paperwork and they it is sent to the state. Friday, August 27 is the earliest date they will be allowed to take the clinic.

The online test has changed this year and is not the usual 100 question test. The new test is not ready yet and we will post an item here when it is.

August 15, 2010 - Video on Doc Harris Stadium
Camas High School has torn down the old Doc Harris stadium structures and built an entire new complex. The home side of the stadium is much bigger, the visitor side is tripled in capacity and is now covered, there are new lights for the field, and a level 2 Field Turf field has been installed. And yes, the field now has permanent hash marks! You can see a construction video of the progress on the new stadium by clicking here.

August 14, 2010 - Once Again, EFOA Leads Senior Seminar
Seven EFOA officials (Rick Langeland, Ric Bishop, John Bardin, Matt Meister, Key Tse, Bob Vaught, and Gary Loucks) went to Tacoma today for the Senior Seminar. The senior seminar includes rules and mechanic presentations and ends with a closed book test that must be passed in order to be eligible for state championship games. For the third year in a row, an EFOA official scored highest in their class on the test. This year, Rick Langeland continued the EFOA string with a score of 98 leading the 45 attendees. Congratulations Rick!

August 13, 2010 - 2010 Rule/Case/Mechanics Books
The new NFHS Rule, Case, and Mechanics books are now available. They will be brought to the Membership meeting on August 18. If you would like to pick yours up early, you can stop by Dave's house (17317 NE 8th St, Vancouver) and pick them up. PLEASE CALL FIRST! 600-7994 to be sure Dave is home!

If you are a new, returning, or transfer official you will not receive your books until your contract and background forms are turned in along with your $30 for the 2010 dues.

August 12, 2010 - Uniform Flags
EFOA will no longer sell the American Flags for your uniform shirts. Our volume costs is not significantly different that what you would pay direct to Honigs. You can order the flags from Honigs (Item # FLAGL in gold) directly or when they come to our meeting on 8/25 for uniform sales.

August 10, 2010 - possible problem with Yahoo email accounts
If your email provider is yahoo.com, you may have problems with their spam filter. You might be losing emails if your spam filter is incorrectly set. The system will see some emails as spam and because of the incorrect setting, you will never know you received the email and then deleted it automatically without a chance to read it.

The fix is to verify that your spam guard setting allows you a chance to read the email. Then you can indicate that it is not spam which will solve the problem. You will need to periodically check the spam folder for valid emails.

Detailed instructions can be found by clicking here

August 7, 2010 - RAFT RULES & MECHANICS CHANGES
At the WOA Convention this past weekend, there were a number of changes in rules, mechanics, and procedures discussed. While these still have to go to the WOA board for final approval, usually most are approved. The proposed changes are:

1. It is legal to break the huddle with 12 players. However anyone being substituted for has 3 seconds to begin to leave the field. If they fail to begin leaving, it is a throw and blow flag for illegal substitution.
2. The restriction on penalty flag colored pads is removed.
3. If a coach is in the restricted area and inadvertantly contacts an official, it is an automatic personal foul/sideline intereference. Both signals are given for the 15 yard penalty. Also, the infraction counts in the sidenline interference progression (warning, 5 yards, 15, 15) and if the infraction happens twice, the head coach is ejected. Doesn't matter who actually made the contact, it is always enforced on the head coach.
4. We will no longer need to see a doctor's note on any casts. All we will check is that they are properly wrapped.
5. Referee should be 10 yards deeper and 5 yards wider than the huddle before blowing the ready whistle.
6. Line Judge will come out to the 9 yard marks on kickoffs to line up and count the receivers.
7. Back Judge will be 10 yards wider and 2-3 yards deeper than the receiver on the HL side during punts..
8. Wings will not go downfield until the runner passes them or the receivers are 10-12 yards downfield.
9. On punts, the Line Judge will not release downfield until he sees that the punter has clear control of the snap.
10. On placekicks, the Referee will be 2-3 yards behind and 8 yards outside the tight end.