(reprinted with permission)

Dear Colleagues,

As the District Director for District Three, I recently attended the State Referee Committee meeting held in Houston on September 21. Some of the discussions and decisions from that meeting are summarized below. Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions, or would like me to relay any concerns or comments you have to the Committee at the January meeting.

Elo Veselka, the State Assignors Coordinator, reminds referees to be checking player passes carefully, to ensure that suspended players do not play without their passes.

David Olmos, the State Director of Assessment, reports there will be an Assessors In-service in November, with more details to follow.

Raymond Lalgee, the State Director of Instruction, reports that registered referee names are being posted to the TSSAS.com website daily, so be checking periodically to see that you have been officially registered.

Randy Francis, the State Referee Administrator, reports that the Referee Hearing Committee has been active in handling complaints against referees, and that these appear to be on the decrease. Also beginning with the 2004 registration, Grade 07 will require a maintenance assessment.

Sergio Vega, the State Youth Referee Administrator, reports a successful youth Regionals, with 3 of the Texas-South referees in the top 15 and 2 selected to go to Nationals. More information on that can be found at the TSSAS website. Also, anyone interested in being considered for next year's youth Regionals should be aware of the following: you must be working youth games this year, be under 35 years of age, and the tournaments he will be at to evaluate candidates are the Western and Eastern district championships in Fall, and the Youth State Cup tournament in the Spring.

Other information: The TSSAS Referee handbook will be updated and posted on the website; applications for the State Referee Committee Chair are being accepted by Randy Francis; and the Committee is exploring options for trading items to be used by Texas South referees who attend Regional or National tournaments (including pins, pens, flipping coins, or other items).

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Eells