East Coast Basketball Officials Association
Presidents Update
January 2023
Here is an update on ECBOA happenings and events:
Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year. Here’s to a great 2023!
The Holiday tournaments were very successful this year, and I’ve received positive feedback from the tournament hosts regarding our officiating. Thank you to those that worked these Freshmen, JV, and Varsity tournaments.
January is peak high school basketball season and there are plenty of games so please make sure your blocks are updated in Arbiter. Further, everyone is now eligible for a full schedule.
As previously communicated to the membership, the State-Series Regional Recommendation List has been voted down and I would like to address this:
By way of background, after consulting with the FHSAA this past summer, the Board of Directors approved new Recommendation Committee Guidelines. This document went through several iterations and incorporated input and feedback from the Board members. These Guidelines define the committee, lay out their duties and responsibilities, and provide considerations for the list. The ultimate goal was to align ECBOA with the FHSAA’s mandate of providing the best officials for these regional games, while upholding the integrity and reputation that ECBOA has earned with the FHSAA.
Pursuant to FHSAA guidelines, each association is required to have a recommendation committee comprised of non-board members and the booking commissioner. The committee is charged with compiling the list, sharing it with the Board for feedback, and ultimately approving it for membership consideration. Our recommendation committee this year was comprised of Erik Benz (chair), Tony Payne (elected by the body), and Mark DeAtley (booking commissioner). The committee met several times and unanimously approved the list. I want to personally thank Erik, Tony, Mark, and Board liaison Mike Smith for the time you all committed to working on the list.
From a historical perspective, compiling the list has always been one of the most difficult and time-consuming responsibilities of any of our committees. Being on this committee is a thank-less job and compiling a perfect list is simply not possible. Further, excessive criticism and personal attacks has made it nearly impossible to find members who want to serve on the committee.
With the list being voted down, the Guidelines call for the list to be redone by the Executive Committee (President, VP, Secretary and Treasurer) and the Booking Commissioner (Mark) with a majority vote deciding on any changes. The revised list will then be sent to the FHSAA per the Guidelines.
I’ve called a special meeting of the Executive Board and Booking Commissioner for the evening of January 1st to redo the list. The membership has voted, and we will do our very best to improve it. We will work within the framework of the Board-approved Guidelines while keeping in mind the mandate from our membership and that of the FHSAA.
Going forward the process for compiling the list will undoubtedly evolve to meet the requirements of the FHSAA and our membership. We will strive to do better, because that is what you expect from your Board and myself as President.
Thanks, and Happy New Year.
Joe Erwin -President
