In all, six rule’s changes were recommended by the NFHS Volleyball Rules Committee at its annual meeting January 12-14. All rules changes were reviewed and approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Rule 9-4-8c was added to the section on multiple contacts, adding second contact to the list of permitted instances, joining a team’s first contact and after a player touches the ball on a block. In addition to eliminating an official’s judgment call, the change allows for play to continue and does not create an advantage for the offending team.

Rule 3-2-1 NOTE and the use of a textured ball. Beginning in 2026-27, state associations will be permitted to adopt the use of a textured ball – commonly utilized in boys volleyball – for boys or girls matches. This state association adoption would also remove restrictions on color and shape of panels for a textured ball. Rule 3-2-1 panel color, number and shape requirements for a smooth ball remain.

Rule 4-2-4 was amended to note that, beginning in 2029, uniform numbers must simply be centered on the upper half of the uniform. This removes the requirement for the number to be 5 inches from the top and bottom of the garment and the need for officials to measure the distance.

Rule 4-2-1, which now allows players to wear solid black, white or gray undergarments under the uniform top or bottom if the predominant color of the team uniform cannot be matched. However, all team members, other than the libero, must still wear the same color undergarment.

Officials will no longer be required to carry a lineup card as part of their uniform/equipment thanks to edits to Rule 5-3-2b and 5-5-3b(9). The lineup card could still be used by newer officials as a training tool, while veteran officials may use the coaches’ submitted lineup sheets to check the starting lineup.

Rule 10-4, the penalty for an illegal libero replacement will be determined before or after the contact for serve. If identified before contact, an unnecessary delay is administered. If identified after service contact, an illegal alignment results in a loss of rally/point.

The association's Executive Committee set this Saturday, Dec 14 at 10am at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti for an association membership meeting.   Topics will include 2025 high school assigning details, announcements of 2025 clinics, and election of several association leadership positions.   Current members have been invited via Arbiter, so be sure to log on to accept attending this event. 

The CAAVO Executive Committee has met, and determined the association's member dues will remain at the same rate as in previous years.   A link is under construction on this website to once again allow renewing and new members to pay their 2025 dues on line.

Let us know if you wish to attend.  Times are 5pm to 7pm.  These are Varsity Summer Scrimmages with Multiple Teams.  Trainers will be on site to help "Newer" Officials.  Veterans may want to call a few matches to get the rust off.

The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association took several actions during its Spring Meeting, May 5-6 in Gaylord, including approving the addition of boys volleyball and girls field hockey to the lineup of MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports beginning in 2025-26 and reorganizing the winter championship calendar to end one week earlier.

Red Cedar Volleyball is having the End of Season Tournament this weekend April 12th & 13th). If you are interested in working please reach out to Amy Constine via email: amyconstine@hotmail.com

CAAVO's Director of Training has announced three more high school volleyball referee training clinics.   For more information, click on the following link.   The sites and dates for these will be:

Manistique HS      July 12, 2024

Harper Creek HS in Battle Creek    July 8 & 9, 2024

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo     July 14, 2024

Training Clinics – Mi Ref School

Former CAAVO member Steve Howells, 82, of Grand Rapids, passed away suddenly after working matches on Friday March 15 at the USA Volleyball Mideast Girls National Qualifier in Indianapolis.   Steve became a CAAVO member in 2005, the same year he earned his collegiate PAVO Basic Line Judge Certification.  He worked dozens of high school matches for CAAVO in our western area footprint. He remained a member until 2021, but continued as a MHSAA registered VB official, with this year being his 28th with them.  A memorial service is scheduled for Steve on April 13 at 2pm in Grand Rapids.

• Assignments are now being sent via Arbiter!

Assigning for boys Varsity volleyball is about to get underway, so we wanted to share with the membership the sites CAAVO will be assigning to for 2024:

Adrian, Belleville, Brighton, Dexter, Durand, Father Gabriel Richard (Ann Arbor), Grand Ledge, Hartland, Lansing Christian, Lansing Public (Eastern HS), Loy Norris, Northville, Northwest (Jackson), Novi, Okemos, Parma Western, Saline, and Swartz Creek

As always, preference in assigning is made to CAAVO members.

One of CAAVO's 32 charter members from 2002 has passed away - Dan Fuller of Grand Ledge.   Dan was a long time CAAVO member, working hundreds of matches at all levels, and going on to become a well respected NCAA Division I line judge later in his officiating career.  Dan retired from officiating a couple years ago due to a brain tumor that would eventually take his life recently.  Our condolences to his wife Barb, who often would accompany him to matches, and to his family, who supported him as a marathon runner and cyclist on hi 17 DALMAC trips. 

It is with profound sadness that we learned that on February 3 CAAVO member Gary Merrill passed away after succumbing to a recently diagnosed illness.  Gary, who was 68 years old, and from Bay City, had been a long time member of our association, working hundreds of varsity matches throughout his 32+ years as a MHSAA official.  He was a trainer for our, and other, volleyball associations, and helped many of our 1500+ officials learn the art of officiating.   He emphasized that in addition to the written rules, there was a spirit of the rule to be correctly applied as well.   In 2011-2012, Gary served as our association's secretary-treasurer, and initiated the use of written member profiles for our members, a practice which continues in use today to document information critical to our network of assignors.

As a high school official, Gary recently represented CAAVO as a MHSAA State Final official, something he had aspired to do for some time prior.  As a high level collegiate official, he was frequently selected to work as a referee at the Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover Tournament, which features some of the best NCAA Division II universities in 10 midwestern states.  Gary also extensively officiated club volleyball, frequently working a dozen or more matches almost every weekend throughout the winter and spring months.

We have lost a very good official in Gary today, and many of our members will recall his willingness to mentor them to become even better.  Gary leaves his wife Julie, and his family at an all too early time.   

Gary joins our list of association members who passed away while still actively officiating:

IN MEMORIAM

Juan "Tony" Noyola         2007

Jason Warmbier              2008

Robert Dziachan             2010

Mike Edgeworth              2012

Edmund Wayne              2014

Stephen Szuminski         2016

Clement Beckman          2018

Ed Katzbeck                   2018

Owen Nakamura            2019

Lawrence Grant             2020

Russell Bortell                2021

John Garrison                2021

Mark Kelly                      2022

Cathy Bourne                 2022

Jim Forrester                  2022

Cheri Dobschensky        2022

John Walton                   2022

Gary Merrill                    2024

On Tuesday 1-30-24; Father & Daughter New Officials - Sam & Shelby Leydig began their training with Brian Smith and Paul Constine during a Middle School Match at Byron Middle School. The training included 45 minutes in the classroom and the remainder of the night on Court.

If you know of a New or Newer Official who would like some training please let Brian know.

CAAVO will hold a membership meeting via ZOOM

on Monday January 22, 2024 at 7pm.

Invites to our members have been sent out via

the ArbiterSports EVENT platform, so members

are encouraged to log on to Arbiter to view that

invite on their SCHEDULE, and accept attending

that event.   A ZOOM link to the meeting will be

posted to that Arbiter event as an attachment,

as well as HERE when it is created.

Meeting topics will include information about the

2024 assignments about to be made to several

levels of competition, as well as conducting

elections for several CAAVO Executive Committee positions.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82670166104

Meeting ID: 826 7016 6104

Kent Neitzert - CAAVO Director of Training will host a Sunday night discussion on R2 Transition this Sunday at 7pm. Check it out on www.mirefschool.com

Welcome to the fall 23-24 MHSAA sports season. We are excited that you have either registered for the first time or are a returning member of our officiating family.

Allow me to share a few points of emphasis as your sports season unfolds:

• The safety of the contestants is our number one priority.
• Good sportsmanship by all stakeholders should be expected and dare I say, demanded.
• A thorough knowledge and fair application of the playing rules are essential to the integrity of the games.
• Be the role model of accepted and desired behavior.
• Calm, concise, and respectful communication will go a long way toward the desired outcome of the contest.
• Should you eject an athlete or coach from a contest, when filing your online report, give a succinct and factual explanation of the behavior(s) that led to your action and cite the NFHS rulebook supporting your action.
• The MHSAA is here to support you!  Call or email the MHSAA if you need assistance or want to share information.

Have a fun and safe season!

Game Reminders:

• Jewelry during warm-ups
  • Non-compliant jewelry may not be worn during warm-ups. No penalty unless player does not comply with the referee’s directive to remove (unsporting conduct).
• Jewelry during play
  • Small secured articles like post or stud piercings may be worn. Articles of jewelry below the chin are not permitted. String bracelets, commemorative bracelets and body jewelry are considered jewelry and not permitted. • Discovery of non-compliant jewelry during a match will result in an unnecessary delay. • Body paint or glitter prohibited.
• Injury/illness during the set
  • If the injured player cannot continue playing within 30 seconds, the player must be replaced by a legal substitute or a legal libero replacement, or the team must take a legal timeout if the player is to continue playing.
• Injury timeout
  • If an injured/ill player cannot continue after there are no remaining timeouts and the team has no legal or exceptional substitutes, the first referee may call a special injury timeout of up to three minutes for the injured/ill player. • If the player cannot return by the conclusion of the special injury timeout, the team shall play short for the remainder of the set.
• Rosters
  • All teammates must be listed. Teammates can be added to the roster, but the result is a loss of rally, point to the opponent.
• When rosters are due
  • At the prematch conference. Penalty for a roster submitted after the prematch conference is an unnecessary delay (administrative yellow card).
• Exposed cable
  • Must be covered.

naso.org/mhsaa

High School Warm-Ups now include a 15 Second Warning Whistle!

Per the NFHS (MHSAA Adopted) Case Manual page 69:

The Second Referee shall monitor Warm-up and Sound a warning whistle (two short blasts) when 15 seconds remain in each team's warm-up segment.

This may be confusing to some teams. This would be a good item to address in the Coaches\Captains pregame meeting.

Another Training Opportunity!
August 16th from 9:00am to 3:00 pm at Stevenson High School. Clinic will be run by Deborah Karabees-Betts with Bette Norman, Dan Silva and Ken Bertin scheduled as Clinicians.  

For more information contact:

Deborah Karabees-Betts

734-634-5809 (Cellular)
734-462-9651 (Home)

debkb88msu@msn.com

Awesome Training on 7-26-23!

CLICK HERE

TRAINING OPPORTUNITY REMINDER:

Training Opportunity - July 26th - Williamston High School

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CAAVO will be offering Volleyball Referee and Line Judge Training Opportunity on July 26th at Williamston High School.

Varsity Scrimmages are scheduled to start at 6:00 pm.

Invites will be sent via Arbiter for "Newer Officials". (If invited please login to Arbiter and Accept or Decline.)

This training may be used for "Current Officials" :

Current Officials wishing to be Observed

Current Officials who are Sub-Varsity looking to move to Varsity

Current Officials who may be newly assigned by CAAVO

Current Officials who wish to get On-Court Time prior to the season.

If you would like to attend and have not received an invitation please contact Brian Smith via email: bmsmithttee@hotmail.com.

Awesome Training last night! 18 Officials, 8 Teams on 4 Courts!

Back Row - Illegal Blocker?

We’re on the volleyball court today where Team A’s back-row setter is in the front zone near the net and jumps to try to make the team’s second contact. The ball enters the plane of the net where Team A’s back-row setter and Team B’s front row player simultaneously touch the ball above the top of the net. What’s the call?

Illegal block on Team A’s back-row setter.

A back-row player attempting to play a ball in the space directly above the net is considered an illegal blocker if the ball is attacked or blocked by an opponent into the back-row player while reaching above the height of the net.

Team B would receive a point and would be next to serve.

Training Opportunity - July 19th & 26th - Williamston High School

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CAAVO will be offering Volleyball Referee and Line Judge Training Opportunities on July 19th and July 26th at Williamston High School. 

Varsity Scrimmages are scheduled to start at 5:30 pm. 

Invites will be sent via Arbiter for "Newer Officials".  (If invited please login to Arbiter and Accept or Decline.)

This training may be used for "Current Officials" :

• Current Officials wishing to be Observed
• Current Officials who are Sub-Varsity looking to move to Varsity
• Current Officials who may be newly assigned by CAAVO
• Current Officials who wish to get On-Court Time prior to the season.

If you would like to attend and have not received an invitation please contact Brian Smith via email: bmsmithttee@hotmail.com.

ANTHEM POSITIONING

During the introduction of players, all officials will stand on their assigned sideline facing the court. R1 and LJ1 will stand next to one another on LJ1’s side of the net with R1 nearest the centerline.

R2 and LJ2 will stand next to one another on LJ2’s side of the net with R2 nearest the centerline. LJ1 will take his/her flag and one ball and place them on the officials stand prior to taking his/her position.

NOTE: When the national anthem is played, all officials will turn at their positions (if necessary) to face the direction of the flag.

*******************************************************************************************

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CAAVO will be offering Volleyball Referee and Line Judge Training Opportunities on July 19th and July 26th at Williamston High School. 

Varsity Scrimmages are scheduled to start at 5:30 pm. 

Invites will be sent via Arbiter for "Newer Officials".  (If invited please login to Arbiter and Accept or Decline.)

This training may be used for "Current Officials" :

• Current Officials wishing to be Observed
• Current Officials who are Sub-Varsity looking to move to Varsity
• Current Officials who may be newly assigned by CAAVO
• Current Officials who wish to get On-Court Time prior to the season.

If you would like to attend and have not received an invitation please contact Brian Smith via email: bmsmithttee@hotmail.com.

REGISTRATION: You can complete your MHSAA registration for the 2023-24 school year now. The fee is $70 and includes registration for up to two sports. Each additional sport registered beyond two is $16 per. See your email from the MHSAA for additional details.

LATE FEES: A late fee of $30 will be charged only when an individual registered with the MHSAA in the previous year (2022-23). There is no fee if you are a brand-new official in that sport.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE for Volleyball: August 16, 2023

We are always looking for new members! Each year we have many assignments to fill, at all different levels. You may be new to volleyball, or you may have previous experience. Either way, our goal is to help you develop as an official. Together we will assist you in getting the most from your membership. Because we want to give you the opportunity to experience CAAVO, we offer our first-time new members a membership rate of just $15.00 for the first year. IF this will be your FIRST TIME registering with the MHSAA as an official, please contact Brian Smith BEFORE you register with the MHSAA so we can work to obtain a WAIVER of the MHSAA registration fees for you.  Click on the Membership link to the right of this article to learn about the different memberships that we offer. If you have ANY questions regarding CAAVO, please feel free to contact any CAAVO board member.

It IS permissible to play a match with only a single official assigned, but it is never permissible for an unregistered official to officiate an MHSAA VB contest as either the R1 or  R2. A coach may not serve as an R2 unless he/she is registered.

~MHSAA

Do you have any photos that you may have taken over the last few years. We would like to showcase some of our members at work. Please send any photos to this link. Thanks!

A quick overview of the CAAVO web site...

You will find most everything on a clickable menu to the left or at the top of the page. Once you navigate to one section, it becomes active at the top of the left navigation. If you need to get back to full menus, just click the "Home" tab. You'll be right back where you started, just in case you get lost.

We are constantly working to add interesting and valuable content to our website. There is a lot that can be created with this site. It involves input from everyone, so if you have any ideas or thoughts about what you would like to see, please let us know.

You can now join CAAVO for 2025 using the above registration link. Early registration will end on February 16, 2025. There is a $10 discount for joining before February 15, 2025. Please note that again this year when paying online you will see a small administrative fee added to your registration (3%, plus $1). If you choose to send a check you can still register online, just choose the option to send a check.

Completing your membership will keep you connected to available CAAVO clinics and membership meetings. You will be provided the convenience of paying your yearly association dues online or with a check, as well as registering and paying for clinics online or by check. Each year's membership begins on January 1 and should be completed by February 15 to avoid the late fee. Just click on the registration link above to get started.

If you have ANY questions regarding the registration process, please don't hesitate to contact any board member.

Disclaimer: You MUST still register with the MHSAA in addition to a registered association in order to officiate volleyball. Note that registering with the MHSAA is usually not available until about June 1 of each year. Registration is available for the 2023-24 schooll season now, don't forget. Just be sure you ultimately register for both. Note: If you are a new official with the MHSAA, you can request a voucher for your first years' registration fee with them, but you MUST request the voucher prior to your registration. It will be void if you register first.

Electronic Whistles

Many officials are utilizing electronic whistles. Below is a link to a short video providing some useful tips and good examples of electronic whistle usage. While primarily developed for volleyball officials, many of the tips and mechanics can provide guidance to all sports officials.

https://nfhslearn.com/library/videos/official-volleyball-signals-using-an-electronic-whistle

Follow this link to a free sportsmanship course from NFHS Learn. Highly recommended for all our members. All coaches who are sanctioned will be required to pay a fee and watch this course before returning to coaching.