The Referee Development Program (RDP), led by our Referee Co-chairs, Masters Leon Preston (WA) and John Holloway (MD), has begun the new year by establishing two primary, broad-based goals.

The first goal is to improve communications within the Referee Corp.  This e-newsletter is one of the first steps in that direction.  E-newsletters will be posted periodically in the Referee section of the USAT website.  The purpose of the e-newsletter is to keep you, the USAT Referee, updated on current events and activities, as they relate to the referees.  We encourage you to bookmark this page and refer back to it on a regular basis. We want this to be your first stop for all things related to refereeing in the USAT.

The second primary goal is to strengthen the curriculum of the referee program.  A task force has been established to assist in refining the current curriculum and there has been a great deal of progress made already.  Many might ask, “Why do we need to refine the curriculum?”  This sport is dynamic and the fine points of the rules of competition frequently undergo changes within the WTF.  The focus of the RDP is to strive for consistency among the referee corps in the understanding and application of the rules of the game.  To accomplish this, all referees must receive the same training and be consistent in their application of the rules.  In short, “unity through uniformity”.  This process of refinement will lead to improved quality of referee seminars and developmental camps.  This is a work in progress.   However, referees, athletes, coaches and our entire organization will benefit from our diligence with this matter.

As Zig Ziglar said in his book, Courtship After Marriage, we “can’t saw sawdust”; however, it doesn’t hurt to take a look at where we’ve been recently, and to give you an idea of where we’re headed in the days ahead.  In 2007:

• The RDP was turned over to the USAT in November. 
• There were 2 Referee Development Camps conducted at the OTC in Colorado Springs.
• 20 official referee seminars were conducted throughout the country.
• USAT qualified all four athlete slots for the 2008 Olympic Games.
• 15 U.S. referees attended the Olympic Referee Selection Camp in Korea.
• 3 U.S. referees have attended the Olympic Qualifier tournaments.
• USAT generated 142 brand-new, D-level referees.

So, what’s ahead for 2008?  The plan of the RDP is to diligently pursue its goals of curriculum refinement, and build upon the success from last year.  We hope that you will take advantage of the many opportunities to attend officials’ seminars, both locally, and at the National Qualifiers.  With the increase in the number of sanctioned events, and the subsequent increase in the availability of standardized training and practice, we are certain that you will want to avail yourselves of the many opportunities coming up this year to participate in your growth and development as a referee.  We are looking forward to having you come alongside us as the RDP of USAT carves its way toward building a new and bright future!