Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to do to become a HS/MS official and how much does it cost?
Join our officiating chapter as a new member $135.00 This covers the cost of the class, Rule Book, Training Manual, On-field training, one HS Officials shirt, chapter dues for a year, officials whistle, cards, and flag.
Take the officials' class either in person, remotely, or online through USA Lacrosse.
Join USA Lacrosse as an official. The cost is $55 per year. The membership provides liability insurance and access to a great deal of training material that you can access anytime to help improve your game.
Pass a rules test. The test is offered online through USA Lacrosse. We go over the test during the training class.
Take a short online Concussion in Sports awareness class. This is free and is offered through NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations).
Register as a girls’ lacrosse official with NJSIAA. This will include passing a background check which is done as part of the registration process. The cost is $65.00
Complete on-field training.
To become a youth official you need to complete steps 1 - 4 above and 7. The majority of the youth rules are the same as the HS rules. You will be taught the differences in the youth class. You will be supplied with one Youth official's shirt.
What is NJSIAA?
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association acts as the governing body for high school sports in New Jersey. Officials who work HS sports in NJ must register with NJSIAA and pass a background check. NJSIAA is a member of NFHS.
What is USA Lacrosse?
As the governing body of lacrosse in the United States, USA Lacrosse provides national leadership, structure and resources to fuel the sport’s growth and enrich the experience of participants. For officials they provide training and educational material.
What is NFHS?
The National Federation of State High School Associations - serves its members by providing leadership for the administration of education-based high school athletics and activities through the writing of playing rules that emphasize health and safety, educational programs that develop leaders, and administrative support to increase opportunities and promote sportsmanship.
How do I pay for the class?
Payment for the class can be made by Venmo or by check. Details on how to make the payment will be given after you submit the class registration form.
Are there age requirements?
To be a HS/MS official you must be at least 18 years old and have completed HS. To do youth games you must be at least 14 years old.
Are there additional costs to get started?
Yes, there will be some additional costs mostly for additional parts of your uniform. You will be supplied one HS official's shirt or Youth official's shirt. You may find you will need additional shirts depending on how much you work. You will need black shorts/pants/shirt/kilt, black socks, and black sneakers to complete your uniform.
How am I evaluated as an official?
When you complete the course you will receive on-field training. At the end of that training you will be evaluated and be given a 'rating' indicating the level of games you can get. The majority of new officials start out on freshmen, MS, and youth games. If you have experience as an official or with the game you may be able to start on JV games.
You will be reevaluated and re-rated either every year, 2 years, or 3 years depending on your performance. The better your performance the longer time between your ratings. The goal of the evaluations are to give you feedback and help you improve your game.
What do I need to do to maintain my certification as an official?
There are a number of things you need to do each year to maintain your certification.
For HS/Middle School you need to:
Renew your officials chapter membership.
Renew your USA Lacrosse membership.
Attend an annual rules interpretation meeting to learn any new rules.
Pass the annual rules test.
Complete the free "Concussion in Sports" course.
Register with NJSIAA for girls lacrosse. This includes passing the background check.
Get scheduled for an evaluation if your evaluation/rating is expiring.
Some years USA Lacrosse requires completion of a free online professional development course.
For Youth, you need to do all of the above except for item 6, Register with NJSIAA.
Are there ongoing costs?
Yes, there are 3 annual costs:
Officials' Chapter dues
USA Lacrosse dues
NJSIAA registration fee
How much does it pay?
High School Varsity pay: $100.00
HS Sub varsity and Middle School pay: $70.00
Youth 5/6 and 7/8 games pay: $60.00
Youth 3/4 games pay: $50.00
In HS, normally Varsity and JV play one after the other so you can earn $161.00 for the 2 games.
For Youth 5/6 and 7/8 often play one after the other so you can earn $120.00 for the 2 games.
You can make your investment in becoming an official rather quickly.
For club games / winter league and tournaments you are generally paid by the minute of officiating as the games vary in length. The pay rate is set by the league or tournament director. You can often work several games at a tournament and take home a good day's pay.
Where are the games?
Our officials' chapter (NJ Northeast Girls Lacrosse Officials) covers HS / MS / Youth games in all of northern NJ (Bergen, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren counties). If you live and or work in any of these areas there are lacrosse games near you.
In addition to the spring HS/MS/Youth seasons there are opportunities to officiate at club lacrosse games/tournaments in the summer and fall, and indoor leagues during the winter. There are lots of opportunities to learn, improve your game, and earn $. Club play goes on all over the county so you can travel if you want.
What time are the games?
High School Varsity games generally start between 4:00pm and 4:30pm on weekdays. On Saturday, they can start anytime. JV games generally follow right after the varsity game.
Freshman and Middle School games generally start between 4:00pm and 4:30pm on weekdays. On Saturday they can start anytime.
Youth games generally start at or after 6:00pm on weekdays. On Saturday they can start anytime.
How many officials are assigned to a game?
There are always 2 officials assigned to a game with the exception of youth 3/4 games where there is 1 official. In rare circumstances there may be one official on a sub varsity HS game or a 5/6 or 7/8 youth game.
How do I get games?
Our chapter works with a game assignor who is hired by the schools, youth leagues, and clubs to assign officials to games. Our assignor is also an official and will get to know you and what your skill level is. The assignor will assign games through game assigning software which you will be registered on. It will be your responsibility to regularly check your game assignments, accept them, and maintain your availability calendar. Failure to do this will result in the loss of games.
Our assignor also assigns a number of local summer and fall tournaments as well as several winter leagues. You just have to let him know you want to work.
You can search out other tournaments around the country and connect with the assignor if you want to travel to do games.
How do I let the assignor know when I can work?
You will be given access to the assigning software once you complete the course work and on-field training. You will have an 'availability calendar' that you will be responsible to accurately maintain. Using this calendar you can block days or parts of days you are unavailable. Days you are available you leave open. When the assignor sees you are open he knows he could assign you a game or games. Note that just because you are open you may not be assigned a game if there are none in your area that day.
In addition to the availability calendar you can also set a starting point and travel limits (how many miles you are willing to travel to a game) for each day of the week. The more restrictive your travel limits are, the less likely you are to get games because there may not be games within your limits that day.
How many games will I be assigned?
How much you work will depend on your availability. You manage your availability through the assigning software. The more available you are, the more games you can get. As you improve as an official you can get higher level games.
Are officials employees of the Officials' Chapter / Assignor / school / NJSIAA / USA Lacrosse or some other organization?
No. Each official is an independent contractor who makes themselves available to an assignor to be assigned games. While an official may be a teacher and thus an employee of a school or school district, they are not an employee when they officiate. Officials are independent contractors.
How are the officials organized?
Individual officials belong to a "Chapter" which organizes and presents the annual rules interpretation, organizes ratings/evaluations of officials, and provides continuing education for officials. The Chapters are recognized by USA Lacrosse and NJSIAA.
What about liability insurance?
Your membership with USA Lacrosse includes liability insurance.
What about dealing with parents?
Most parents are there to support their child and their team. Unruly parents are the exception, although they get the most publicity. A good thing about girls lacrosse is you are outside on a big field, you are working with a partner, and there are specific rules governing where parents can be relative to the field. We address this in class and you will learn the basic rule is to not engage with fans.
If you do encounter unruly fans at a HS/MS game you should not get directly involved. You can ask the site manager and/or the coaches to deal with the problem. They don't want unruly fans any more than you do. By rule they also have a responsibility to help maintain control of the game, which includes the fans.
At a youth game you can ask the designated sideline managers and the coaches to deal with unruly fans. The youth league does not tolerate unruly fans. Bad behavior can be reported to the league.
Officials manage the game. Coaches, site managers, and sideline managers manage the fans.
How about difficult coaches?
The best tools for dealing with a difficult coach are knowledge of the rules and calmness. Coaches have a right to ask questions about calls and situations. They want to understand what happened and why. Know the rules and speak calmly in the language of the rules when answering questions. If you made a mistake admit it. If a question has to do with something your partner did and you’re not sure what happened tell the coach you will find out. Remember that you, your partner, and the coach all have a different view of the action based on where everyone is positioned.
Coaches don't have a right to give a running commentary on the officiating or make a personal comment about an official. You can warn coaches about their behavior and try to deescalate difficult situations. We address this in class and the rules do allow for penalizing coaches for misconduct.
On the youth side, the coaches are volunteers but this does not give them the right to behave badly. Same things apply to dealing with them as with HS/MS coaches. The youth league does not tolerate poorly behaved coaches. Bad behavior can be reported to the league.