2020-21 Officials Registration Underway
June 8, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations online or by mail for game officials for the 2020-21 school year.
The MHSAA annually receives registration by more than 9,000 officials, and had 9,256 during the 2019-20 school year. The highest total of officials registered for basketball, 3,960, with football also with more than 2,000 registered officials during this past school year.
For all new and returning officials, those who register online again will receive a $5 discount off their processing fees. A $16 fee is charged for each sport in which an official wishes to register, and the online processing fee is $40. Officials submitting registration forms by mail or on a walk-up basis will incur a $45 processing fee. Officials registered in 2019-20 will be assessed a late fee of $30 for registration after Aug. 14. The processing fee includes liability insurance coverage up to $1 million for officials while working contests involving MHSAA schools.
Online registration can be accessed on the MHSAA Website. Forms also are available online that can be printed and submitted by traditional mail to the MHSAA Office at 1661 Ramblewood Drive in East Lansing. More information about officials registration may be obtained by contacting the MHSAA by phone at (517) 332-5046 or by e-mail at [email protected].
There is an officials' registration test for first-time officials and officials who were not registered during the past school year. The test is derived from the MHSAA Officials Guidebook, which also is available on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website. Additional exams must be taken by those registering for football or basketball for the first time or those who were not registered for those sports during the previous school year. Manuals for both sports are available on the Officials page. New officials and those who didn’t officiate during 2019-20 also must complete the online MHSAA Principles of Officiating course, also available on the MHSAA Website.
There also are opportunities to officiate for students at least 14 years old and in grades 9-12 through the MHSAA Legacy Program. Juniors and seniors may officiate subvarsty contests, while freshmen and sophomores may officiate contests at the middle school/junior high levels. Mentor officials will work events with Legacy participants to provide guidance and support. Find information on the Legacy Program by clicking here.
In Memoriam: Haack, Locke, Newton
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 17, 2016
From time to time, we receive news of the passing of people who have played major roles in the near-century history of MHSAA athletics. Below are notes on a few who left us this summer but made major contributions.
Ray Haack, St. Joseph – Haack taught and coached at Reese High School before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then was employed by St. Joseph High School from 1946-86. According to his obituary, Haack built a 198-86 record coaching the Bears’ boys basketball team from 1951-66. He led the 1951 and 1953 teams to Class B championships. He died July 6 at the age of 96.
Ralph Locke, Albion – Locke was an MHSAA registered official for 38 years, for basketball during his entire tenure and for football beginning in 1986. He officiated a number of MHSAA tournament contests, mostly in football but also boys basketball, and worked Semifinal and the Class AA Final for football (Detroit Catholic Central 27, Rockford 23) in 1998. He died July 29 at age 61.
Bill Newton, Farmington – Newton led Farmington to an unexpected first MHSAA ice hockey championship in 2014, his first season as varsity coach, as his team upset reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in the Quarterfinal. His teams finished 44-33-4 over three seasons with a league title this past winter, and he resigned at the end of last season in part to continue his fight against cancer, according to a report by the Farmington Observer & Eccentric. Newton had previously coached as a varsity assistant for four years and junior varsity assistant for two, the report said. He died Aug. 6 at age 55.