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GENERAL REGULATIONS
TEAM REQUIREMENTS
Each participating team is required to provide:
1.     A minimum of one 1st Referee and,
2.     A minimum of one 2nd  Referee (1st Referee is automatically qualified to be a 2nd referee) and,
3.     A minimum of one Scorekeeper (recommended to have an assistant scorekeeper to track the libero and aid with the visual score) and,
4.     Two Line Judges.
Those officials must be in attendance at every match and officiate all pool play matches and playoff matches. Note: A maximum of four people are allowed at the scorekeeping table: scorer, flipper, libero tracker and additional person in training or supervising.
Adult teams must provide capable officials for all sanctioned Gateway adult tournaments (Friendship and Regular Season). For teams to be capable they may:
*Have adult certified officials (Provisional, Regional, etc). Requirements are defined later in this document.
*Have junior qualified officials. Junior teams must complete a training process defined in the Junior Handbook.
*Attend referee / scorekeeper clinics which are scheduled every season and posted on the Gateway website.
Mentors / raters will attend adult tournaments to monitor team officiating capability and rate individuals who are in the process of becoming certified. Mentors / raters will provide feedback to officials, continue to train the officiating team, and identify problem areas which will be reported to the Gateway Office.
FEES TO PAY FOR OFFICIALS
If teams do not have capable/certified officials for matches they are scheduled to officiate, they must pay a fee of $60 per official needed. This non-refundable fee is paid to the Tournament Director, who will then ensure there are capable/certified replacement officials. It is recommended that each replacement official receive $20 per match. This fee does not "buy" the rest of the officiating team. The team that is scheduled to officiate must still provide line judges and a visual score operator.

If the tournament director is intending to furnish paid referees, the amount of payment is $20/automatic 2 sets, $25/2 of 3 match, $30/automatic 3 sets for Provisional I and higher, certified USAV referees.
Note: Background screens are required for adult officials/mentors who work junior events. The cost is $20 per screen and screens are required every other year. Background screens are prompted during the membership application process in webpoint (found on the GW homepage, www.gatewayvb.org). Individuals should apply for membership / screens at least ONE week prior to participation in events in order to allow time for the screen to clear.
CLINICS
Clinics will be offered for officiating. If you cannot attend one of the scheduled clinics (for example, your team formed late) contact the appropriate Officials' Chair as soon as possible. With prior approval of the appropriate Officials' Chair, a junior clinic may be accepted instead of an adult clinic. We can hold clinics during the daytime hours as well as on evenings and weekends.  If you would like to schedule a clinic in your area, contact the appropriate Officials' Chair.
RATINGS' FEES FOR CERTIFIED OFFICIALS
At the clinic, individuals who intend to satisfy the team requirement of providing capable officials need not submit a ratings deposit since ratings will not be required. Each person who intends to complete the certification requirements defined on page 2 and who needs to be rated, must pay a $20 refundable fee, made payable to the Gateway Region. This fee does not apply to those who are only recertifying. If all the ratings, tests and other paperwork are completed and mailed to the Gateway Region Office by March 1 of the current year, your $20 will be reimbursed. You may still turn in paperwork after the deadline, but your $20 fee will be retained by the Region.
RATINGS
Ratings can be done at any sanctioned tournament, including junior tournaments. This includes sanctioned tournaments during the friendship season.  Ratings for the provisional level candidates can be done by any Regional Referee or Regional Scorekeeper who is listed elsewhere in this handbook.  In order to move up to Regional status, ratings must be obtained from Jr. National, National or other designated officials who are listed as Regional Raters.
No ratings may be obtained without attending a clinic & completing the test.
If you encounter any unusual circumstances, contact the appropriate Official's Chair as soon as possible.  This must be done before the March 1 deadline.
FORMS
All forms must be filled out completely before you turn them in to the Gateway Region Office.  If the forms are not filled out completely and legibly, they will be returned to you, which will delay your certification process and could possibly jeopardize your $20 refundable fee for not turning in your completed forms by March 1.
All candidates who need ratings should fill out the form completely before giving the form to the rater, then only you and the rater will have to sign the rating form after the evaluation is completed. 
DEADLINES
A candidate will have until March 1 to turn in paperwork and all ratings for the current year in order to be refunded the $20 fee that was paid during the clinic. After March 1, a candidate may officiate and receive ratings, but will forfeit their $20 ratings' deposit.
PLAYOFF REQUIREMENTS  
* Teams not participating in playoffs can not be required to perform any officiating duties in playoffs.  
* Teams that advance to playoffs and then cannot continue playing for any reason must still fulfill any officiating duty required of the losing team in bracket play. 
* It is the responsibility of the individual teams to check the standings for playoff berths and/or officiating duties.
TEAM PENALTIES  
Teams that arrive late for officiating duties will be charged a $100 fine, payable to the Tournament Director to pay the replacement officials (1st Referee, 2nd Referee and Scorekeeper paid $20 each, the visual scorekeeper, each linejudge, and the Tournament Director paid $10 each). In addition, the team will be penalized one point per minute late in the next set up to a maximum of one set. 
* Teams that do not stay for officiating assignments will be fined $150 payable to the Gateway Region to, in part, pay the replacement officials (1st Referee, 2nd Referee and Scorekeeper paid $20 each, each linejudge and the visual scorekeeper paid $10 each, Tournament Director paid $20 and $40 to the Gateway Region).
* Teams with outstanding fines may not participate in any sanctioned USAV event until all debts are paid.
REGIONAL, JUNIOR NATIONAL and NATIONAL CANDIDATES
Anyone interested in becoming a Regional, Junior National or National Official, needs to apply to the appropriate Official's Chair. An application form is available at the Region Office. Prospective candidates will be reviewed by a screening committee to determine a candidate priority list. In its selection process, the screening committee will consider not only competency but the demonstrated support of and participation in regional activities. All applications must be received by January 15 of the appropriate year. The Junior National/National candidate will pay the appropriate application fee and will be reimbursed by the Gateway Region upon completion of the certification process. The Gateway Region will pay reasonable transportation expenses (i.e. airfare based on 21 day advanced purchase approved by appropriate officials' chair) to the appropriate certifying National Tournament for Junior National and National Referee Candidates and National Scorekeeper Candidates (this does not include Junior National Scorekeeper Candidates).
REFEREE REQUIREMENTS
The requirements to become a certified referee are listed below. Certified referees are able to officiate for their team in tournaments and, depending on the level of certification, may be contacted to work as a paid official at region sponsored events. To officiate at junior events, adults must have a current background screen status.
APPROVED REFEREE
An approved referee status is geared towards those who work with and train junior teams and have obtained proficiency in refereeing. A candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a junior's clinic and successfully complete the written referee exam.
     Approval must be obtained by the referee chair.
SECOND REFEREE
EVERY SEASON, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a clinic and successfully complete the written referee examination.
3.     Obtain two (2) satisfactory ratings as a second referee.
     A person certified at this level may only be a second referee.
     Certification should be completed by the end of the regular season.
     Certification expires on January 1 of the next year.
PROVISIONAL I REFEREE
TO BECOME A PROVISIONAL I REFEREE, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a clinic and successfully complete the written referee examination.
3.     Obtain three (3) satisfactory ratings, two (2) as a first referee and one (1) as a second referee.
     A Provisional I Referee may be the first or second referee.
     Certification should be completed by the end of the regular season.
     Certification expires on January 1 of the next year.
PROVISIONAL II REFEREE
TO BECOME A PROVISIONAL II REFEREE, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Be a Provisional I Referee for at least one season.
3.     Attend a clinic and successfully complete the written referee examination.
4.     Obtain three (3) satisfactory ratings, two (2) as a first referee and one (1) as a second referee.
     A Provisional II Referee may be a first or second referee.
     Certification should be completed by the end of the regular season.
     Certification expires January 1.
TO REMAIN CERTIFIED AS A PROVISIONAL II REFEREE, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a clinic, if deemed necessary by the Referees' Chair, and successfully complete the written referee examination. (Exams    may be taken online. Details are listed on the Gateway web site officials' page).
     All Provisional II Referees are subject to occasional reviews by the Referees’ Chairperson or their designee.
REGIONAL I & II REFEREE
TO BECOME A REGIONAL REFEREE, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Be a Provisional II referee for at least one season.
3.     Attend a clinic and successfully complete the written referee examination.
4.     Be certified as a Provisional II Scorekeeper or higher.
     For the first two (2) seasons of certification, the following criteria must be met:  Obtain two (2) satisfactory ratings as a first referee and two (2) satisfactory ratings as a second referee.
     Certification should be completed by the end of the regular season.
TO REMAIN CERTIFIED AS A REGIONAL REFEREE, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a Regional Referee Clinic if deemed necessary by the Referees' Chair and complete the written referee examination (Exams may be taken online. Details are listed on the Gateway web site officials' page).
3.     Perform ratings.
4.     Be available to conduct or assist with clinics.
5.     Be available to officiate at the Regional Tournaments.
    All Regional Referees are subject to occasional reviews by the Referees’ Chairperson or their designee.
NATIONAL LEVEL REFEREE
To comply with USAV’s regulations to remain active and in good standing within the Gateway Region, you must each season:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attendance at one of the scheduled Regional Referee Rating Clinics is highly recommended.
3.     Perform ratings for regional candidates and assist with other ratings as needed.
4.     Be certified as a Regional Scorekeeper or higher.
5.     Be available to be assigned to conduct or assist with clinics.
6.     Be available to officiate at the Regional Tournaments.
USA VOLLEYBALL/PAVO
RECIPROCAL REFEREE RATING AGREEMENT
A currently rated PAVO national or state referee may obtain, by reciprocity, a USAV Regional rating and a PAVO local referee may obtain a USAV Provisional I rating, with all prior experience and practical testing requirements waived, but must comply with all local requirements involving clinic attendance and written examinations.
SCOREKEEPER REQUIREMENTS
APPROVED SCOREKEEPER
An approved scorekeeper status is geared towards those who work with and train junior teams and have obtained proficiency in scorekeeping. A candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a junior's clinic.
     Approval must be obtained by the scorekeeper chair.
PROVISIONAL I SCOREKEEPER
EVERY SEASON, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a scorekeeping clinic and complete the written scorekeeper examination.
3.     Successfully complete two (2) practical ratings as a scorekeeper. One (1) of the sets must include substitutions.
     Certification should be completed by the end of the regular season.
     Certification expires January 1.
     All Provisional Scorekeepers will be subject to review by the Scorekeepers’ Chair.
PROVISIONAL II SCOREKEEPER
TO BECOME A PROVISIONAL II SCOREKEEPER, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Be a Provisional I Scorekeeper for at least one season.
3.     Attend a scorekeeping clinic and complete the written scorekeeper examination.
4.     Obtain two (2) satisfactory ratings as a scorekeeper; at least one (1) of the sets must include substitutions.
     Certification should be completed by the end of the regular season.
     Certification expires January 1.
TO REMAIN CERTIFIED AS A PROVISIONAL II SCOREKEEPER, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a scorekeeping clinic, if deemed necessary by the Scorekeepers' Chair.
     All Provisional II Scorekeepers will be subject to review by the Scorekeepers’ Chair or their designee.
REGIONAL SCOREKEEPER
TO BECOME A REGIONAL SCOREKEEPER, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Be a Provisional II Scorekeeper at least one (1) season.
3.     Attend a scorekeeping clinic and complete the written scorekeeper examination.
4.     Successfully complete two (2) practical ratings as a scorekeeper.  One (1) set must be a deciding set and at least one (1) set must         include subs. 
     Certification must be completed by the end of the regular season.
TO REMAIN CERTIFIED AS A REGIONAL SCOREKEEPER, a candidate must:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Attend a scorekeeping clinic if deemed necessary by the Scorekeepers' Chair.
3.     Perform ratings.
4.     It is highly recommended that you keep score successfully for two (2) matches annually. One (1) set must be a deciding set            and at least one (1) of the sets must include substitutions.
5.     Be available to be assigned to conduct or assist with clinics.
6.     Be available to help with the Regional Tournaments.
     All Regional Scorekeepers will be subject to review by the Scorekeepers’ Chair.
NATIONAL LEVEL SCOREKEEPERS
To comply with USAV’s regulations to remain active and in good standing within the Gateway Region, you must each season:
1.     Become a USAV member.
2.     Perform ratings for regional candidates and assist with other ratings as needed.
3.     Be available to be assigned to conduct or assist with clinics.
4.     Be available to help with the Regional Tournaments.