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CAOA Football Clinic DATE CHANGE
Due to time restraints and
conflicts, the CAOA will not be conducting our own football
clinic this year. We will be co-sponsoring the MHSAA Football
Clinic on August 7 at DeWitt High School.
Please click here for the MHSAA
Football Cinic registration form.
Attending the MHSAA Football Clinic
will earn one (1) bonus meeting point towards CAOA membership in
good standing. You may earn another bonus point by working one
of the CAOA assigned football scrimmages on August 19. Scrimmage
sites and times will be announced very soon.
Again, there will not be a CAOA
football clinic on August 14. We will be co-sponsoring the MHSAA
clinic on August 7.
Sorry for any inconvenience the date
change may cause.
2010-11 Meeting Dates Now Online
Mark your calendars now for our
2010-11 meeting dates. You can view the dates by clicking here
or by using the "CAOA Meetings 10-11" link on the navigation bar
at left.
CAOA Membership Dues
All renewing and prospective CAOA
members: please pay your 2010-11 dues now. Renewal deadline is
June 1, 2010. Membership form can be found here or by using the
navigation bar at left. In addition to submitting your
registration, we encourage you to donate to our "Officials for
Kids" program at this time. (There is a place for this on the
registration form.) You can also specify your interest in
following the CAOA on Facebook. Let us know on the registration
form and we will invite you to become a fan.
Tony Payne Scholarship Fund
The CAOA has pledged $5,000 over the
next three years to the Tony Payne Scholarship fund.
Scholarships will be awarded to local student-athletes to attend
Lansing Community College. If you would like to include a
donation with your CAOA membership dues, please indicate the
amount at the bottom of your CAOA registration sheet.
Register Now for the ADT Memorial
Golf Outing
The third annual ADT Memorial Golf
Outing honors the memories of three officials—Art Willard, Don
Edwards, and Robert “Tony” Payne,—who inspired thousands of
officials and student athletes through their officiating. The
goal of this event is to endow scholarships for local student
athletes in the communities served by Jackson Community College,
Grand Rapids Community College and Lansing Community College.
The event takes place Monday, June 28th, 2010 and includes golf,
dinner, prizes and an opportunity to enjoy fellowship with
fellow officials. It takes place at the beautiful Arbor Hills
Golf Club in Jackson. The registration form is available here or
by using the navigation bar at left.
Capital Area Basketball Officials
Camp
You can now register for the 2010
Capital Area Basketball Officials Camp camp by clicking here or by using the navigation bar at
left.
The CABOC is run in conjunction with
the MSU Spartan Shoot-out which attracts some of the best high
school teams from Michigan and surrounding states. The caliber
of play at this camp is what makes this such an outstanding
officiating experience. Our staff’s goal is your improvement and
helping you to attain your goals.
The CABOC is directed by Mike Conlin.
As our members know, Mike is the Coordinator of Men’s Basketball
Officials for the Horizon League, the Heartland Collegiate
Athletic Conference, the Michigan Community College Athletic
Association and several high school leagues in the Lansing area.
Mike has worked D-I Men’s College Basketball since 1989 and
ended his on-floor career in 2007 - 08. Past participants of the
CABOC are currently working in the Horizon, GLIAC, Heartland,
WHAC, MIAA, and MCCAA. Many previous attendees have experienced
success in improving the level of their officiating and the
quality of their schedules.
The camp staff consists of D-I, II &
III men’s and women’s college officials. They are intent on
providing tangible, immediate feedback while campers work their
games.
For more information e-mail Mike at
mike@glra.net or call 517-204-6001.
CAOA Banquet a Huge Success!
The 2010 CAOA banquet was a great
success! Over 140 members and guests came out to honor our
finals officials and take part in some outstanding fellowship.
The event featured both a 50/50 raffle and a prize raffle with
all monies going toward the "Officials for Kids" program.
Following dinner, MHSAA Assistant Director Mark Uyl served as
the master of ceremonies for the evening. We had some special
guests including Jason "Big Fish" Fisher from Mason High School.
Jason was recently involved in a farming accident. Through your
generosity we were able to give the Fisher family a check for
$800 to help defray medical costs. In addition to Big Fish, we
were honored to recognize Haslett outgoing Athletic Director
Jamie Gent and Okemos outgoing Athletic Director Keith
Froehlich. Jamie and Keith have been huge supporters of the CAOA
since our inception. They were the first two athletic directors
to jump on board our scrimmage policy. Finally, the 3rd Annual
Tony Payne Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Tom Minter.
Tom was honored and deeply moved by the award, especially as it
came as a total surprise. Click here to see our photo gallery
from the 2010 banquet. If you have photos you would like to
submit for inclusion on this page, email them to Nichole Tilma.
CAOA
is Now on Facebook
Join your CAOA officiating
colleagues on Facebook by clicking here or by following the link
at the top of the navigation bar.
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Team CAOA Out in Full Force at the
W3 5K Run/Walk
The CAOA was well represented at the
Sparrow Foundation Women Working Wonders 5K Run/Walk at Hawk
Island on Sunday, September 13. Over 50 CAOA members, family,
and friends participated in the event. Team CAOA raised $1,275
for the Sparrow Foundation, more than 20% of all funds raised at
the race.
Every member of Team CAOA received a
"Whistle While You Run" t-shirt as well as a picnic lunch after
the 5K.
Jordan Parks led the way for the
team, posting a time of 19:54, good for third place overall.
Nathan Parks and Kevin Duits finished fourth and fifth overall,
respectively.
Click
here for a photo gallery from the event.
New Email Address
CAOA President, Jeff Spedoske is
using a new email address for all CAOA business. The AOL account
was compromised. The CAOA apologizes if you have received spam
email from that account. Any email regarding CAOA business for
Jeff Spedoske should be sent to
caoaofficials@gmail.com.
2009-10 CAOA Theme: A More Fit CAOA
At the most recent CAOA Board
Meeting, the board decided on a theme for the 2009-10 season.
This year, the CAOA will be putting an emphasis on getting in
shape and eating right in order to be at your best on the field
or court. Every CAOA meeting during 2009-10 will have a fitness
component incorporated into the meeting. We also have a
dedicated "Nutrition" page where you can view and print
documents containing information on basic nutrition information,
weight management, importance of fluids and more. This page can
be viewed by clicking here or using
the nutrition link on the navigation bar in the "Reference"
section.
Membership in Good Standing
Now is the time to check your MIGS
status, do not wait until the season starts! If you are a
football crew chief, please check on your entire crew as soon as
possible. You can see your status with on our web site,
www.greatlakesreferee.com, and by logging into the MHSAA site.
IF YOU HAVE NOT REGISTERED WITH THE MHSAA FOR 2009-10, WE CANNOT
MAKE YOU A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING UNTIL YOU DO SO. Please
register with the MHSAA as soon as possible so we can complete
our good standing roster. Any questions regarding MIGS status
should be directed to Membership Director, Dan Carmichael, at
jendan10@att.net.
CAOA Dues
CAOA Dues should be paid
immediately. You will not be included on the MIGS list until
your dues are up to date. CAOA dues are $40 per year ($20 for
students). Click here for a registration sheet:
http://www.greatlakesreferee.com/highschool/caoa_membership.pdf
Any questions regarding dues should
be directed to Treasurer, Eric Wills, at
ewills@loeye.com.
CAOA Mentor Program Job Description
Did you
have a veteran official that took you under his or her wing when you
were just starting out or did you wander aimlessly through this maze of
officiating without any guidance or support? In either case, we have a
way to give back and help a new official avoid those same pitfalls.
The CAOA is starting a Mentor Program
for new or inexperienced officials. Our hope is that by pairing up a
less experienced official with a seasoned CAOA member, we can help new
members avoid the pitfalls that often lead to discouragement,
disillusionment, and ultimately disinterest in officiating. If you are
a CAOA member in good standing with a positive attitude regarding
officiating and the CAOA, please consider being a CAOA Mentor.
Mentorship is not only for our most
experienced or accomplished members. In fact, an official with just a
few years experience may be more adept at guiding a new official through
today's myriad of issues.
A Mentor would be expected to be
available to the mentee for guidance, be willing to occasionally work
with the mentee on sub-varsity assignments, give both positive and
constructive feedback on performance, etc.
Again, we are looking for mentor's with
a POSITIVE attitude towards both officiating in general and the CAOA
specifically. If you qualify and are interested in becoming a CAOA
Mentor, contact me, Jeff Spedoske, by email at
caoaofficials@gmail.com.
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| CAOA presented a check for $5000 at the 2006 Boys
State Finals at the Breslin Center. |
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Officials for Kids originated in Lansing, Michigan in 2003 to support
the local fundraising efforts of Coaches for Kids and Athletes for Kids
whose goal is to construct a dedicated pediatric emergency room &
waiting room at Sparrow Hospital. Now, Officials for Kids has built a
positive image and is ready to go across Michigan to help kids in all
our communities. This initiative is a great way to become actively
involved in supporting the future of children's healthcare in Michigan.
The CAOA initially raised $1,000 toward their goal and the
figure has grown exponentially since that time. The 2007 - 08 totals
stand at $4,000, bringing the grand total raised to $13,277.
"This is a great way for officials in the capital area to give back to
the community," stated Jeff Spedoske, CAOA President. "We are very proud
to be one of the leading officials associations in the state of Michigan
to support this cause."
Officials For Kids "Give a Game" Form Now Available
The Officials for Kids program originated in
Lansing in 2003 with a goal of raising funds
for the construction of a dedicated
pediatric emergency room and waiting room at
Sparrow Hospital. Now CAOA members can
easily donate a game fee or more toward this
purpose using our printable form. All
donations are tax-deductible.
Click here
to view and print the form. You can also
read more about this project on the
Sparrow Foundation website. |