The Washington Area Lacrosse Officials Association (WALOA) is a to-be-formed tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that is being created through the unification of the Potomac Lacrosse Officials Association, Inc. (PLOA) and the Virginia Lacrosse Officials Association, Inc. WALOA will promote lacrosse in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area by providing boy's and men's lacrosse officiating services.
 
WALOA offers the following benefits and programs to the local lacrosse community:
1.    Inclusive organizational structure;
2.    Constitution and by-laws that provide rights and benefits to its members;
3.    US Lacrosse MDOC Level 1 (Youth) and 2 (High School) certification;
4.    Mentor program pairing experienced officials with new officials;
5.    Cross-representation on the local Potomac Chapter of US Lacrosse;
6.    Direct relationships with US Lacrosse, MPSSAA and VHSL;
7.    Contract provider to local youth leagues such as MYLA, NVYLL and SMYLA;
8.    Contract provider to Madlax, SportsPlexs and TripleEDGE;
9.    Contract provider to a majority of IAC, DC, MD and VA high schools;
10.  Online assigning, registration, dues payment and game fee payment capabilities;
11.  2012 dues are $25.00 for adult officials. Active military and students are exempt from dues; and
12.  Current membership consists of 450 officials.

WAOA will be the largest officials association in the mid-Atlantic region and hopes to greatly expand its list of benefits and programs to the local community in 2012 through the involvement of other committed lacrosse officials.

Please see the below recertification guidance for 2012.

Level 1 (Youth):

1.   Maintain your US Lacrosse membership.

2.   Take the 2012 NFHS Level 1 exam at http://www.uslacrosse.org and score 80% or better. Report your score to WALOA’s youth commissioner, Tom Quigley at thomas.t.quigley.civ@mail.mil , and your youth game assigner(s) - Bob Manfuso at bobmanfuso@comcast.net , Frank Higgins at fjhlax@gmail.com  and/or Ken Winegrad at kwine1223@yahoo.com.

3.   Attend six (6) hours of lacrosse-related classroom instruction. If classroom space is not available, certify to your assigner(s) that you have performed 6 hours of self-study of the 2012 training aids posted on www.waloa.org under the "WALOA Handouts" submenu bar for Lev. 1. (Note: attendance at the Marymount Clinic on 2/26/12 will count for 2 of the 6 required hours).

Review of the following training materials is recommended for Level 1 re-certification for those who are unable to attend training sessions:

(a)  NFHS 2012 Rules Video

(b)  NFHS 2012 Rule Changes

(c)  US Lacrosse 2012 Men’s Game Officials Training Manual

(d)  US Lacrosse 2012 2-Man Mechanics

(e)  US Lacrosse Animated Officials Signals Video

(f)  US Lacrosse 2012 Boys Rules(g)  US Lacrosse 2012 Age Rules

(h)  US Lacrosse Position Paper

(i)  US Lacrosse Level 1 and Jr. Evaluation Forms

(j)  US Lacrosse “You Make The Call” Video Clips

4.   Upon completion of Steps 1, 2 & 3, notify your assigner(s) that you are ready for assignment.

Level 2 (High School):

1.   Maintain your US Lacrosse membership.

2.   Pay MPSSAA and/or VHSL dues and obtain a VHSL #.  [Note: For 2011 officials, dues were deducted from 2011 earnings and paid to MPSSAA & VHSL; see Mike Mohnacs for clarification of VHSL #].

3.   Take the NFHS exam at https://exams.nfhs.org  (after 2/13/12).  A score of 70% (regular season high school) and 80% (post season) is required.

4.   Attend six (6) hours of lacrosse-related classroom instruction. If classroom attendance is not convenient due travel/work/etc, certify to your high school game assigner(s) - Rob Broxton at rbsportsref@aol.com , Frank Higgins at fjhlax@gmail.com  and/or Ken Winegrad at kwine1223@yahoo.com  – that you have performed six (6) hours of self-study of the 2012 training aids posted on www.waloa.net under "WALOA Handouts"  submenu bar for Lev. 2.  (Note: attendance at the Marymount Clinic will count for 2 of the 6 required hours).

Review of the following training materials is recommended for Level 2 re-certification for those who are unable to attend training sessions:

(a)  NFHS 2012 Rules Video

(b)  NFHS 2012 Rule Changes

(c)  US Lacrosse 2012 Men’s Game Officials Training Manual

(d)  US Lacrosse 2012 2-Man Mechanics

(e)  US Lacrosse Animated Officials Signals Video

(f)  US Lacrosse Level 2 Evaluation Form

(g)  US Lacrosse “You Make The Call” Video Clips

(h)  WALOA Level 2 2012 Training Updates

5.   Upon completion of Steps 1, 2, 3 & 4, notify your assigner(s) that you are ready for assignment.

Level 1 and Level 2 Advisories

Make sure you carefully review the “Broadcast” announcements you have been receiving about the recent merger of PLOA and VLOA, which also detail a number of changes relating to uniforms, etc.  There have been some significant rule changes this year relating to face-offs, advancement of the ball and offsides.

You should attend the WALOA general meeting during the Marymount clinic on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. The link to the Potomac Chapter of US Lacrosse to register for the clinic is http://www.uslacrosse.org/chapterpotomac/Events/Feb26CoachesClinicandSeasonKickOff.aspx. The deadline to register is Feb. 22, 2012.

WALOA's 2012 training and certification schedule for Level 1 (youth) and Level 2 (high school) lacrosse officials can be found under the "WALOA Handouts" submenu on the top menu bar.

NOTE: The Level 1 (youth) training offerred at Bethesda (Landon) and Woodbridge (Veterans Park) are full and we are not accepting anymore applications.