20072008ratingcommitteeofficialassignments.doc _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

All:

It is with great pleasure that I wish to introduce myself to all of you as the Rating Committee Chair, as approved by the E-Board, fro the 2007-2008 season. I would like to begin by thanking the previous chair, Shawn R. Baker, for all of his hard work, dedication to the Board, and for moving the Rating Committee forward over his term of the last three years. I would also like to thank all of the members of the committee for all of their hard work as well. As a result of the systems put in place over the last number of years we have seen the number of appeals decrease, more information shared, and what I believe to be a more inclusive process put in place.

That being said, there is still room for improvement. To that end, I am currently attempting to set up informal information and discussion sessions for each rating category so that anyone who wishes can have input into the rating criteria and process for the upcoming season. My goal is to have a session for Group 3 and newer officials, a session for the Group 2 officials, and a session for the Group 1 officials. While they will be set up for each classification, anyone is free to attend any session. The goal of these sessions are to continually improve and tweak our rating system so Board #11 can continue to be on the cutting edge of rating classifications. They are not and will not be sessions to rehash personal situations. Again, the goal is the benefit of the entire board and not the individual. The individual official should continue to strive to improve and seek out information and techniques to improve their individual game. However, I agree that the rating system, criteria, and process should lend guidance in that individual quest.

Once I get the dates set, please make every effort to attend the session for your rating category. I believe the more ideas that are shared, the better the system can be. Topics I intend to address at these sessions include, but are not limited to, the Group 1 referee and umpire system, the automatic movement process, the godparent system, role and responsibility, evaluation sheets and process, a possible mentor program, coordination with the Board Interpreter (Layne Drexel) and Workshop Committee Chair (Randy Henzes), on-floor clinics for each level, transfer members, and rating classifications in general.

Once again, I am humbled to be your Rating Committee Chair and I look forward to serving you. I will be announcing this year's prospective committee members in the near future. Other than the people I've already approached (thank you), if anyone is interested in serving on the committee or you have any comments in general regarding the system that you wish to share with me personally, please feel free to contact me.

Walt Connor
Ratings Committee Chair

(302) 323-0690 (H)
(302) 773-1740 (W)
(800) 224-4480 ext. 31740
(302) 373-9852 (Cell)
KECDAD@COMCAST.NET

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