Getting Assigned
Built from VFOA officers, recorded in docs/sources.md. Last checked August 27, 2026.
Dues, fees and association practice change. Confirm with the association before relying on this.
How games reach you, how to give one back, and how you get paid. New officials need this and so does everyone else.
Who assigns games
The association's leadership manages assignments. Games are matched to officials by the level they are ready for — if you are ready for JV you will be assigned JV, and the same for varsity.
Questions about a specific assignment go through the association's leadership. If you do not know who to ask, the contact page will get you to someone who does.
The platform
Assignments run through Arbiter. Your account is created as part of registration, along with the background check, so there is nothing separate to set up.
Arbiter is where you will do all four of these:
- Keep your availability current
- Accept and decline games
- See your schedule
- Collect your payments
Submitting availability
Keep your availability up to date in Arbiter. There is no hard deadline, but have it in at least a week before the season starts — you cannot be assigned to dates the assignor cannot see you are free for.
Update it during the season as things change, rather than accepting a game and giving it back later. That is the whole trick to being easy to assign.
Accepting and declining
You accept or decline games through Arbiter, and the expectation is that you do it as quickly as you can. An assignor working through a schedule is blocked on your answer; a game you sit on for a week is a game that could have gone to someone else with no fuss.
Declining a game you cannot work is not a mark against you. Sitting on it is.
Turnbacks
Giving back a game you already accepted is the one place a new official can quietly damage their standing without realising it. The rule is simple: act professionally and tell people through the proper channels, as early as you can. A turnback three weeks out is an administrative task. The same turnback on Thursday night is someone else's problem to solve at speed.
The association's own position is worth quoting, because it is more forgiving than most:
We understand people are human and make mistakes. Do all you can to remedy problems you create and you'll be fine.
So: if you have to give a game back, say so immediately, say it to the right person, and help fix it. What damages standing is silence, not the turnback.
Crews
Crews are formed around the needs of the game and the compatibility of the people on them. Crews are rotated week to week on purpose, so that everyone becomes familiar with working alongside everyone else — you should expect to work with most of the association over a season rather than settling into one fixed crew.
Getting paid
| Game | Fee |
|---|---|
| Varsity | $97.50 |
| Junior varsity | $75.00 |
Payment runs through Arbiter, and you withdraw it by whichever of the available methods suits you.
Mileage is claimed on a form listing your mileage and the game it was for. It is reimbursed at the standard IRS mileage rate, paid back at the end of the season. After your first year, your membership dues are usually taken out of that mileage reimbursement rather than billed separately.
Taxes: Arbiter holds the 1099. This site does not give tax advice — talk to someone who does if you need it.
Playoffs
Playoff assignments lean on seniority. That said, the association deliberately tries to give newer officials a playoff game each year where it can, so the experience is shared rather than reserved for the same crews every season.
Meetings
Attendance matters. There are three or four meetings before the season, at least one of them in person, and presence is expected. During the season most meetings are virtual.