Jodi Murphy
Hirayama Inducted into Hall of Fame, Annual ...
Jodi Murphy
SAVRA in Action!
Jodi Murphy
On-Site Training Valuable for Officials

SAVRA orchestrated an on-court training session for its officials Oct. 2 at Ridgeline High School as the Falcons paired off against the Pullman Greyhounds.

Jodi Murphy
A packed house at Mt. Spokane-Mead matchup
Jodi Murphy
End of the Season Banquet Celebrates Service ...

Barb Twohig, inductee into the SAVRA Hall of Fame as well as Contributor of the Year honors. See the photo gallery of the celebration as well as the rest of the awards and ratings for 2023.

End of the Season Banquet Celebrates Service & Looks to the Future

August 2019 Newsletter

A New Season . . . Let’s Get Started

Basic Training

Trainer Barb Twohig will be joined this year by longtime official Linda Kildewin conducting basic training classes for first-year and all apprentice officials. They kick off the season Aug. 11, 5-7 p.m., in Jepson Center 017 at Gonzaga University with the first of six classroom training sessions, coupled with three on-court sessions, Aug. 25, Sept. 15 and Oct. 6 at University High School.

High School Training

For those officials working primarily high school matches or aspiring to work high school matches, Debbie Spray and Shawna Sheehan will conduct Sunday training sessions, 5-6 p.m. in Jepson 014, beginning Aug. 18, with on-court training sessions Aug. 25 at Whitworth University; Sept. 15 and Oct. 6 at U-High.

College Training

Alan Hirayama and Dale Goodwin are back conducting college training for any official who works college matches or aspires to join the college ranks. They meet Sundays in Jepson 120, 5-6 p.m. beginning Aug. 18, with an on-court session Aug. 25 at Whitworth University during a Pirate scrimmage. Other on-court sessions, Sept. 15 and Oct. 6, will be at U-High.

June 2019 Newsletter

Training Opportunities Abound, Take Advantage

Whew, summer has arrived. Time to refresh. For some, a few national volleyball tournaments are still to be called. But for most, this is a time to think about your goals for the fall season, what you want to improve upon and what you can do to become the best partner you can be. Please consider these valuable training opportunities at little or no cost, all offered locally, to help you step up your game. Those who assign you will be taking notes on who chooses to participate in self-improvement initiatives.

April 2019 Newsletter

Michele Oty is a working mother of two young children. The oldest, daughter Mia, is playing U12 volleyball. She’s busy ferrying kids from one place to another. In addition, she is completing her first year as a volleyball official, and she is loving it. But a quick-glance volleyball checklist of things to do each season would help her stay organized and fulfill her obligations.
 
Retention has become a concern to the SAVRA Board of Directors as keeping officials from one year to the next has become increasingly more difficult. So how can we be better as an organization and individuals in doing the right things to help our new officials want to stay involved with us?
 
Oty believes a housekeeping checklist is a start. “I need that checklist to make sure I’m following up on everything . . .” Federation test completed, check. Packed ref bag with all the tools, check. Make a captains’ meeting list of things to cover, check. Copied the most recent list of SAVRA officials and their contact info, check.  
 
She believes replacing some of the classroom training sessions with more on-court sessions would help, too. “Sometimes we need to see it to understand what our trainers are telling us.”

February 2019 Newsletter

Gonwicks Wasting No Time 

Jason, Mallory and Gretta, aka Kit, at the HUB working a January match. For those who haven’t heard, Gretta is quite impatient. As Jason was preparing to transport Mallory to the hospital on Nov. 28, Gretta was born in their home on the kitchen floor. She’s obviously not one for wasting time. Mom and baby are doing well. Oh, and Jason has been appointed SAVRA's new secretary (see story below). 


PAVO Offering Spring Training Camps

Excellent opportunity for intermediate and advanced officials. Officials are videotaped calling spring college matches and reviewed with nationally trained clinicians. These camps span the country, and run mid-February through mid-April. Scholarships are available. To learn more, click on https://pavo.org/Training/Training-Camps 

December 2018 Newsletter

Wishing You a Wonderful Holiday Season 

From all of us on the SAVRA Board of Directors and their advisers, may the blessings of this most Holy season be upon you and your families, and thanks for making this past year a special one for all of us. What do you say we do it again in 2019?

Wellman Newest Hall of Fame Member

Rusty Wellman, longtime referee, leader, trainer and mentor, became the seventh inductee into the SAVRA Hall of Fame on Nov. 19. But as impactful as Rusty has been in those roles, it may have been his professional conduct that distinguished him as much as anything else. He exemplifies the kind of official so many others aspire to be.

He began officiating his daughter’s matches, joined SAVRA in 1985 and by 1990 was officiating Division I college matches, earning both USAV and PAVO national ratings. He officiated one NCAA tournament, and several NWAC and WIAA state championship tournaments. In 2002, he received PAVO’s Meritorious Service Award for his work in helping develop and administer our advanced training program. He served as SAVRA assistant treasurer and advanced trainer, WOA state clinician, and as a member of the Rating Committee and advanced training cadre for all but one of the last 15 years.