Interested in becoming a Colorado volleyball official? Start by clicking this link:
New referee interest form
and filling out the form. No experience is necessary, and we provide training! The girls’ season is in the Fall, and the boys’ season is in the Spring.
The Colorado Volleyball Officials Association (CVOA) oversees high school volleyball officials statewide and is divided into geographic areas. Visit the CVOA website (https://cvoaref.org) for information about officiating, Area Directors, training, calendars, and other resources, and consider middle school volleyball as an additional opportunity to gain experience in a lower-pressure environment.
We will forward your information to the appropriate Area Director(s), who will contact you, answer your questions, and help you get started.
You will be an independent contractor. You must be at least 18 years of age. To be a member of CVOA and eligible to referee volleyball, you’ll need to pay CVOA dues and insurance, which cost about $170 per year. You typically earn that back in less than two days of officiating.
You can block dates you don’t want to (or can’t) work, and you don’t need to give any reason. Scheduling is done on a website. Please decide on and use a single email address for everything related to CVOA volleyball officiating. We can’t guarantee the number of assignments you will receive; generally, you get more assignments as you gain experience.
The regular season runs from mid-August through the end of October, with the postseason in early November. Most of the games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with some all-day tournaments on Saturdays. There are no Sunday games.
You will usually be assigned two matches, sometimes 3, with the first match often beginning at 4:30 PM. Each match usually lasts 60 to 90 minutes. You’re expected to be at the gym in uniform 30 minutes before match start time because there are some pre-match tasks. You won’t need to set up any equipment.
Each match has a crew of two officials: R1 (first referee, on the stand) and R2 (second referee, by the score table). You will do about an equal number of matches as R1 and R2 (you will learn both). Each match lasts one to 2 hours.
Uniforms are required, and you’re responsible for buying them. You need a small number of officiating items — a whistle, a lanyard for your whistle, red and yellow penalty cards, a flipping coin, a ball pump and gauge. There’s a small cost for these, but we’ll help you procure them.
You’ll also have many opportunities to officiate middle school volleyball, although that’s outside of CVOA’s scope. It’s a great way to get familiar with the sport in a more informal, low-pressure setting, but you won’t learn as much or as quickly by refereeing only middle school matches.
We need good officials who facilitate and make volleyball a positive experience for all participants! Volleyball refereeing is fun, and we look forward to having you join us!
If you respond to the form (link is above), you’ll be on our list, and we’ll get back to you sometime in May about upcoming training events. You can also check our website for dates and announcements.
To get a sense of what’s involved and what volleyball officiating is like, to help you decide if this is right for you, check out our Training page.
In order to become a high school volleyball referee, one must complete the following:
- Pay dues
- Pass the CVOA pre-season volleyball test with a 75% or greater
- Attend 2 study sessions (many are during the season)
- Attend 1 regional clinic in-person (preferred) or online
- First-year officials: Attend mechanics (signals) training (to not be provisional during second year)
We look forward to meeting you and having you join our ranks today. For additional information, email us at moc.liamg@feraovc