Registration is now open for the annual IHSA Summer Officials Conference.  “Learning, Growing, Giving” will be the theme for this year’s event. 

The conference is scheduled for July 7-8 and will be held in Normal, Illinois. IHSA officials can register for the event via the IHSA Officials Center (for any questions on registration, please contact Melissa Burt at mburt@ihsa.org).

Each summer, the IHSA holds a summer officials conference for the over 10,000 licensed athletic officials in Illinois, providing training in all sports in a collegial atmosphere focused on empowering officials to grow in their craft. This year’s theme plays on that, recognizing the various stages officials go through during their officiating careers.  Learning leads to growth, and as officials grow in their officiating careers, they are able to give back to communities all around the state.

For the first time in the history of the conference, the IHSA will partner with Habitat for Humanity over the conference weekend to support a tool/materials drive that the local Bloomington-Normal Habitat for Humanity agency can use for future projects. “The Summer Conference is always one of the highlights of the yearly IHSA calendar, and we are excited to connecting the giving nature of service displayed by IHSA officials with the local Habitat for Humanity in Bloomington-Normal to help that agency serve the local community with their service,” IHSA Associate Executive Director Kurt Gibson said.

For the 2022-23 school year, in spite of a national officials’ shortage, the IHSA distributed over 1,700 more licenses than in 2021-22, helping member schools around Illinois play thousands of interscholastic contests in sports ranging from volleyball to lacrosse. “We hope that the uptick in licenses this year will continue next year, as people continue to show interest in getting off the sidelines and into the action by becoming officials, and this conference can be a great way to get started,” said Gibson.

Serving as keynote speakers for the weekend are former MLB umpire Larry Young and Officially Human CEO Brenda Hilton. After umpiring  Major League Baseball games for twenty-four years, Larry Young is now entering his 17th  year  as a supervisor of umpires.

His umpiring career started at the age of thirteen on the sandlots of his native Oregon, Illinois. He then progressed to officiating in the Big Ten and the Alaskan League. He turned professional in 1978, and  after a five year stint in the minor leagues, he was promoted to the American League in 1985. When the two leagues combined in 1999, he was promoted again to crew chief, a position he held until an injury forced his retirement in 2007. During his MLB career he umpired two All Star games, six Division series, three league championships and the 1996 and 2003 World Series.

Young became an umpire supervisor in 2008. His current  priorities include Major League umpires  and international umpires.  He is an advisor to the World Baseball and Softball Confederation  and  is the umpire coordinator for the World Baseball Classic. He has conducted clinics for the US Marines, US Air Force, Wounded Warrior Umpire Academy, and  has instructed  in Nicaragua, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Japan, South Africa, Panama, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, Australia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Korea, Italy, England, Cuba, Peru, China, India, and Aruba.

Young is a pancreatic cancer survivor and is an advocate to others who fight this disease.

Brenda Hilton has spent the last 22 years working in officiating and collaborating with assignors and officials from youth to the highest level of Division I. Over the years, Brenda grew to appreciate what officials bring to sporting events and to value their position as leaders on and off the fields and courts. Seeing the crisis brewing in the officiating space with the shrinking number, lack of retention and poor treatment of officials, she knew she had to do something to ensure there were sports officials at all levels for generations to come.

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have two deeply connected individuals in the officiating space to meet and speak with attendees this year,” said Gibson. “Both Larry Young and Brenda Hilton are respected officials with a perspective that we are sure will resonate with conference attendees.

The conference will feature clinic opportunities, breakout sessions on specific officiating topics, a delegate meeting for all recognized officials’ associations, and an awards ceremony where officials of the year and service awards will be presented.

Individuals wishing to register for this year’s conference can do so in the IHSA Officials Center or by contacting Melissa Burt at mburt@ihsa.org.