Up-coming Clinics for Officials (posted April 15, 2024)
Click here for a list of up-coming clinics by sport in Illinois. Individuals with questions can contact either the IHSA Office or the contact information for the individual(s) listed as clinician(s) for the event.
Join Our Team!
The IHSA is looking for individuals of all ages who want to return something to their communities, their local high school, and any sport they enjoy by becoming a licensed athletic official. Candidates can be as young as 15 years old, in good physical condition, and able to make decisions on their feet and stick to them.
In accordance with plans approved by the IHSA Board of Directors, 15- and 16-year olds can register as provisionally licensed officials, while those 17 and older can register as fully licensed officials. Those officials with provisional licenses are considered “officials in training” and can work local youth league, junior high level, and 9th grade level contests. To work 9th grade contests, however, the provisionally licensed official must work the contest with a fully-licensed IHSA Official. Those officials who are 17 and older and fully licensed to officiate may work contests at any level, including IHSA post-season events.
The IHSA currently licenses officials in 16 different sports: baseball, basketball, competitive cheer, competitive dance, football, boys’ gymnastics, girls’ gymnastics, boys’ lacrosse, girls’ lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling.
To become an IHSA official, an individual will need to submit an online application, and, after receiving a rule book from the IHSA, take an online, open-book rules examination. In an individual’s first season of being licensed, the individual will also need to watch an online rule presentation that will introduce you to the latest rule changes and interpretations and attend a clinic that will teach you the fundamentals of good officiating.
New License Cateogry (Provisional License)
The IHSA Board of Directors has approved the development of a new pathway for high school aged students to enter the officiating ranks. 15- and 16-year-olds may now register as officials with the IHSA under a ‘Provisional License’.
Effective January 9, 2023, 15 and 16-year-olds can register to obtain a Provision License through the IHSA website. Students who successfully complete an officiating course prior to registering can license for $10, while students who have not completed an officiating course can do so for $20. A benefit of this new program is that students who obtain provisional licenses can renew their license for that same fee through the age of 20. When registering, students will be asked to identify whether or not they have completed an officiating training course prior to registering. A course could be offered by a member school, a local officiating association, or an online training provider. RefReps is one such online training provider, and member schools will be able to learn more about their offerings through a series of webinars to be held in January or by visiting the RefReps website at www.refreps.com.
Upon registering, students will need to complete the Part 1 exam for any sport in which they are attempting to license and complete the state-required concussion training program. Students obtaining provisional licenses will not be subject to a background check until they would register for a full license at age 17, which is the current licensing practice.
Students with a Provisional License can work contests at any level or age-group below high school but are subject to any guidelines established by such an organization. Students with a Provisional License can work 9th grade level contests in the sport he/she/they are licensed, provided the student is working with a fully-licensed IHSA Official. Students with a Provisional License are not allowed to work any high school contest beyond the 9th grade level.
The aim of this new licensing level is to encourage new populations to enter the officiating community, which has seen a drop in numbers nationally over the past decade. The hope is that by offering young people an extremely cost friendly path into officiating and connecting them with local officials’ associations, young people will have a more successful entry into a lengthy officiating career.
Individuals with questions can contact Kurt Gibson at the IHSA Office.
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Many additional resources are available to licensed officials in the IHSA Officials Center.