ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCEMENTS

Keith Urkiel was named the Massachusetts Intercholastic Athletic Association Girls Soccer Official of the Year for 2021-22! Congratulations, Keith! Keith is the first member of the Western Massachusetts Soccer Officials Association to be recognized as an official of the year by the MIAA. Also, John Rockett was named the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Soccer Official of the Year for 2023-24! Congratulations, John! Jeannette Boudway and her Deerfield Academy girls varsity team have been recognized for their outstanding sporting conduct and exemplary play during the 2023 season with the Frederick Ames award.

The Western Massachusetts Soccer Association will conduct two Rules Interpretation Meetings before the beginning of the 2024 season. Both meetings will occur in the cafeteria of Smith Academy in Hatfield. The first meeting will be held on Monday August 26 and the second meeting will be held on Thursday September 5. Both meetings will begin at 6:30 PM. Members must attend one rules interpretation meeting. Also, the Association will conduct a Mid-Season Membership Meeting at a date and time TBD. Finally, the Association will have a membership banquet at a date and time TBD. As always, all WMSOA members must register with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. Registration began on July 1. Similarly, all WMSOA members must have Concussion training. That instruction can be obtained at the NFHS.learn website. The certificate of completion of the NFHS training should be emailed to Keith Lepine. His email address is kjlepine@yahoo.com. The Association offers instructional classes for new members during August of each year. The classes occur during convenient weekday evenings at the Deerfield Inn. The instructional course consists of six two hour classes. Interested persons should contact Dan Peters at danp17@yahoo.com. New members must register with the MIAA and fulfill the standards of the background review of that organization. Please, email Dan Peters at danp17@yahoo.com, if you wish to become a member of the WMSOA or know someone who would like to join the Association.

During the 2023 season and those of the future, the official jersey of the WMSOA will be the USSF jersey. The primary color of the WMSOA jersey is yellow, still. Also, the secondary color is green. WMSOA officials are expected to wear the 2-stripe referee socks. The official jerseys and colors of the WMSOA are depicted below: