ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCEMENTS

Jason Dizek was named the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Soccer Official of the year for 2025-26! Congratulations, Jason! Jason is the third member of the WMSOA to earn MIAA recognition during recent years. John Rockett was named the MIAA Boys Soccer Officials of the year for 2023-24. Earlier, Keith Urkiel was named the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Soccer Official of the Year for 2021-22! Keith was the first member of the Western Massachusetts Soccer Officials Association to be recognized as an official of the year by the MIAA.

The Western Massachusetts Soccer Association conducted two Rules Interpretation Meetings before the beginning of the 2025 season. Both meetings occurred in the cafeteria of Smith Academy in Hatfield. The first meeting was held on Monday August 25 and the second meeting was conducted on Wednesday, September 3. Both meetings began at 6:30 PM. Members must attend one rules interpretation meeting. Members may fulfill the WMSOA rules meeting requirement by attending a rules interpretation meeting conducted by another association. Also, presently, the Association conducted a Mid-Season Membership Meeting on Wednesday, October 1 at Smith Academy in Hatfield at 6:30 PM. Pizza and soda were available to the members at that meeting. Finally, the Association enjoyed a membership banquet at the Blue Bonnet Restaurant on King St. in Northampton on Friday, November 21. The social hour began at 6 PM and dinner was served at 7 PM, that evening. 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 Artie Burke, whose email address is aeburke11@verizon.net. The Association offers instructional classes for new members during August of each year. This year, classes were conducted during each evening between Monday, August 4 and Friday, August 8 at the Deerfield Inn. Interested persons should contact Dan Peters at danp17@yahoo.com or Artie Burke at AEB11@verizon.net. 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 2025 season, 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. These jerseys, socks, and shorts can be purchased at Amazon, The Referee Store, and other online sites. The official jerseys and colors of the WMSOA are depicted below: