New Officials: How to Use Arbiter

(Image Source: ArbiterSports)

Last Edited: October 2017

ArbiterSports is the software that PVOA uses to communicate and assign games.  Arbiter is used for training, evaluations, communication, assigning, and game management and is used nationwide by recreational, high school, and college assignors.

ArbiterSports started as "The Arbiter" in 1984 as a method of assigning sports officials to matches and managing their assignments.  It was later acquired by the NCAA in 2008 and rebranded to "ArbiterSports".  The current CEO of is Jeff Triplette, who also works for the NFL as a head referee.

PVOA uses ArbiterSports to communicate with officials, to assign games, and to generate paysheets for officials.  In addition, one of the benefits of Arbiter is that it sends out automated e-mails to officials in the following situations:

• Game(s) are assigned
• Game(s) have been unassigned
• Status of game changes (such as being cancelled, etc)
• Reminders of assigned games 2 days before the scheduled game time

This is why it is very important to consistently check e-mails during the season.

Note: ArbiterMobile is a feature of ArbiterSports that allows you to perform Arbiter functions on your mobile device.  This service is a premium paid feature for Arbiter and is not required.  Arbiter is free to use for officials for basic features.

Select a tab below to learn about different features of Arbiter:

Creating an Account

Officials must be "invited" to join ArbiterSports and the PVOA group.  Once you have been added to the system, you will receive an e-mail with instructions on setting up your account.

Note: Sometimes e-mails from ArbiterSports may filtered as Spam so make sure you check this folder as well.

The Arbiter welcome e-mail looks like this:

Note: It is important to log into Arbiter using the User ID and Password that you received from the e-mail.  Arbiter accounts for officials are free so you should never be asked to pay a fee.

After creating your account, you will be part of the "PVOA" group in Arbiter.  The main page will host all of the announcements as well as an important feature: the "Ready to be Assigned" checkbox.

Note: The "Ready to be Assigned" checkbox indicates to the Commissioner that you are eligible to receive games.  If this checkbox is not checked, you will not be able to receive games.

After checking the "Ready to be Assigned" checkbox, you will need to set up your profile.

Setting Your Profile

Your Arbiter profile contains your contact information.  Access your profile by clicking on the "Profile" tab on the navigation bar on the top.

Your first name and last name should already be filled in.  If changes need to be made, make the necessary changes and click "Save".  The e-mail address that is in the system will be where Arbiter will send you e-mails.

Note: Your e-mail address also serves as your username to Arbiter.  If you change the e-mail address, your username will also be changed.

After verifying your user information, fill out your contact information including phone numbers and your physical address - both are required.

Note: Your address is used to calculate the distance to games sites when games are assigned.  If the you do not have an address entered, then you will show up last in the list of available officials.  Additionally, your address will be used by PVOA as the address of file to send your paychecks and 1099 forms (if applicable).

Note: Phone numbers are required so that the Commissioner is able to contact you on short notice for game changes or other actions.

After making all necessary changes/additions, click "Save" to save your profile.

Setting Blocks

Arbiter gives you the ability to "block" days that you can't work or even block hours that you can't work.  Making sure your blocks are up to date is important because it avoids you being assigned games during a day/time you are not available.

To access your calendar, select the Blocks tab on the navigation bar.

On the left hand side of the page under the section Action, you will have the option to block a whole day or block part of a day.  Select which option you would like to do.

To Block a Whole Day

1. Select Block All Day under the Action menu.
2. Put in the date range if you want to block multiple days and select the days of the week you want the block to apply for.
3. Click Apply to apply your blocks.
4. The calendar days will show up red for days that are completely blocked.

                                  or

1. Select Block All Day under the Action menu.
2. Click on the day on the calendar that you want to block.
3. The calendar day will show up red for days that are completely blocked.

To Block Part of a Day

1. Select Block Part Day under the Action menu.
2. Put in the time range that you want to block.
3. Put in the date range if you want to block multiple days for the same time and select the days of the week you want the block to apply for.
4. Click Apply to apply your blocks.
5. The calendar days will show up salmon/pink for days that are partially blocked.

                                  or

1. Select Block Part Day under the Action menu.
2. Put in the time range that you want to block.
3. Click on the day on the calendar that you want to block.
4. The calendar day will show up salmon/pink for days that are partially blocked.

After you have finished your blocks, you can view your blocked schedule in your calendar day.  Days in blue are days with assigned games, days that are salmon/pink represent days with partial blocks, and days that are red represent whole day blocks.

To remove a block, click on "Clear Blocks" under the actions and either select the calendar day that you want to clear the block from or a date range that you want to clear the block from.

Note: Please update your blocks regularly to ensure that you are not scheduled games when you are not available.

Responding to Your Games

When you are assigned games, Arbiter will send you an e-mail saying "You have new games from Potomac Valley Officials Association...".  That will be a clue that you have assigned games waiting in the system.

To view your assigned games (all previously assigned games or all past games), click on "Schedule" on the top navigation bar.

Note: After clicking on "Schedule", the newly assigned games will be displayed with a yellow shading.  The process for accepting/declining games is a 2 step process: (1) Click "Accept" or "Decline" and then (2) click "Submit".

Viewing Your Schedule

To view your schedule click on the Schedule tab in the navigation bar.  Your schedule will show your past games, your future games, and any game assignments that you have not yet responded to.

In the schedule, there is a Date filter, Group filter, and Include filter.  The Date filter allows you to filter the list that is displayed based on a set range, the Group filter allows you to filter the list by different groups (if you are part of multiple groups or "Associations"), and the Include filter allows you to filter by games, events, or both.

For PVOA, it is recommended that you set Date to Future, Group to PVOA-BB (103251), and Include to All.  This will allow you to see all games and events assigned through the PVOA group.

When you initially setup your Arbiter account, your default Display is set to a View By... instead of List View.  This will cause you to see a daily, weekly, or monthly calendar format for your schedule.  The monthly calendar is nice because you can visually see when your games are assigned (i.e. "I don't have games this Saturday, but I have games next Saturday.") and your blocks, but you will be unable to accept/decline games when the display is in anything other than List View.

To change the default display to List View, locate the Display section in the left hand side of the page and click on List View.  Your view should automatically be changed.

Viewing Game Details

The most information information contained within your game details are the Date & Time, the Sport & Level, the Site, and the Fees.

Date & Time: Very simply, tells you the date and time of your games.  Please pay attention to this very carefully as officials have shown up to a site to work a game that was scheduled to them for the following week.  Also pay attention to the time, and arrive at the site no later than 15 minutes prior to the listed game time.

Sport & Level: This lists the league for which the game will be played and the level (grade or age division).  Each league has their own specific set of rules so this section will tell you which rules you need to apply for these games.

Site: The location of the game.  Most games will be held at area elementary, middle, or high schools.  This will also tell you if you are assigned to the Main Gym or Aux Gym.

Fees: This lists the game fees for this game.  Unless the game is a scrimmage or charity game, all games should have a fee attached to it.  Many times, the fee may not show up until after the game has been played and the game verified and that is normal.  When you are asked to verify your game prior to paychecks being sent out, please make sure all non-scrimmage/charity games have a game fee associated with it.