Probably the most frequently asked question I've had so far is how do the accreditations work and what do you do to get to the next step. Below is an overview of what the levels mean and a guide to what you need to do, set out differently to the Volleyball Australia site.
Referee Accreditation Overview:
The level of your accreditation has an impact on what events you are eligible to referee, what positions you may be eligible to hold at an event and in some cases the payment you will receive.
Level 1: There are a number of reasons to start your refereeing journey:
- You are interested in refereeing and happy doing social and community competitions.
- You are in an ACT team and it's a requirement.
- You are going to be refereeing at Australian Volleyball Schools Cup.
- Regular attendance at interstate events (including beach volleyball).
- Your team always makes you referee when you have duty, so you may as well get paid for it.
It all starts with the Level 1 accredditation.
Level 2: If you are interested in refereeing and are keen to be involved in refereeing at national development events, or having priority for the higher level games locally, or you are one of the regular week to week referees then Level 2 accreditation is a good option for you.
Level 3: If you want to be refereeing at national level events or starting to take on other roles then ideally you’ll progress to Level 3.
If you are interested in progressing beyond that, Volleyball Australia will play a larger part in your development from Level 3 onwards.
How to get there:
Level 1: You will need to complete the online courses, apply online here and pay the fee. In a day or two you will be issued your Level 1 Certificate. If you are keen to start refereeing in VACT competitions email admin@volleyballact.com.au, advise you have completed the Level 1 Course and ask to be added to the list of weekly referees. You will also need to provide your bank account details and for anyone over 18, you're working with vulnerable people card.
Level 2 Associate: To progress from Level 1 to Level 2 Associate you will need to enrol in the next face-to-face Level 2 Referee Course and successfully complete the course. You will also need the certificates of completion for the following online courses;
- Australian Sports Commission: Community Officiating General Principles,
- Sports Integrity Australia: Child Safeguarding in Sport Induction,
- Play by the Rules: Harassment and Discrimination;
Once you have completed the online requirements you will be able to add them to your enrollment and the upgrade will be processed once everything has been provided and your attendance at the course has been confirmed.
Level 2 State: Once you are a Level 2 Associate you will need to have 1 x first referee, 1x second referee assessment and 1 scoresheet completed successfully or arrange 1 letter of support from a Level 3 or above referee and 1 letter of support from Volleyball ACT. Once you have the assessments/letters of support you can apply for your Level 2 State Upgrade online here. You will also need to complete/update the Sports Integrity Australia and Play by the Rules courses noted for Level 2 associate if it has been more than 12 months since you last completed it. Once you have everything, apply online via the Accreditation Portal for the upgrade. It can take up to 10 days for this upgrade to be reviewed and processed. However, you start nominating to referee at development events like Australian Youth Volleyball Championships and Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships straight away.
If you are aiming to progress past Level 2 State, this is the stage where you will be asked which discipline of volleyball you want to progress in. It is possible to hold both indoor volleyball and beach volleyball simultaneously, but you must apply for each upgrade and maintain both accreditations separately.
Level 3 Indoor: In order to obtain your Level 3 for Indoor you will need to provide;
- a letter of endorsement from VACT;
- Sports Integrity Australia: Child Safeguarding in Sport online course certificate of completion;
- Play be the Rules: Harassment & Discrimination online course certificate of completion;
- Sports Integrity Australia: Competition Manipulation and Sports Betting online course certificate of completion;
- an individual development plan;
- provide a summary or CV of officiating duties (include 1st, 2nd, scorer, lines and any other related duties undertaken) and other relevant personal development activities.
You will also need to provide evidence that you have demonstrated competency based on the Volleyball Australia Referee Commission Grading Summary. Without going into too much detail there are a few different options for this:
A) Referee at, and obtain a letter of support from the Referee Delegate at Australian Youth or Australian Junior Volleyball Championships within the 4 years prior to your application.
B) Referee at, and ontain at least 2 letters of support from other National Tournaments where the Referee Delegate has been endorsed by VARC (for example Australian Volleyball Schools Cup, UniSport Nationals, Good Neighbour Honours) in the 4 years prior to your application.
C) Referee at and obtain at least 4 letters of support from a Referee Delegate at a State Championship, State League Finals, State Cup or equivalent in the 4 years prior to your application. Note: The Referee Delegate must be Level 4 or International and you cannot have more than 2 letters from the same Referee Delegate.
D) A combination of B & C within the 4 years prior to your application.
Once you have all of the documents you require please return to the accreditation portal, upload the documents and pay the fee (if you are unsuccessful half of the fee will be refunded). For Level 3, the applications will be determined by Volleyball Australia Referee Committee at meetings held twice per year, usually in May and October, therefore your applications need to be finalised before 30 April and 30 September to ensure they are considered at the next meeting.
Level 3 Beach: Obtaining your Level 3 for Beach is essentially the same, but because beach volleyball primary operates as a tour rather than a tournament they are categorised slightly differently. The outline for Beach is:
- a letter of endorsement from VACT;
- Sports Integrity Australia: Child Safeguarding in Sport online course certificate of completion;
- Play be the Rules: Harassment & Discrimination online course certificate of completion;
- Sports Integrity Australia: Competition Manipulation and Sports Betting online course certificate of completion;
- an individual development plan;
- provide a summary or CV of officiating duties (include 1st, 2nd, scorer, lines and any other related duties undertaken) and other relevant personal development activities.
You will also need to provide evidence that you have demonstrated competency based on the Volleyball Australia Referee Commission Grading Summary. Examples of the different options are:
A) Referee at and obtain 1 letter of support from the Referee Delegate at Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships.
B) Referee at and obtain at least 2 letters of support from the Referee Delegates at Australian Beach Volleyball Tour, Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Tour or an Australian hosted World Pro Tour events where the Referee Delegate/Referee Coach is endorsed by VARC.
C) Referee at and obtain at least 4 letters of support from a Referee Delegate at Mikasa Cup events, State Championships, UniGames nationals and/or Australian Beach Volleyball Schools Cup.
D) A comination of B & C.
Once you have your Level 3 in your preferred discipline you can now nominate to referee at national events, and from time to time locally hosted international events. The other change when you reach Level 3 is you will now be in a position to start helping other referees. You can start mentoring and completing assessments, run courses and development workshops, as well as start nominating for delegate/assistant delegate/referee supervisor roles.
Hopefully the above outline is helpful. Please email admin@volleyballact.com.au if you still have questions or visit the referee accreditation page for the remaining links.
