Frequently Asked Questions

High and middle school lacrosse season runs from generally April to June. There are many opportunities to officiate lacrosse throughout the year, both outdoors and indoors.

High school varsity, JV and youth games have two - 25 minute halves. The clock runs continuously each half except for the last two minutes, or if a timeout is called with one exception; the clock is stopped after every goal. Umpires are expected to arrive at the game site 30 minutes prior to the start of the game.

Sub Varsity games sometime use “running time” for their matches. This is a decision made by the coaches only. Officials will take direction from the coaches concerning time. “Running Time” means that time will not be stopped after goals and will continue to run, except for the last two (2) minutes of play or if the official call for time.

Lacrosse games are generally played during the week after school in late afternoons, evenings, and Saturdays. There is no Sunday games at the high school level.

Game location can vary and it is important for each official to follow up on where the game is being played prior to your assignment. Most games are played at the school of the home team. However, some schools use alternative field away from the school, but within the town.

There are many companies that provide online shopping. CWLOA does not sponsor and specific vendor, the following links have been used by some of our current officials:

The Officials Corner

That can vary significantly. First year umpires generally umpire fewer lacrosse games, and are often matched up with more experienced umpires on junior varsity and youth games, while experienced umpires will be assigned more varsity high school lacrosse games. Games are assigned based on current rating/skill level, availability, geographic location, and willingness to travel.

CWLOA has assignors that schedule officials to games in different parts of the state. It is important for you, to getting to know your assignor. All officials should be willing to travel wherever assigned, but it would be helpful for you to communicate this to each assignor.

Games are assigned through HYPERLINK "http://www.arbitersports.com/" http://www.arbitersports.com/ an online scheduling tool. Email is a must!! Once you have completed your training, you will receive a welcome email to upload your profile into ArbiterSports and make yourself ready for assigning.

All officials should become familiar with the Blocking tool in ArbiterSports, as this will allow you the ability to block dates and/or times that you are available to work games. It is extremely important to keep this updated.

Checking your email, should become a daily task during the season, as game assignments can be sent daily. Once you accept a game, you are obligated to work that game. If for some reason you need to turn back a game, you can be subjected to a fine.

College games are officiated by umpires who have a District, National or International rating. As umpires improve in skills and have fulfilled the USL guidelines, they may be considered to advance in a rating. Approval by the CWLOA Board must be attained before advancing in a rating.

Every effort will be made to assign two (2) officials to every game. However you may be assigned to a sub varsity level game by yourself. These are sometime more difficult to handle and require more physical stamina, as you are covering the whole field alone. Coaches and AD are aware that you will be working alone and will expect a different level of officiating.

If you are working a game alone, you can expect to be compensated for an additional ½ game fee.