Volleyball Officiating Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Find answers to common questions about joining the Eastern Officials Association (EOA) volleyball officiating crew, referee certifications, match assignments, and how to hire certified referees and court crews in Eastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina.

Who is EOA?

The Eastern Officials Association is a non-profit organization representing professional umpires, referees, and officials for baseball, softball, volleyball, football, swimming and diving. We provide training, monitor the efficiency and professionalism of our officials, and we are organized to provide work for our members. Our Executive Board represents the interests of our members and serves the group regionally.

You can read the EOA Constitution as well as the Policies and Procedures by clicking the links provided.

To become a certified EOA volleyball official, complete our Volleyball Official Registration Form. Once registered, our Volleyball Commissioner will contact you with details on upcoming classroom rulebook sessions, stand mechanics clinics, and court-side mentoring.

EOA provides complete training pathways for all court officiating positions:

  • First Referee (R1): The lead official on the stand responsible for ball contact calls, play flow, and overall match control.

  • Second Referee (R2): The floor official managing substitutions, net faults, alignment, and table personnel.

  • Line Judges & Scorers: Key support crew managing court boundary touches, official scorebook entry, and libero tracking.

EOA assigns volleyball officials to school gyms and sports complexes across Hampton Roads, Eastern Virginia, and Northeastern North Carolina. We regularly cover matches in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, and surrounding counties.

First and foremost, you can expect to have fun and make great relationships. Secondly, we will do our part to make sure you are properly trained and learn volleyball from a perspective you only THOUGHT you knew. Finally, you can expect to be paid well for your efforts. EOA offers officiating opportunities and/or training for every sport we represent virtually year-round. When training, we also provide comprehensive evaluation so that you know where you’re doing well and where you can improve. We work on the finer points, mechanics of officiating, and of course, knowledge of the sport. We want you to be the best official you can be, because we all together represent a fantastic organization.

You’ll also need to be able to communicate using email and the internet. Our assignments are posted online and much of our communication is through email. You’ll have to check for assignments regularly, keep up with evaluations, and communicate often.

No prior refereeing experience is required. We welcome former players, coaches, parents, and sports enthusiasts. EOA provides step-by-step training on stand mechanics, whistle technique, and hand signals, pairing new officials with experienced mentors during early assignments.

Volleyball is a fast sport, in a contained area. Therefore, being able to visually follow the action and see small details is very important. Volleyball officials must always maintain alertness and focus during play so as not to miss a detail. Many calls in volleyball require swift judgement without hesitation, so a decisive nature and confidence are key attributes to have or develop. A volleyball official on average makes over 1,000 decisions in a match.

Our officials work various leagues and settings, including the NCAA, NCCAA, NJCAA, VHSL (public high schools) and VISAA (private high schools), public and private middle schools, as well as all levels of indoor and outdoor recreational volleyball. Typically, first year officials will work their way up through youth sports and recreational leagues before moving up to high school and college level matches. If you’re a fast learner and you receive better evaluations you can expect to advance quickly. If you’re transferring in from another organization, you will be evaluated as quickly as possible and will be assigned based on your demonstrated ability. A letter of transfer from your previous organization, including a recommendation and a confirmation of the level of games/events you’ve worked, will speed up the process.

Standard volleyball officiating gear includes:

  • Attire: Approved certified white collared polo shirt, navy blue slacks, navy or black belt, and solid white or black athletic shoes.

  • Tools: Official whistle (Fox 40), lanyard, red/yellow sanction cards, coin toss, ball gauge, and net height measuring chain.

If you’re still reading, you’re obviously intrigued with the opportunity to become an official with the Eastern Officials Association. You can dive right in and enjoy it. Just like when you learned the sport you love, you didn’t know it all and couldn’t do it all on the first day. We’ll take your understanding of the sport and teach you the rest. Get started by filling out the registration form. You can get to that by clicking on the link below. From there, you’ll be contacted by our training director and you will receive an email with a link to arbitersports.com. This will officially get you into our system and all ow you to receive more information about our organization. Members of the Development Committee will be your primary point of contact to start. If you have any other questions, you can email us directly.

To secure certified R1, R2, or full-court crews for your high school season, club tournament, or league play, submit a request on our Booking Officials page or contact Volleyball Commissioner Mary Kylander directly.

Our officiating roster maintains active certifications in NFHS (VHSL), USAV, PAVO, and NCAA rule sets.

Need Additional Assistance?

Have a question not listed here? Get in touch with our volleyball department leadership directly:

  • Volleyball Commissioner: Mary Kylander

  • Contact: Email Mary

Eastern Officials Association