Line Judge Certification

Initial Line Judge Certification Requirements

Certification expires annually on June 1

1. Join the WBVO as either a Standard member or an Associate member. A Standard member is eligible for certification as a referee, line judge, and/or scorer. An Associate member is eligible for certification as a line judge and/or scorer.

2. Attend an annual line judge clinic, conducted by a PAVO-approved instructor, using current PAVO training materials (LJ Manual, LJ Video, LJ Exam, LJ Best Practices). 

3. Complete the Line Judge Examination online through the PAVO website, or click here, by December 31.

4. Upload the Line Judge Recommendation Form with three signature (see description above) annually. Upload the form on the WBVO Form Submission page.

• Signatures must be obtained from at least two different individuals, and be based on at least one 25-point set. Recommendations may be based on observations at any women’s or men’s collegiate match, or any other PAVO, USA Volleyball, or high school match officiated by referees certified by PAVO or USA Volleyball within 12 months of the date of observation.

Renewing a Line Judge Certification

Certification expires annually on June 1

1. Join the WBVO as either a Standard member or an Associate member, including timely payment of membership dues and acknowledgement and acceptance of all PAVO membership waivers and documentation.

2. Attend an annual line judge clinic as described above.

3. Complete the Line Judge Examination online through the PAVO website, or click here, by December 31.

4. Upload the Line Judge Recommendation Form with one signature (see description above) annually. Upload the form on the WBVO Form Submission page.

Initial National Line Judge Certification Requirements

Any questions related to this process may be directed to Dan Swensen, PAVO Line Judge Director, at linejudge.director@pavo.org

1.  Meet all current requirements for PAVO Basic Line Judge Certification in the season (June 1 to June 1) prior to candidacy. Reference the Basic Line Judge Certification Standards outlined above.

2.  Attend a PAVO National Rating Team (NRT) Site and be successfully evaluated by the PAVO National Rating Team. The number of NRT candidates is limited. Using the National Line Judge Candidacy Application, apply to attend a Line Judge NRT site by the due date announced in The Official Word and on the PAVO website.

3.  Term - National Line judge certification expires on December 31, four years after the year in which the rating is awarded.

4.  Acceptance - All applications will be evaluated by the NRT Director, who will make the final determination of acceptance to an NRT site.

Maintaining a National Line Judge Certification

Any questions related to this process may be directed to Dan Swensen, PAVO Line Judge Director, at linejudge.director@pavo.org

Each year within the term, National Line Judges are required to:

1. Join a PAVO Affiliated Board as either a Standard or Associate member. A late fee of $25 for Associate members or $45 for Standard members is imposed for dues paid after July 1.

2. Attend (or instruct) a line judge clinic as described above.

3. If the above criteria is met by instructing a line judge clinic, submit a statement/form describing the location and date of the clinic and the administrator/sponsor (PAVO board, conference, institution, etc).

4. By September 1 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time, take the current Line Judge Examination, online, and submit it to the PAVO NRT Director (Mara Wager, nrt.director@pavo.org).

Note: If a National Line Judge fails to meet any of the above requirements once in a renewal term, the line judge is ineligible to receive renewal points for that season. Failure to meet any of these requirements twice during one renewal term will result Nin loss of National Line Judge certification.

Renewing a National Line Judge Certification

National Line Judge Certification may be renewed through continued demonstration of excellence as a line judge. The Point Renewal System may be used in lieu of renewing by repeating the original criteria above. A renewal fee of $25 is charged to renew using the point system.

1. Six (6) points must be earned during the four-year certification term.

2. A minimum of three (3) of the six (6) total points must be earned in Category I.

3. The remaining points can be earned from any combination of the three categories.

4. Working as a referee, scorer, alternate official, etc. does not qualify for line judge renewal points.