GRALOA has various membership categories. We have a reduced fee for those living outside of the greater Grand Rapids area. We also have a reduced fee for college students and for first year officials. For all the details, see: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16fBNraq5d8hSh3EbNwWldN4v4PPYL33KC18o5DPSo-4/edit?usp=sharing
Registration for the 2022-2023 season is currently open. The normal registration window for GRALOA members closes on August 15. Registration is required each year. You can register after August 15, but there is a late fee for previously registered officials. Click here for our Registration Form for the 2022-23 season. You can pay for your registration via PayPal at this link (please select the “Send” option – that will minimize our processing fee): https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/GRLaXOfficialsOrg?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US
The annual MHSAA registration window is about the same as our GRALOA registration window. If you are a returning official, you will have to log-in to the MHSAA website. Log-in and complete your registration. If you have never been a registered official with the MHSAA, you will need to create a log-in and proceed from there. Here is the link to the MHSAA Officials Registration webpage.
Remember, to officiate boys lacrosse high school and/or middle school games (with schools that are MHSAA member schools) during the regular season in the West Michigan area, you must be registered with the MHSAA as a boys lacrosse official.
National Association of Sports Officials (NASO)
Beginning with the 2022-23 season, your MHSAA registration will include membership in NASO. This is a big benefit! NASO insurance will cover you for any game you officiate in any sport, in any league, at any level. It keeps your insurance requirement simple. Belonging to NASO also subscribes you to Referee magazine. Here is a link to the NASO insurance benefits: https://www.naso.org/member-benefits/insurance/ If, for whatever reason, you do not register with the MHSAA, GRALOA highly recommends you join NASO (for insurance and liability reasons).
GRALOA leadership encourages all our members to also belong to USA Lacrosse. The primary reasons to join USAL are:
- There are an abundance of excellent training resources.
- There is a certification program that will provide you with officiating credentials.
- There is insurance for any USAL sponsored tournaments you do.
- It supports the sport of lacrosse and shows your support by joining.
Other Organizations
- You will need to have an Arbiter account in order to get scheduled (and paid). If you do not have an Arbiter account, please contact our Assigner (Scott Knoop). If you have an Arbiter account (for another sport), check with our Assigner (Scott Knoop) to make sure you are added to the account he is using to assign. See the Contacts page for his contact information. Additionally, our association will provide you with others who assign the various games in our area, as well as summer tournament opportunities.
- HUDL is a video resource for officials (as well as athletes, coaches, recruiters, etc.). We (GRALOA) are getting some high school game film from coaches; allowing our officials to get some nice feedback from the film review. We will also be posting training videos on HUDL. If you need a HUDL account or have questions about it, please contact our Trainer (Luke Griemsman). See our Contacts page for his contact information.
Grand Rapids Area Lacrosse Officials Association 