2009 Referee Emeritus Award - Nancy Sommer
NANCY L. SOMMER
WILBUR H. PECK REFEREE EMERITUS AWARD
Nancy L. Sommer of the Chesapeake Regional Volleyball Association has been selected to receive the prestigious Wilbur H. Peck Referee Emeritus Award for 2009. She received her initial certification as a referee from Region 3 Commissioner/Officials' Chairman Joe Sharpless in 1973.
Her formative years were enhanced by the fact that she was an "Army Brat". "RELOCATION" was a common event in her life! Living in Italy, Austria, Japan, Germany, Denmark, France and many parts of the United States gave her a grand total of 23 different places to call home. She received her bachelor of science in psychology and went to work as a social worker for the City of Baltimore. It wasn't long before she married and started a family. She retired to become a "stay-at-home-mom".
Sommer devoted most of her time to family and pursuing charitable golfing events for Children's Hospital. She was designated Director of Leader Boards for the LPGA events held in Baltimore for a five-year period. Golf was her passion and she became very active with local golf groups.
Then one day she saw, and responded to a local ad published by the YMCA "DULT VOLLEYBALL.... NEED PLAYERS.... WILL TEACH." It didn't take Sommer long to get hooked on the sport of volleyball, and she became an active player. Soon, the need for competition set in, and the Chesapeake Region, or Region 3 as it was known then, fulfilled the need. After playing for a year, she attended a rules meeting so she could better understand the rules, the interpretation of the rules, and why there was so much variation of these rules among the various officials. The Region was also requiring that teams have player-officials on their roster. Sommer said, "It was clear after the 3-hour clinic that I would devote the rest of my life to this sport as an official."
About this same time she was certified to officiate girls' High School competition in the State of Maryland and continued at this level until her retirement in 2005.
After several years working at the Regional level, Sommer achieved her National rating in both refereeing and scorekeeping at the 1979 USVBA National Open Championships in Dayton, Ohio. A year later she was awarded her NAGWS National referee rating.
In 1983 Sommer became only the second woman in the World (Sue Lemaire of the USA being the first) to become certified as a FIVB International Arbitre, a rating she held until the maximum age requirement forced her retirement in 1999, the same year she also retired as a USA National Referee.
Sommer stated, "My opportunity to represent the United States as a FIVB International Arbitre was a highlight of my career. I was honored that the USA Volleyball had faith in my abilities as an official and took the risk to supporting a woman in what was then a male-only club. I took great pride in representing my country and my gender when I went abroad. I was honored to have been an ambassador of our officiating cadre in the United States."
During her career as a FIVB Arbitre and USA National Referee, Sommer officiated at many significant events. They include:
- Region III/Chesapeake Region RVA Championships, 1974 - 1990
- Maryland State High School Championships, 1974 - 1995
- USA Volleyball Championship events, 1979 - 1997
- NJCAA Women's Championships 1985 - 1995
- NCAA Men's Championships (1995)
- NCAA Women's Playoffs (1990-1995)
- Local Special Olympics (1985 to present)
- Special Olympic World Summer Games 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 (Head Referee in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007)
- Inaugural Special Olympic USA National Games Head Referee - 2006
- United States Olympic Committee Sports Festival, (1980)
- Military Olympic Games - 1995, 1999
- World University Games - 1987
During her 30 years as an official, Sommer served as the Referee Chairman for the Chesapeake Region for six years, when the Region included the State of Virginia. During her tenure, she developed a program to recruit, educate, rate, train and promote the art of officiating among local officials.
Subsequently, Sommer was appointed the Assistant Vice President for RVA Referee Development in the Technical Development Division. These programs allowed all Regions (RVAs) to benefit, as it promoted the need for consistency throughout the United States on how we trained, developed and promoted our officials to officiate the sport.
Sommer was appointed by the NAGWS as Techniques and Development Chairman, a position she held for four years. Training was, and still is, an important issue. She helped establish on-site clinicians to be sent to local boards in need of officiating development. This venture was a tremendous success and many candidates and officials benefited from the program. It continues today under the auspices of PAVO.
In conjunction with the US Naval Academy, Sommer conducted Three-Day Regional Referee Clinics to evaluate, educate and assist regional officials in achieving their goals in the art of officiating. This four-year program furnished many regional officials valuable information on how to be a better referee. Many of these participants went on to achieve national rankings for USA Volleyball and NAGWS/PAVO.
Sommer served both the USVBA and NAGWS as a National Rater. She served on the NAGWS Rules Committee for a four-year period from 1989 to 1993.
Sommer served on the USVBA/NAGWS Joint Committee that promoted a unified officiating philosophy, standardized uniforms, joint testing procedures and mutual recognition of each other's certification ratings.
On a local level, Sommer was active with the NFSHSA/MPSAA Board for 30 years and held the positions of referee, clinician, rater, evaluator and Chairman of the Board. In the early 1980's she was among the cadre of leadership in Maryland that stepped forward to assist in the transition when the Maryland Association of High Schools adopted the National Federation rules of play, pre-empting the NAGWS rules, here-to-fore used for Maryland High School volleyball competition.
Sommer worked closely with Brenda Gelston (Baltimore NAGWS Board), Nancy Sharpless (National Capital Area NAGWS Board) and Joe Sharpless (USVBA Chesapeake Region) to ensure a smooth transition. The program and systems implemented then still serve as the foundation of the Maryland State High School volleyball officiating program today, 25-years later.
Asked what the most positive attribute she has gained from her involvement with volleyball, Sommer replied, "It was her introduction to Special Olympics. Nothing in my life has changed my attitude, opinions, or feelings until I experienced the arena of Special Olympic Athletes, Coaches and Parents. It's not about winning medals or breaking records, it's about working hard, doing your best, participating, and a time to take pride in the skill and inspiration shown by the athletes, coaches and parents. Special Olympics have taught me the true value of what is really important in competition and life. As a mother of two children and a grandmother of seven grandchildren, I am grateful that I saw the true value of being on this earth. Words like SHARING, CARING, EMPOWER and UNITE. "May We Never Have To Say Goodbye". "Flame of Hope", "Share the Feelings" and "I Can Do It" are Special Olympic themes that have a very special meaning for me now."
For the past 10-plus years, Sommer has been the Director of the Time Out Volleyball Club (Baltimore County, Maryland) for girls 9 through 18 years of age. The club's mission is o provide the youth in the local area a top-notch program that could teach them to play the game to their highest level of ability. She is particularly proud that the TOVBC has been represented in USA/JOVC events three times, (2) Many coaches have gone on to take coaching positions in High School and college, and (3) Players have moved on to play at the Division I, II and II levels in college and many with athletic scholarships.
Sommer credits her family, fellow officials and friends for their support to allow her to achieve, and to realize these many and varied experiences in her volleyball life.
