Rosalinda Delgado Varsity Volleyball, Softball and Basketball Official Albuquerque, 87109, United States [email protected] · (505) 555-1119
17 September 2026
Ms. Marisela Quintanar Coordinator of Volleyball Officials Rio Grande Athletic Conference Albuquerque, United States
Application for the volleyball officiating staff, Rio Grande Athletic Conference
Dear Ms. Quintanar,
I am writing to ask to be considered for the volleyball officiating staff for the coming season. I am registered with the state activities association for volleyball, softball and basketball, varsity approved and current for 2026 to 2027, and I have been registered continuously since 2017. Last season I worked 118 contests across the three sports, 71 of them varsity, and 52 in volleyball.
The record behind that is straightforward to check. I passed the 2026 volleyball rules exam at 94 percent and the softball exam at 91 percent, both on first attempt. My three-year coach rating average in volleyball is 4.3, from 41 returned ratings, and that has produced district tournament assignments in four consecutive seasons and state tournament assignments in 2024 and 2026. I have worked both R1 and R2 and am comfortable being scheduled in either position. I filed six ejection and incident reports last season, every one inside the association deadline, and none was overturned on review.
I have followed your conference schedule for two seasons and know it runs Tuesday and Friday matches with Saturday tournaments in September, which fits alongside my current high school assignments rather than competing with them. I can travel a three-hour radius and am available for Saturday tournament dates through the fall. If it is useful, I would be glad to be evaluated on a sub-varsity match before any varsity assignment.
I carry my own officiating liability coverage through a national membership, my background check with the state association is current, and I can complete any conference paperwork or clinic requirement before the season starts. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Rosalinda Delgado
Summary
A referee cover letter names the sport and level you are registered to work, the contests you worked last season, your rules exam result and your rating, then says plainly when you are available. This guide gives you a full adaptable letter, the openings that work with an assignor or a coordinator of officials, and what to write when you are asking to move up a level.
Referee cover letter examples by experience level
In short, a referee cover letter is a one-page letter telling the person who holds a schedule what level your registration covers, how many contests you have worked at that level, what your exam and ratings say, and which dates you can take.
Most officiating work never appears in an ad, so the letter usually goes to an assignor, a coordinator of officials or an athletic director rather than to a recruiter. All three do the same thing when they read it: decide whether to put you on a list.
Guide to a referee cover letter
To help, this guide and the corresponding referee cover letter example will cover:
- First, how to structure the letter, paragraph by paragraph
- Next, why registration and level belong in the first sentence
- Also, what counts as evidence in officiating and where the numbers come from
- How the letter changes when you ask to move up a level
- Finally, the closing facts that put you on an assignor's list
How to write a referee cover letter
| Paragraph | Its job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | The post or staff, your registration, your sport and level | 2 to 3 sentences |
| Evidence | Contests worked at level, exam score, rating, postseason | 4 to 5 sentences |
| Fit | Something specific about their schedule, and your availability | 3 to 4 sentences |
| Close | Insurance, screening, travel radius, thank you | 2 sentences |
Open with the registration, not with the sport you love
An assignor reading email in August is holding a schedule with holes in it. The first sentence should let them place you on it.
Write: "I am registered with the state activities association for volleyball, softball and basketball, varsity approved, current for 2026 to 2027, and I worked 71 varsity contests last season." That single sentence answers whether you are eligible, at what level, and at what volume.
Then name the assignors who already carry you. Where almost all work is allocated by a handful of people, a name they recognize is worth more than a paragraph of description.
A referee cover letter example you can adapt
Dear Ms. Quintanar,
I am writing to ask to be considered for the volleyball officiating staff for the coming season. I am registered with the state activities association for volleyball, softball and basketball, varsity approved and current for 2026 to 2027, and I have been registered continuously since 2017. Last season I worked 118 contests across the three sports, 71 of them varsity, and 52 in volleyball.
The record behind that is straightforward to check. I passed the 2026 volleyball rules exam at 94 percent and the softball exam at 91 percent, both on first attempt. My three-year coach rating average in volleyball is 4.3, from 41 returned ratings, and that has produced district tournament assignments in four consecutive seasons and state tournament assignments in 2024 and 2026. I have worked both R1 and R2 and am comfortable being scheduled in either position. I filed six ejection and incident reports last season, every one inside the association deadline, and none was overturned on review.
I have followed your conference schedule for two seasons and know it runs Tuesday and Friday matches with Saturday tournaments in September, which fits alongside my current high school assignments rather than competing with them. I can travel a three-hour radius and am available for Saturday tournament dates through the fall. If it is useful, I would be glad to be evaluated on a sub-varsity match before any varsity assignment.
I carry my own officiating liability coverage through a national membership, my background check with the state association is current, and I can complete any conference paperwork or clinic requirement before the season starts. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Rosalinda Delgado
Openings that work
| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| I have always loved volleyball and enjoy being part of the game | I am registered varsity approved for volleyball, softball and basketball and worked 71 varsity contests last season |
| I am writing to express my interest in officiating opportunities | I am writing to ask to be considered for the volleyball officiating staff for the coming season |
| I have extensive experience officiating at a high level | I passed the 2026 volleyball rules exam at 94 percent and hold a three-year coach rating average of 4.3 |
| I am reliable and always available | I can travel a three-hour radius and am open for Saturday tournament dates through the fall |
What counts as evidence in officiating
However, officiating has unusually good evidence available and most letters use none of it. Everything below sits in a record somebody else also holds, which is what makes it persuasive.
| Kind of evidence | What it looks like in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Registration | Registered with the state activities association since 2017, varsity approved, current for 2026 to 2027 |
| Volume at level | 118 contests last season across three sports, 71 of them varsity |
| Rules exam | Passed the 2026 volleyball rules exam at 94 percent on first attempt |
| Rating | Three-year coach rating average of 4.3 in volleyball, from 41 returned ratings |
The exam and rating bars are published, so quote yourself against them
Officiating requirements are set state by state, not nationally, and several states publish the exact bar. Michigan requires postseason officials to pass a rules exam at 80 percent or better, work a minimum number of regular season contests ranging by sport from 5 to 12, and hold at least 16 coach ratings over the previous three years with a three-year average between 2.7 and 4.25 depending on tournament level (mhsaa.com, retrieved 17 September 2026). Ohio requires 75 percent on the mechanics and rules exams plus a proficiency portion and concussion training before it issues a permit (ohsaa.org, retrieved 17 September 2026).
Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the same structure: officials typically register with the state or local agency that oversees high school athletics and typically need to pass an exam on the rules of the sport (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, last modified 27 August 2026). Because the bar is public, your numbers are comparable to it, and that is a claim almost nobody in the pile is making.
Asking to move up a level
Most officiating letters are not job applications but requests for higher assignments: varsity instead of sub-varsity, a college conference instead of high school, postseason instead of regular season.
Say what level you currently work and what level you are asking for, in the first paragraph. Offer to be evaluated before being assigned, since that is how the decision gets made anyway. Give your travel radius and your blocked dates. Name the assignors who already carry you. Say that your screening, insurance and courses are current, because that is work the assignor would otherwise have to chase.
Do not ask for a level you are not approved for without saying how you would become approved. Do not describe a specific call, game or coach, however well it went. Do not call yourself fair, consistent or unflappable, since that is the job description. Do not send the same letter to every assignor without changing the schedule detail. Do not write about wanting to stay close to the game, which reads as a hobby.
Length, format and sending it
One page, four paragraphs, 250 to 400 words. Most of these are sent as email rather than as an attachment, so put the letter in the body and attach the resume as a PDF named for yourself and the sport: rosalinda-delgado-volleyball-official.pdf.
Address a person. In practice, conference and association sites name their assignors and coordinators of officials, and a letter addressed to a role went to everyone.
Send it in the right month, because officiating hiring runs on the season calendar and nobody can act on a letter that arrives after the schedules are built. Use the same numbers as your resume; our referee resume example is written with the figures used here.
Key takeaways
- To start, open with your registration, your sport and your approved level.
- Then give contests worked at level, not total contests worked.
- Quote your rules exam score, because the association publishes the passing bar.
- In addition, give your rating average and the number of ratings behind it.
- Say plainly when you are available and how far you will travel.
- Offer to be evaluated before the assignor gives you games.
- Finally, close with insurance, screening and courses current, addressed to a named person.
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Referee cover letter questions, answered
How long should a referee cover letter be?
One page, four paragraphs, 250 to 400 words. Shorter is usually better, because it is read as email on a phone between contests.
Who should I send an officiating letter to?
The person who holds the schedule: the assignor for your sport and district in high school work, the conference coordinator of officials in college work, the sports coordinator at the parks department for recreation leagues. Athletic directors hire for supervisory posts rather than for individual contests.
What do I write if I have only worked sub-varsity?
Write the sub-varsity record honestly and ask for what comes next: the count, the levels, the exam score, your rating if your association returns them, and an offer to be evaluated. Assignors move officials up every season, from exactly this information.
Should I mention an ejection I called?
Only as a number and a process, never as a story. Say how many reports you filed and that each went in inside the deadline with the situation, the rule cited and the ruling applied recorded verbatim. Never identify a coach, player or spectator.
Does the letter matter when the job is paid per game?
Yes, because the letter is what gets you onto the list the games are handed out from. Pay is a game fee multiplied by assignments, which is why the BLS median of $40,710 in May 2025 sits between a tenth percentile under $26,540 and a ninetieth over $82,960 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, last modified 27 August 2026).