Pennsylvania USA Wrestling
Become an Official
We wanted to share information about ways to stay involved in the sport through officiating.
Officiating is an EXCELLENT opportunity to stay involved in the sport and the benefits to officiating are significant!
- Earn money! Officials usually get paid per event and it’s a great way to earn extra money while being around wrestling
- Set your own schedule. You can say when you are or are not available for matches. Work when you want to! This could include nights, weekends, or, if you’re a college student, just being available over breaks in your academic schedule, or even working around your wrestling schedule if you’re still wrestling.
- Gain leadership skills
- Build your resume. Officiating is an interesting talking point with potential employers which shows your ability to lead and stay calm under pressure
- Help grow and support the sport – officiating provides an opportunity to give back to the sport. We all want to give back, and for many people, this is a great way to give back and stay involved. Without officials, opportunities for competition are impacted. Help support wrestling and keep the sport growing
- Networking. There are amazing people in this sport and officiating helps expand your network
There are currently openings for both PIAA in-season officiating and USAW off-season officiating.
PIAA Official
Elementary, junior high, and high school wrestling all need PIAA officials.
People 16 years old or older can officiate. The process is much easier than people realize:
- Go to https://www.piaa.org/officials/become/default.aspx
- Complete a short application form and pay the $40 fee
- Pass the online Officials’ Examination
For more information, please reach out to us or visit https://www.piaa.org/officials/default.aspx
USAW/USWOA Official
People 15 years old or older can officiate.
- Establish a profile in the USA Wrestling Membership system
- Complete SafeSport certification, upload current headshot, and if 18 or older, complete background check
- Contact Joe Silvestri (PA-USAW State Official's Director) at 610-659-9411 or Sammy Julian (USWOA Board Member) at 570-240-0032 or [email protected]
We’d love to see some of you out on the mat making the calls. Thank you for continuing to help grow this sport!