Washington State High Schools Start Officials Bodycam Pilot Program

RENTON, WASHINGTON (February 20, 2024) – To address ongoing issues with bad behavior, a high volume of ejections and concerns over the safety of officials, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and Washington Officials Association (WOA) announced that they have launched an initiative that will try out the use of body cameras on officials.

The pilot project, which is being conducted in conjunction with Reveal Media, will start with WOA basketball officials and continue with soccer, baseball and fastpitch softball officials for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year.

According to the WIAA and WOA, approximately 100 basketball officials across the state began using the body cameras in contests as early as Friday, Jan. 5. Staff from the WIAA and WOA will jointly evaluate the initiative throughout the trial period, and will conduct a full review following the conclusion of the season.

Three possible triggers will activate use of the body camera. Once activated, officials have been instructed to wait until the situation has been resolved before deactivating the bodycam. Triggers include:

• Unsportsmanlike technical foul.
• An event that creates an unsafe/dangerous environment for the official (i.e., fighting. fans storming the court).
• Discriminatory or harassing behavior that causes a stoppage in play or delays play from resuming.

For security reasons, the cameras are encrypted. The only individuals with access to the video footage are Todd Stordahl of WOA and Justin Kesterson of WIAA.