The Referee’s job is to be the official in charge of the match. He/she is the independent arbiter and manager of the match. A referee’s authority extends to everyone at the field, including players, substitutes, team officials, spectators, and assistant referees.
The first priority for the Referee is to keep the game as safe as possible for the players. While there is risk in all sports, the referee is responsible for minimizing such risks from field conditions, equipment, spectators, and the players.
The Referee is responsible for enforcing the Laws of the Game in such a way as to keep the game Safe, Fair & Fun. The referee is expected to interfere with the game as little as possible, avoiding making calls for doubtful and trifling offenses.
Refereeing in AYSO is a challenging and rewarding volunteer experience. Here is an opportunity for you to join the kids on the pitch as they learn to love the “Beautiful Game”. You’ll have a great time and get some exercise too!
AYSO refereeing is available for youth and adult volunteers. Kids as young as 12 years old are permitted to officiate matches in the U10 division. As the kids enter high school, they have opportunities to manage more challenging matches and even earn High School Community Service credits as AYSO referees. Refereeing in AYSO is a terrific way to help kids learn responsibility, build self-confidence, and possibly even begin to build a career. Just as there are professional soccer players who started out as kids in AYSO, there are also professional soccer referees who started out as kids in AYSO.
Region 7’s Referee Department offers mentoring for all referees with additional advocacy for youth and female referees. If you have any questions about becoming a referee, please contact the Referee Administrator.
Each AYSO referee must meet the following core requirements
For additional information, check out the New Referees, Returning Referees, and Training sections below.
See you on the pitch!
Referee Department Contacts
Pete Lindborg
New Referees
Becoming an AYSO referee is a four-step process. The first two steps are the same for all AYSO volunteers.
STEP 1 – Complete your volunteer application
- Go to Region 7 AYSO Blue Sombrero, and choose “Register now” on the upper right hand corner and create an account.
- After signing in, select “Volunteer” on the left hand panel.
- Choose “Find Volunteer Roles”, on the next page you will find one program “Fall Core”, click on the green “+ Select” button, then “View Roles” below.
- A complete list of possible volunteer positions from all divisions will populate, choose “Referee” on either one of them and “Sign up”, then “Continue”.
- Select yourself and “Continue”.
- Complete the volunteer application (you will need a photo ID, i.e. your drivers license, for verification purposes) and accept the waiver, then “Continue”.
- E-sign your volunteer application, then “Continue to Review”.
- Last, review your application and “Submit signed volunteer application”.
- E-mail the Referee Registrar or the Regional Referee Administrator, so we can track processing of your application and notify you when it has been completed.
STEP 2 – Complete AYSO’s Safe Haven and CDC Concussion certification
- Go to AYSO U and log in.
- Click on “My Courses” to see a list of online courses, and then click on the “AYSO’s Safe Haven” course.
- PRINT your certificate and bring it with you to referee training.
- Click on “My Courses” again, and then click on the “CDC Concussion” course.
- PRINT your certificate and bring it with you to referee training.
To log in to AYSO U, you’ll need your either your AYSO Blue Sombrero ID/login (in case that doesn’t work, try your old eayso.org ID/login). If you can’t remember your Blue Sombrero ID, use the “Forgot your Username or Password?” option
STEP 3 – Sign up for training
- Go to AYSO U and log in.
- Click on “Live Courses” on the red menu bar at the top of the screen.
- Under the calendar click on “Show All”, then scroll through the courses until you find “Regional Referee Online Companion Course”.
- Click on the “Sessions” icon, and look for a course nearby (we are Section 1, Area D, Region 7, if you want to find a course available in our local region).
- Select the course you wish to attend and click “Register”.
- Before attending the in-person course, you will have to complete the online portion of the course as a mandatory pre-requisite. On the red menu bar at the top of the screen click on “eCommerce” and choose “Products” from the drop-down menu (We will reimburse the charges, see below).
- Choose the course “Regional Referee Training” and click “Buy now”.
- In the cart you will have to add your/a postal code for the shipping estimate, even though this is an online course and available immediately after purchase. Then proceed to “Secure checkout”.
- Fill in your personal information and click “Review order”.
- Fill in your payment information and click “Place order now”
- Launch the course and complete all modules except the final exam, print the progress page (see below) and bring it to the in person class. The exam will be administered at the class, even if you took and passed the exam online (This is necessary due to a system glitch). We will reimburse the charges for the online course at the class
STEP 4 – Create account at www.refschedule.com
- Go to www.refschedule.com
- Hover over “Account Settings”
- Choose “New Account”
- Fill in the required information (indicated by an asterisk)
- Enter “Regional” for your badge
- If you don’t know what team you will represent, enter “BU0 # Unassigned” for the team
- Click Update
All competitive division (U10 and older divisions) referees are required to attend the mandatory referee meeting on Tue. Sep , 2018. Team Referees earn 1 point for attending this meeting.
Referee Declaration Forms
Referee declarations for team referees are now open.
To view all declarations, please click here
Returning Referees
STEP 1 – Complete your volunteer application
- Log in to Region 7 AYSO Blue Sombrero and select “Volunteer” on the left hand panel.
- Choose “Find Volunteer Roles”, on the next page you will find one program “Fall Core”, click on the green “+ Select” button, then “View Roles” below.
- A complete list of possible volunteer positions from all divisions will populate, choose “Referee” on either one of them and “Sign up”, then “Continue”.
- Select yourself and “Continue”.
- Complete the volunteer application (important - you have to fill in the information exactly as it is stored in eayso, otherwise you will be issued a new AYSO ID and your certifications will not be transferred!) and accept the waiver, then “Continue”.
- E-sign your volunteer application, then “Continue to Review”
- Last, review your application and “Submit signed volunteer application”
- E-mail the Referee Registrar or the Regional Referee Administrator, so we can track processing of your application and notify you when it has been completed.
STEP 2 – Complete AYSO’s CDC Concussion certification (new edition 2017, needs to be completed only once)
If you have not taken Safe Haven Certification since July 2011, you need to take it again as it has been updated with additional information:
STEP 3 – Complete the Player Development Initiative Training
In order to implement the newly adapted PDIs smoothly from the get-go, all returning referees are required to complete one of the following training sessions:
- PDI Training Session
- Attend one of our Basic Online Referee Companion Courses (dates are on the Calendar)
- Launch the Build-out Line Presentation, and watch the video.
All competitive division (U10 and older divisions) referees are required to attend the mandatory Referee Kick-off Meeting on Tue Sep 4, 2018. Team Referees earn 1 point for attending this meeting.
Referee Declaration Forms
Referee declarations for team referees are now open.
To view all declarations, please click here
Training
To be certified as a referee for the U10 division, and to earn points as a referee in the U8 division, you must be a certified AYSO Regional Referee. The AYSO Regional Referee training course is available in two forms: online/companion, and in-person.
Region 7 offers the online/companion course in August and the in September. The online/companion course has an online training component and a single 3-hour in-person component for Q&A, testing, and referee mechanics (signalling etc.) while the in-person course is taught in three 3-hour in-person segments. If you take the in-person course, you must attend all three segments in their entirety. If you take the online/companion course, you must complete the online component at https://aysou.org/ and bring a printed certificate of course completion with you to the in-person class.
To be certified as a referee for U12 through U19 divisions, you must complete additional training and on-field evaluations. Please contact the Referee Administrator for more information.
Here is the 2018 referee training schedule for Region 7. These classes are offered in other cities as well, please see a selection here. Please contact the Referee Administrator with any questions. To sign up for a course, go to https://aysou.org/ and search for the roster ID below:
Policies, Procedures, and Forms
DO NOT allow a match to start until the goals are anchored! If you still have questions, watch this video.
Number of players, ball size, game duration by halves, etc. by age division.
AGE | BALL | PLAYERS | GK? | DURATION | SUBSTITUTIONS | REFEREE | REFEREE MIN QUALIFICATION | |
---|
U6 | 3 | 5 v 5 min 3 | No | 15 | Qtrs, Half, Injury | Preferred | U8 Official, age 12 or older |
U8 | 3 | 7 v 7 min 5 | Yes | 20 | Qtrs, Half, Injury | Required | U8 Official, age 12 or older |
U10 | 4 | 7 v 7 min 5 | Yes | 25 | Qtrs, Half, Injury | Required | Regional Referee, age 12 or older |
U11, U12 | 4 | 9 v 9 min 6 | Yes | 30 | Qtrs, Half, Injury | Required | Intermediate Referee*, age 14 or older |
U13, U14 | 5 | 11 v 11 min 7 | Yes | 35 | Qtrs, Half, Injury | Required | Advanced Referee*, age 16 or older |
U15, U16 | 5 | 11 v 11 min 7 | Yes | 40 | Free | Required | National Referee*, age 18 or older |
U19 | 5 | 11 v 11 min 7 | Yes | 45 | Free | Required | National Referee*, age 18 or older |
* Exceptions may be granted by RRA
Other Resources
Ken Aston discusses the origin of “offside”
What is offside? What isn’t it plural? Here is a fantastic video of Ken Aston discussing the origin of the law…
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3oIwcCm1so
Ken Aston was responsible for many important developments in soccer refereeing, he is probably most famous for introducing yellow and red cards in the 1966 World Cup.