El Cajon AYSO Region 168
U10, U12 & U14 Division - Volunteer Referee Points Program
Purpose
AYSO is an all-volunteer organization and relies on the participation of parents and other community members to occupy positions including, but not limited to coach, referee and board member.
The purpose of the referee of a match is to provide a fair, safe and fun environment while enforcing the laws of the game. The Referee Volunteer Points Program is designed to recruit new volunteers to be trained and certified as referees in the AYSO Organization to insure all matches are conducted in a fair, safe and fun manner. This program is intended for U10, U12 & U14 teams in the Fall soccer season only and will not apply to spring select.
Background
The U10 Division represents the first level of competitive soccer offered by AYSO. The U10
Division also tends to be the largest division and have the most teams, averaging approximately
30-40 teams. If the season is 11 weeks long and there are up to 40 teams having one match per weekend, that can mean up to 220 regular season matches which means 660 referee slots in the U10 Division alone.
In the past, we have relied on our senior referees, some of whom no longer have children in AYSO, to referee more than one match a week. We need to prepare today for the eventuality that these fine referees will no longer be able to volunteer in support of our program. Therefore this program calls upon the coaches, assistant coaches and team parents to recruit volunteers to be AYSO certified referees. The Regional Board believes that these goals can only be accomplished by offering the following incentives.
Key Elements
It is the policy of AYSO, El Cajon that an AYSO certified referee must officiate a match in order for the match to count. A match that does not have an AYSO certified referee is considered a practice scrimmage and results in a 0-0 tie with no points being awarded to either team. It is our policy to provide certified referees for every AYSO, El Cajon match, if available. Teams that participate in this program are given priority when referees are scheduled, insuring that a team’s match will count in the standings, but failure to comply with this program could result in a team not having a referee for a match and could result in a team not being allowed to participate in post season play which includes the Area V League Tournament.
Eligibility
This program is open to anybody over 12 years old. In order to qualify for this program and to be a referee volunteer, a volunteer application is required and a background check will be done. A person only qualifies for this program at the discretion of the CVPA and the Regional Referee Administrator. The referee volunteer must take the AYSO Safe Haven Course, the Concussion Awareness Training , the Basic Referee class and pass the Basic Referee test.
Requirements
All U10, U12 and U14 teams are required to earn 40 Referee Points to be eligible for post season play. All teams can earn points as follows:
- Any team that provides a new adult (18 years or older) referee volunteer that complete the required training and officiates two matches will earn 5 points.
- Any team that provides additional new adult (18 years or older) referee volunteers that completes the required training and officiate two matches as a referee will earn 5 points each, up to 10 points maximum.
- Any team that provides a new youth (12 years to 18 years) referee volunteer that completes the required training and officiates one match as a referee will earn 5 points.
- Any team that provides additional new youth (12 years to 18 years) referee volunteers that completes the required training and officiate one match as a referee will earn 5 points each, up to 10 points maximum.
- No team may earn more than 20 points for new referee volunteers.
- After the first match requirements above, any team’s referee volunteer that officiates a match as a center referee will earn 4 points for the team.
- After the first match requirements above, any team’s referee volunteer that officiates a match as an assistant referee will earn the team 2 points for a U10 or older match.
- If a volunteer is not scheduled and officiates a match as a referee or assistant referee the match must be reported to the referee administrator within 3 days or the points are forfeited. No points will be earned for officiating in a match in which a family member is participating as a player or where the referee is also a coach in the same division or bracket as one of the teams participating.
Officiate means a certified referee in full uniform that does not have an interest in the match. Points will be awarded to the scheduled referee and assistant referee if a match is not played or is canceled. No points are awarded to a referee or assistant referee that does not show for a scheduled match. No team may earn more than 20 points for new referee volunteers. All points awarded are at the discretion of the Referee Administrator and all decisions are final. A referee volunteer may split earned points between up to two teams upon approval of the Referee Administrator.
Communication
The Regional Commissioner, Referee Administrator, Regional Coach Administrator and Regional Coach Instructors or their designees shall communicate the Referee Point System to all U10, U12 and U14 coaches, assistant coaches and team parents at the general coaches meeting or any training course, including providing this or any other documentation needed.
Coaches/Team Parents
Every team’s coach is required to sign and turn in the completed volunteer referee form to the
appropriate Division Representative, no later than the fourth Thursday of August even if no volunteers have been identified. All incomplete forms will be given back to the coach to complete. At the discretion of the Referee Administrator, any team whose form is received after the fourth Thursday of August will be ineligible to participate in this program. Referee volunteers may be added at any time provided the completed and signed form was received prior to the deadline. It is not recommended for Coaches to be one of the team referees. Coaches, who are also Referees, shall not officiate matches in their own division or bracket, if applicable. (i.e. Boys U10, Girls U10, Boys U12, Girls U12 and Boys U14, Girls U14 etc.)
- The responsibilities of the coaches and team parent(s) are:
- Recruit parents and members of the community to be referee volunteers;
- Submit the team referee volunteer form to the Division Representatives, completed and on time.
- Keep in touch with the team’s referee volunteer(s) to get updates on points earned and encourage the volunteer to earn more points, if needed.
- Two weeks prior to the end of the season, contact the Referee Administrator to confirm earned points.
Unassigned referees can assign their points to any team of their choice, but must do so no later than the fourth Thursday of August. A referee may split his/her points equally among up to 2 teams if he/she has more than one child/sibling playing.
Division Representatives
Division Representatives will be responsible for collecting all volunteer referee forms and forwarding them to the Referee Administrator no later than the second Saturday in September. The volunteer referee forms must be completely filled out including the date any new referee volunteer attended the Basic Referee Course.
Referee Administrator
The Referee Administrator and designees will collect team volunteer names, provide training and uniforms, and record the points earned during the season. All new referees will officiate in U10 matches. New referees may officiate in older division matches at the discretion of the Referee Administrator, Director of Referee Instruction or Director of Referee Assessment.
Referee Training
Several referee training classes will be held prior to the fall season. Dates, times and locations are available on the regional website (www.ElCajonAYSO.com ). Other regions will also conduct referee training classes. These classes will also qualify with prior approval by the Regional Referee Administrator.
Points Reporting
The Referee Administrator or designee will be responsible for posting accumulated referee points on the regional website throughout the fall season.
Scheduling
All referees are responsible for scheduling themselves in the regional referee schedule which can be found on the regional website (www.ElCajonAYSO.com ). All referees can sign up for matches in advance and up to the playoff matches. The Referee Administrator, Director of Referee Instruction or Director of Referee Assessment have the discretion to alter the schedule for any reason including a referee’s abilities.
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