Team Referees

  

Team Referees are the backbone of the Regular League, Extra League and Premier League AYSO programs. It is VITAL that team referees be familiar with and knowledgeable about team referee points, scheduling and policies. A U10 - U14 team's advancement to Area playoffs may be decided by referee points. If you do your job, your players will benefit directly from your commitment and success. Remember, it’s the Player’s Game! Be there for them!

Every Region 9 team in the U7 through U14 Divisions is required to have at least one Team Referee. (More is better since they can split the workload!)

For the U7 and U8 teams: Your Team Referee gets to officiate his or her child's game.   There are 2 referees on the field with the players, one from each team.  Since the U7 and U8 Divisions are "non-competitive" (i.e. we do not keep official scores and there are no standings), we do not have Referee Points in these Divisions.  However, it is important to note:  if there is not an AYSO-trained, AYSO-registered referee for a game, that game cannot be played for any reason! (This has to do with safety and insurance.)

For U10 - U14 teams: We have some good news and some bad news.
The bad news:  Your Team Referee does not officiate his or her child's game.
The good news:  your Team Referee is able to schedule himself or herself for a referee assignment (Assistant Referee or Center Referee, U10 - U14) for which he or she is qualified (by training and experience) and which fits into their schedule! (There are a couple of restrictions, however, such as not being permitted to center a match in the same group that their child's team is in).

U10 - U14 teams do receive a Team Referee Point for each week that their Team Referee has completed a referee assignment, bonus points which are added to the team's win-loss-draw points to determine standings at the end of the season. This means that by doing just 1 referee assignment each Saturday, the Team Referee can ensure that their child's team has an additional 11 points come the end of the season (barring cancelled games).

It's very easy to make sure that your team gets it Team Referee Point each week:

  1. Schedule yourself for 1 referee assignment each Saturday.
  2. Check in at the Referee Tent at least 15 minutes before your scheduled assignment and sign in on the printed Referee Schedule which will be posted there.
  3. Do your game (and have some fun!).
  4. Print your name (legibly, please!) and your Team Number (e.g. U10G13; click here if you are not sure about what your Team Number is) on the back of the Game Card, and return the Game Card to the Referee Tent.

Team Referees are welcome to officiate additional matches during the day (AR's or Centers) but these additional matches will not be counted toward a team's Bonus Point (unless approved in advance by the Referee Administrator).

For specific details, please refer to the Referee Handbook or the Team Referee Program.

Question: I am a team referee and I can not make some of the games. Can I get a substitute?
Answer: Yes.  Be sure to have the substitute come to the referee tent prior to the game and inform the staff of the substitute. The game cards are reviewed and compared to the Team Volunteer sheets turned in by the coach. If the substitute is not listed on the sheet or the staff is not informed of the substitution the team will not get the credit which they deserve. It is suggested that each team coach try to get 2 or more volunteers (preferably NOT the coach) to referee so there will be a better chance of covering all the games.
Question: One of the players on my team wants to be the team referee. Is that OK?
Answer: Maybe. We do not allow youth referees to officiate in the same or a higher division than they would play in and in most cases the team referee will be an Assistant Referee on a match in the same division as their team (e.g. U10 Boys). They will not, however, work a match for a team that their team will play during the season (e.g. a different bracket of U10 Boys; or a U10 Girls match). If your youth referee is old enough to be in U14, they would be able to officiate in a U12 division match or lower. We encourage the players in the program who meet the age requirements to become Youth Referees. Please see our Youth Referees page for more details on the age requirements. We will try to accommodate everyone's needs.
Question: I showed up to a game late and a referee was already on the field. I thought the game was covered for my team but later found that it wasn't. Why didn't my team get their point?
Answer: If a game is about to start and the scheduled Assistant Referee has not checked-in, the referee staff will need to find a replacement to perform the task. The game must start on time. If you were late getting to the game and did not check-in with the referee staff we can only assume that you were a no-show and not award the point. If you check-in at the tent then we can have the Assistant Referee we assigned step aside and allow you to fulfill the commitment.
Reminder: All referees (Team or otherwise) must check-in at the referee tent at least 15 minutes prior to game time!

If you have a question about Team Referees not answered above, contact Brian Salzman at TeamRefs@ayso9.org.

For more general questions or information about the Region 9 Referee Program, contact our Regional Referee Administrator,  Mark Spear.

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