Becoming a Referee for NYSA

Do you want to become involved with NYSA as a Referee?? It does not really matter if this is your first experience as a Referee, your first experience with the NYSA as a Referee, or you are an experienced Referee. The following is intended to provide an overview of the basic things you should know, or at least be aware of, as to how your involvement as a Referee fits into NYSA.

Getting your Referee License

Your first step is to get your Referee USSF license. You will want to get an Entry Level Grassroots license through Washington State Referee Committee. The clinics take approximately 5 hours. You must be 13 or older to register for a clinic. Clinics are held locally, online or outside the local area. NYSA typically hosts a few grade 8 clinics in July and August. For a list of new referee clinics, please go to the WASRC website, www.wareferees.org. Click on Events/Clinics.

If you can not take one of the referee clinics offered by NYSA, then you can take a referee clinic offered by another soccer association. Your referee license is good anywhere in Washington state, which means you can referee anywhere in Washington state and for any soccer association. To see a listing of the referee clinics being offered in Washington, then please go to www.wareferees.org and click on Clinics/Events, then choose Entry -- Become a Referee: Never been...

Signing up to Referee Soccer Games

Referees sign up to referee soccer games on the NYSA referee website (i.e. called self assigning). To self assign, log onto the NYSA referee website and click on Referee, Match Inquiry. The majority of NYSA soccer games (recreational, select, and premier) occur between September and mid-November. There are also quite a few select and premier soccer games in January through March/April that you can self assign to.

In Referee, Match Inquiry, a small Green Plus will appear next to a game's open CR or AR position. Click on the green plus sign to self assign to that game's CR or AR position (note not all game's have AR positions). For further details regarding the Self Assign process, please click on the SelfAssign link (i.e. click on the blue, underlined word SelfAssign).

In addition, NYSA has Referee Assignors that can help you self assign to games. They also will contact referees to referee games that do not have referees assigned yet. You can see a list of Referee Assignors at Referee, List Assignors .

File a Match Report

After every game you referee (CR or AR), you will need to file a match report on the NYSA website. Click on Referee, Match Report to file your match report. In the match report you will input the game score, indicate other Referees that refereed (if any), input the Sportsmanship scores for each of the teams, etc. Filing your match report is an important activity because your match report 1) updates the team win-loss standings, 2) updates the teams' Sportsmanship scores, and 3) is what is used to pay you for refereeing the game.

To see a listing of your match reports (paid, pending, etc.), then click on Referee, Accounting.

And finally, IF you issued any Yellow or Red cards during the game, then you must file the appropriate "paperwork" (Misconduct Reports) via Referee, Misconduct.

Questions not answered here

Note this FAQ is an overview. If you have other questions, then please 1) see the other Referee FAQs and/or 2) contact one of the Referee Assignors or the VP of Referees. VPReferees@northshoresoccer.org

Enjoy the Game! If you do, then so will the players and spectators!!!!