Referee Training
UPDATED: 8/14/2010
To become a referee, you must be licensed. A license is obtained by attending a referee course and passing the referee exam.
SRSC sponsors three types of referee courses.
Two entry-level classes are available to become a new Referee.
- Grade 8 Referee
- Grade 9 Recreational Referee
A Bridging course to upgrade from Grade 9 to Grade 8 is also available
ATTENTION: YOUTH REFEREES
At SRSC, we recommend that youth be at least 14 years old as of August 1st to become a referee. The district has found that referees younger than 14 more often than not are UNable to pass the referee exam at the end of the course. Further, youths younger than fourteen are typically not ready to referee. Finally, new referees must be older than the players they are officiating. This greatly restricts the available games for youth referees who are 12 or younger.
Youth Referee Readiness Test:
You are NOT ready to referee if any of the following apply to you:
- You do not have your own email account to personally email the Director of Referee Instruction with respect to the course enrollment,
- Your parents have to email on your behalf (This does not mean you are not allowed to sit with either of your parents to select your course dates).
- Login information - You do not personally email the Referee Director from your own personal email account to request a Login Account.
Grade 8; Grade 9; what are they? First, let’s make it clear that this has nothing to do with school. The Grade is the level of the referee. As a referee becomes more qualified, they move up in level. Moving up in level means the number gets smaller. The most qualified referee is a Grade 1.
A Grade 8 referee is called a Referee Class 2. Grade 8 referees are allowed to officiate in any position on any youth game. Of course, appropriate experience must be gained before officiating higher level games. Generally, the referee assignors for state level games require higher level referees (Grade 7 or 6) for state level matches for older players. Youth are generally used to referee State level matches for younger players.
A Grade 9 referee is called a Recreational Referee. Grade 9 referees are allowed to officiate in any position on any recreational (Division 4) game U14 and below. SRSC recommends that first year Grade 9 referees officiate U9, U10 and U12 recreational games. Grade 9 referees may not officiate Division 1 and 3 games nor recreational games older than U14.
Adults may start by becoming either a Grade 8 or a Grade 9 Referee. Youth must start by attending a Grade 8 course. As a Grade 9 referee, the games you can referee are restricted. The Grade 8 course takes longer but you may officiate higher level games as soon as you obtain experience. Choose which Grade you want to start at based on the games you want to referee and the time you have available to attend a course. Please note that upgrading from Grade 9 to Grade 8 cannot be done in the same calendar year that you become a Grade 9.
To become a Grade 8 referee, you attend a Grade 8 Referee Course. This course is an 18 hour course usually taught in six 3 hour sessions. See to obtain detailed information about this course.
To become a Grade 9 referee, you attend a Grade 9 Referee Course. This course is an 8 hour course usually taught in two 4 hour sessions. The District has decided to only allow adults (18 years or older) to attend this fast-paced course.
When a Grade 9 referee wants to become a Grade 8 referee, they may attend either the Grade 8 Referee Course or they may attend a Bridging Course. The Bridging Course is a 12 hour course usually taught in three 4 hour sessions. See to obtain detailed information about the Bridging course.
When you obtain your license, you are free to referee anywhere in the U.S. Also, you may take the referee courses anywhere they are offered. Because most clubs sponsor their courses, we ask that you attend the course from the club for which you are going to referee. This allows more local people to take the courses and reduces travel time for everyone. It also introduces you to the referee administration personnel within the club for which you will referee. However, if you cannot attend a local course, will not be turned away. Referee courses sponsored by other District 3 clubs can be found on the web site under the Instruction tab.
To find out how to sign up for a referee course sponsored by SRSC, click on the How To Enroll link under Training. Space is limited, so don’t delay. If there is enough demand, we will attempt to add additional courses. Go to the Course Schedule page to see when courses are offered by SRSC.
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