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2012-2013 Davis AYSO Referee Handbook

Contents

1 Who? Me?
2 Volunteer Application Forms (VAFs)
3 Safe Haven training
4 Referee training
5 Policy
6 Laws and law resources
7 Scheduling
8 Forms
9 Cross certification
10 Miscellaneous

Who? Me?

Davis AYSO needs volunteers! Women and Youth (ages 12 and up) are especially encouraged to volunteer. When women and youth officiate at the Saturday games, they become role models to show that all people can participate and enjoy the game of soccer. Sign up for the next Basic Referee course. No soccer knowledge is required. The course is free and you'll impress all your friends with that bright yellow referee shirt, etc., that you'll also get for no cost.

If you don't think that you can be a referee, look at the "Referee's Call."

What about female referees? Certainly! Why not? Be a role model. To understand why and how you can be successful, check out this guide.

Volunteer Application Forms (VAFs)

All referees must complete and submit a volunteer application for every membership year (August 1–July 31). See How to register as a volunteer.

Safe Haven training

All new referees must take the Safe Haven child and volunteer protection course. This is a one-time requirement. See the Safe Haven information on the Training page.

Referee training

Training and continuing education are cornerstones of the AYSO program, and Davis AYSO offers plenty of referee training and education opportunities for all referees, beginning to advanced.

Local courses: Davis AYSO offers Safe Haven, U6-8 Parent Referee, Basic Referee, and Intermediate Referee courses, in addition to Assistant Referee and topical in-service refereeing classes. For current referee training opportunities, please see our Referee training page for the dates and times for the upcoming classes.

Golden Gate Camp: Golden Gate Camp is Section 2's annual advanced training camp for referees working towards upgrading the Advanced and National levels, and for referees who want to become Referee Instructors, Referee Instructor Evaluators, or Assessors. GGC is a residential camp held annually on a week-end in mid-July in the Bay Area. If interested in attending you can register at the Section 2 web site. Pre-registration approval must be obtained from the Davis Referee Administrator. Davis AYSO will reimburse the cost for pre-approved Davis AYSO referees.

AYSO Expo: The AYSO Expo, formerly called Section Meeting, is held annually in the Winter/Spring at varying venues in the western United States, and provides the opportunity for AYSO volunteers to meet volunteers from other Sections and Areas, and to attend a variety of classes for coaching, refereeing, and management.

Policy

Youth Referee Protection Policy describes our zero tolerance policy on dissent toward youth referees.

Laws and law resources

Please see the following resources for the current FIFA Laws, and additional USSF and AYSO publications and local aids.

IFAB 2016-2017 Laws of the Game - Law Changes Summary for AYSO.
IFAB Laws of the Game (This site hosts the official Laws Of The Game, and offers numerous ways to view and print the latest laws, as well as other guideline, summary and change documents)
2016 U12 and below heading restriction information
Davis Referee Guidelines.
Age-specific rules.
Guidelines for Tie Breakers and Kicks from the Mark.
Restarts: What can go wrong?
U6-U8 Parent Referee Field Guide.
Refereeing Spring Soccer.
AYSO Publications and referee references (incl. LOTG, Guidance for Referees & Coaches, National Referee Program, etc.). AYSO ID number needed. Click on white button that says, in small type, "Take me to the Manuals listing."
AYSO Whistle Stop Test your knowledge with weekly scenarios and tips. Signup for the weekly newsletter.
USSF, all referee references including:

Laws of the Game (English and Spanish)
Advice to Referees (English and Spanish
Guide to Procedures (English and Spanish)
Position papers and Directives
Advantage update: Download > Videos > Laws of the Game > Law 5 > Advantage Update

USSF flag procedures from Guide to Procedures
USSF videos on the Laws of the Game.

USSF Week in Review Highlights "specific areas of focus and current U.S. Soccer initiatives designed to improve performance and aid in the development of officials across the country"
Ask a Soccer Referee Answers to Laws of the Game and Practical Refereeing Questions. Official USSF interpretations [As of April 17, 2012, all answers posted are technically correct, but not approved by U. S. Soccer.] [As of Dec 31, 2013, the site will no longer answer questions.] . Search capability by Law and topic.
For the Integrity of Soccer Bob Evan’s Blog.
Dealing with team officials (from USSF): Ask, Tell, Dismiss
Influencing player behavior, an interview with Tom Bobadilla (audio, 32 minutes; transcript).
New USSF interpretation on applying advantage (June 2012). Document Video Slides

Scheduling

To sign up for U10 and older games, see the Scheduling page.

Forms

Misconduct form: for reporting send-offs, ejections, and other incidents involving players, coaches, spectators or referees. Must submit within 24 hours after the game. Complete form and e-mail to misconductreports@davisayso.org.

Word version (preferred)
PDF version

Referee upgrade: for upgrading to all levels

Referee upgrade forms

Cross certification

Through an agreement between AYSO and USSF, referees can cross certify between organizations.

To cross certify from AYSO to USSF, follow these instructions.
To cross certify from USSF to AYSO, follow these instructions.

Miscellaneous

Additional Referee Shirts: In Summer 2016, USSF changed the referee shirt design. Supply and variety is still catching up, but Davis will start moving to the new design soon. When you are considering buying additional referee shirts, it is suggested to buy the new style. As of 9/2016 these are only available from Official Sports, but will likely be available from other sources soon. In addition, only three colors are currently available, but others will be made available in the future. So that there is a better chance that others will have the same color as you, it is suggested that we all purchase additional shirts in the following order: Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Black. There are several different styles (and costs) and those are personal preference – all styles are fine. Note that we do not plan to ever disallow any older style shirts, so there is no requirement to replace any shirts that are still in good shape.

Questions?

See the Referee Contacts page.