2024-2025 Fall Season Referee Recruitment, Points, and Post Season Playoff Qualification 
 
The purpose of the Referee Point Program is to help ensure that AYSO Region 15 recruits, trains, certifies and fields enough volunteer referees to officiate at our Regional games.  In order to qualify for Area Playoffs, Section Playoffs, and Beyond you must earn your referee poionts.
 
Please be sure to check our website often for any updates for new classes, or changes to the schedule at www.ayso15.org
 
Volunteers that support our soccer program agree to referee games during our Regional Regular Season, playoffs and/or Upper Division games that are assigned to refs by our Area Referee Administrator.
 
Referees earn Volunteer Points which they allocate to one or more teams.

Division 10U and 12U teams must earn 24 Referee points, AND recruit at least ONE new referee.

• The new referee must accumulate a minimum of 8 points, 1/3 of the points required.
• Weekly referee status reports will be posted on www.AYSO15.org, under the referee tab, called Team Points.
• Referees after assign their points to a team will not be able to change, "Switch", their point assignments to an additional, or alternative team at a later date.

o    For example, you assign your points to a team that earns 24 points, but you want to change your point assignment to another is not allowed.

o    However, you can assign your points to be split between multiple teams, for example, you need to support 2 teams, your points will be 50/50 between the two teams.

o    Referees have up until week 5 to designate where their points should be assigned. After the 5th week, a referee's points cannot be assigned to a team, or changed in any way without the approval of the Regional Commissioner.

 
A. Purpose. The AYSO program is entirely based on the participation of volunteers including parents, Coaches and Referees. The Volunteer Referee Points program is designed to ensure matches are conducted in a Fair, Safe and Fun manner with increased participation of parent volunteers. To insure, matches are properly conducted, the goal of this program is to equitably distribute officiating responsibilities to new and returning referees from each of the participating teams. We will also ensure each volunteer is properly certified and trained to support this function.
The program is explained below and applies to the regular fall season. It does not apply to teams that play during the spring season. All Coaches, the Regional Commissioner and Assistant RCs, the Regional Referee Administrator, Regional Referee Staff and Division Coordinators should be familiar with this program.

B. Background. In the past, we have relied on our senior referees, most of whom no longer have children in AYSO, to referee more than one game a week. We need to prepare today for the “eventually” that these fine referees will no longer be able to volunteer in support of our program. Because the Board believes that these goals can only be accomplished by encouraging participation of new adult referees, it will be easier for teams to recruit new adult referees to satisfy the requirements of this program.

C. Key Elements. The program relies upon the coaches to recruit parent volunteers from their team and then encourage the volunteers to work a minimum number of games during the regular season. The team and coach will have both positive and negative incentives. The positive is that his/her games will be conducted with trained referees. The negative is that his/her team may not be invited to participate in post-season play, which includes the Area Playoffs, unless a minimum amount of referee participation has occurred. 5U, 6U, 8U, 14U, 16U and above age levels are excluded from this program (see below table for comments). However, participation in Area playoffs can be impacted for 14U and above, by not supporting games as stated in the following overview. 14U-19U is an inter-Region program run by the Area.

Division Overview

 
D. Requirements. Each 10U-12U team is required to earn referee points over a 12-week period, (10 regular season games plus playoffs) to qualify for Area Playoffs. Any team that fails to reach those requirements may not be allowed to advance to Area Playoffs, regardless of how the team placed during the regular season.

Teams are responsible for recruiting their own volunteers.
 
E. General Rules

1. You cannot Referee your child's game and earn points; you can however be an AR and/or a club linesman if there are no other referees available at no credit.
2. Referee volunteers will register in our referee self-scheduler system, and select the team(s) you wish to allocate your referee points. If you have 2 kids in the program your referee points will be distributed 50/50, and if 3 kids, then 33/33/33, and so on.
3. Referees do not need to be related to anyone on the team.

a.    As an existing referee, and you have no family relationship to a team, you can only assign your points to ONE team.

1. Teams are responsible for recruiting their own volunteers.
2. Volunteer Points belong to the Volunteer who earns them and must comply with the rules of the Referee Point Requirements
3. Only trained referees, in full uniform, may earn points under the Referee Volunteer program.
4. Any points earned by an unattached Referee (a Referee who does not designate a team to which their points are to be assigned) will be placed into a pool of points to be allocated at the end of the season.  The Regional Commissioner will have the final decision on how “Pool” points are awarded and reserves the right to award these points as deemed appropriate. 
   Youth Referees have the same rights and privileges as adult referees under this program. The minimum age is 12 years old.
5. If a youth referee is supporting a team that advances to playoffs beyond our Region, the Region will work with the team to replace the Youth referee with and adult referee. The level of competition outside of our Region requires an adult referee.

F: Youth Referees

Ages for youth referees must be TWO years older than the division that the Youth referee will be officiating

8U Youth referee must be 12 years old
10U Youth referee must be 12 years old
12U Youth referee must be 14 years old
14U Youth referee must be 16 years old

 

WAYS TO EARN REFEREE POINTS – No Maximum points earned per weekend

 
 
Referee Training Schedule – Be sure to check the calendar on our homepage www.ayso15.org
 for any updates/added classes
Also our Area website may offer classes from other regions
Area will schedule Advanced Referee training classes.
www.area1f.org