The State Referee Committee from CNRA receives updates from the U.S. Soccer referee department on a weekly basis. We would like to share that information with you to stay up to date
Resources:
State Resources Folder Linked here Learning Center Manual
New Operations Coordinator, Referee Department
We are pleased to announce a new member to the Referee Department, Alicia Owens! She joined us in April as the Referee Department’s Operations Coordinator. She will be the primary point of contact for the eastern region and some western states. Please see the updated Referee Department contact sheet for the current points of contact for each State Referee Committee and join us in welcoming Alicia.
Safe Soccer Clearance Beta Launch
U.S. Soccer is proud to announce the beta launch of our Safe Soccer Clearance program which will strengthen safeguarding by providing an option for “green-lighting” eligible participants, in addition to “red-lighting” bad actors after an incident has occurred. To learn more, and to find out if your organization may be a strong fit for the beta launch, please visit https://www.ussoccer.com/safeguarding/safe-soccer-clearance.
Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP)
POLICY 531-9
U.S. Soccer’s Technical Development Committee established the RAP Working Group to make immediate improvements for the referee environment to address misconduct towards a referee. As an immediate first step, the RAP Working Group is proposing several updates to Policy 531-9 to make the definitions current and representative of behaviors / actions in the ecosystem. Thank you to all those that have been involved in the process, including the most recent open session with members and SRCs, as well as those who have provided feedback via survey. We will share updates once they have been approved by the Board and continue to ask for feedback as we move through the various phases. While Phase 1 focused on definitions, Phase 2 will focus on penalties, reporting, and process.
RAP PILOT PROGRAMS
In addition to policy, we are acting quickly on the ecosystem’s feedback to protect minor-aged referees. We are piloting a new Green Whistle Program. The Green Whistle allows all participants and spectators to better identify who is an under-18 year old referee. As we roll this out, we are also working on a PSA program that will help us change the culture around how we treat referees, starting first with minor-aged refs. We will hand off this PSA to our members, SRCs, leagues, and clubs to drive awareness and call to action that these refs - and all refs – must be treated right. More information will be coming soon but in the meantime, if you’d like more information on how to get involved contact Janette Maldonado (jmaldonado@ussoccer.org)
Learning Center Updates
A new Learning Center release was launched on April 24, 2024. Changes to the Learning Center include updates to the dashboard, refund interface and user’s payment tab. Full details on these updates can be viewed on the release notes at: https://ussoccerfederation.my.site.com/lcsupport/s/article/Release-Notes-2024-02
2024 Badges
The Referee Department has migrated the 2024 badge distribution to OSI. If your SRC needs additional 2024 badges, please contact OSI for orders and shipment. You can reach OSI at 800-782-2614 or osi@officialsports.com.
Referee Development
2024 Registration Year Ending
A reminder, the 2024 Registration Year ends on June 30, 2024. Licenses earned by this date are valid through December 31, 2024. The new registration year (2025) will begin on July 1, 2024. Be sure to finalize all candidates prior to June 30 and move 2024 courses to “Completed” status.
Please reach out to your Referee Department contact if you would like assistance viewing your ongoing candidates or updating courses statuses.
First Time Referee Coach
If you plan to host a First Time Referee Coach course for the 2025 registration year, please review the ‘src host application guide document and submit your application to host here.
The following SRCs are hosting a First-Time Referee Coach course this registration year (2024).
Any SRC interested in sending qualified candidates, please contact the Course Administrator below for availability and registration details.
Washington (Redmond, WA)
June 20-24, 2024
Contact: Wain Jackson, sda.wa.src@gmail.com
REMINDER: As of the 2024 registration year, individuals may no longer recertify as an assessor or instructor. All who wish to recertify must do so as a Referee Mentor or Referee Coach.
If they intend to recertify/certify in the 2025 registration year, they will need to join the Referee Coach Pathway (Mentor, Coach) depending on their eligibility.
Continuing Education Lifelong Learning (CELL) Webinar Series
The first CELL webinar of the year will take place on May 30, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. Central. This webinar is geared to officials who hold the Referee (formerly Grassroots Referee) license. Please note, new this year, registration will be made available through the Learning Center. Eligibility requirements will automatically be verified by the system and the link to join the webinar will be listed in the course.
We request that you share the registration link with match officials who hold the Referee License for the webinar in May. Referee License holders can register for this FREE webinar via the link: CLICK HERE - U.S. Soccer 2024 CELL Webinar - May 30, 2024.
Remember, space is limited and this is the largest audience (Referee License holder) in the country. Therefore, we ask SRC members to allow the referees that you service to enroll first for this continuing education opportunity.
Future CELL Webinars
See the attached flyer(s) for dates, times and topics for each webinar and license level. Please share this information with the referee community (Referee Mentor, Referee Coach, Referee, Regional Referee, and National Match Official license holders) so they can plan accordingly. Reach out to your point of contact in the Referee Department if you have any questions.
Fitness Tests
As the season has started, a friendly reminder to send copies of your completed fitness tests.
The results are used by the Selection Panel as one of the criteria to select National Officials for the following year. It is recommended that those who are thinking of applying as a National Official, practice the FIFA Category 1 Referee or Assistant Referee fitness test to get used to the higher standards. You can email your results to Rick Eddy, reddy@ussoccer.org.
OSI
You can now find information on OSI’s Badge Fulfillment program in the State Resources folder linked at the top of this email. Please reach out to OSI with any questions!
Programs for your SRC:
Official Sports collaborates directly with SRCs in many ways to help strengthen association work, and further enhance your referee’s USSF community connection:
We would love to work with your state - contact us for more information at 800-782-2614 or osi@officialsports.com
If you are interested in learning more about how to become a referee or take advantage of any of the resources that CNRA provide, make sure to visit www.cnra.net