AYSO Region 42 Youth Referee Program

Overview

The AYSO Region Youth Referee Program is an opportunity for youths of age 12 to 17 (10–11 year olds can participate at the referee staff's discretion), to participate as certified referees on games in which they are at least two years older than the players. At age 12 youth referees can officiate 10U matches. At age 14 they can officiate 12U matches if they are working toward (or after earning) their Intermediate Referee certification. Youth referees who are 16 years old can officiate 14U matches while gaining the experience necessary for Advanced Referee certification (or after having earned that badge).

Youth referees are taught the laws of the game in the same Regional Referee class that adults attend, and are then mentored throughout the year to improve their skills. 

Education

• To be eligible to referee, you must submit a volunteer application and sign up to attend a Regional class.
• Upon completion, a referee wallet, whistle, full uniform and badge will be issued.
• All of this is FREE of charge.

Reward System for Youth Referees

Our reward system is very simple. Note that Youth Referees are NOT eligible to earn Referee Points.

• Youth Referees have an incentive program to earn "Ref Bucks".
• You must be a youth referee. Adults are not eligible.
• Officiating as either the Center Referee or the Assistant Referee earns you two Ref Bucks. 
• There will also be benchmark awards for reaching a certain amount of games in the season, an email will be sent out with the gifts and game amounts needed. 
• At the end of the year, Ref Bucks are converted to dollars and you will receive a gift card for the total amount. 
• Lastly, all time spent volunteering for AYSO as a referee including training is applicable for Community Service Hours, acceptable at all regional elementary, middle and high schools. Let your Youth Referee Administrator know if you want a record of your volunteer hours, and a formal document will be provided at the end of the year.

Scheduling Requirements

Because Ref Bucks are calculated from our referee self scheduling system, the following is required:

• You must have an account on referee self scheduling system, If you need help, contact any of the referee staff either via email or on the field.
• It is suggested that you schedule yourself BEFORE a game on the scheduler, but on-field scheduling is available also.
• If you do schedule on-field, please write your name CLEARLY in one of boxes for the game you want and the position you wish to perform. If you would like to have a mentor for your game, let any of the adult volunteers know and they'll do what they can to find one for you.