It doesn’t matter what grade you are in school, if you are a student. USSF (United State Soccer Federation) referees achieve grades from 9 (Recreational Referee) to 1 (FIFA Referee). Grade 9 referees do the lowest level youth matches while Grade 1 referees are centers on international, MLS, and, potentially, FIFA World Cup matches.
Grade 1 – International Referee (FIFA badge)
If you are a Grade 9 referee, you are able to referee Recreational and Signature matches as either the center or assistant referee up to U14. Additionally, you can be assigned as an assistant referee on competitive/club matches.
You have no annual requirement to attend monthly training.
In order to recertify, you simply pay your $40 to Cal South, re-watch the current Grade 9 videos from U.S. Soccer and your badge is mailed to you. The link for you to re-certify is here: http://cysa.affinitysoccer.com/eventmanager/public/calendarlist.asp?calguid=&eventtab=current – Select “Referee Recertification Class” from the Event type list and choose Grade 9.
Grade 8
If you are a Grade 8 referee, you are certified to referee any youth soccer match up to U19 club/competitive as either a center or assistant referee.
You are required to obtain 5 hours of in-service training each calendar year in order to qualify for re-certification.
Every month, you may obtain one hour of training by attending the monthly meeting of any Cal South registered referee association or Recreational Referee Organization, such as JUSA. JUSA meetings vary in day each month as posted on http://www.jusareferees.org/
There are also online options for obtaining your monthly hours at http://www.refereeinstructiononline.com/
In order to recertify, as long as you have your 5 hours of in-service training, you pay $55 to Cal South and re-watch the current Grade 8 videos from U.S. Soccer and your badge will be mailed to you. The link for you to re-certify is here: http://cysa.affinitysoccer.com/eventmanager/public/calendarlist.asp?calguid=&eventtab=current – Select “Referee Recertification Class” from the Event type list and choose Grade 8.
If you are 18 or over, or as soon as you turn 18, you are required by Cal South to obtain one-time Risk Management/fingerprinting. This connects your Department of Justice records to Cal South in case you are convicted of crimes in the future which would be problematic for those who deal with children.
JUSA cannot allow anyone 18 or over to referee games without completing Risk Management.
If you have any questions about your re-certification or your status as a referee such as grade, number of hours you’ve completed, etc., contact the Referee Education Coordinator & Registrar at refereeregistration@calsouth.com.