How to Become a Soccer Referee in Utah

All USSF affiliates, including the Utah Youth Soccer Association and the Utah Soccer Association, require that all participating referees be certified by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). The Utah State Soccer Referee Committee (USSRC) is the governing body for Utah's USSF referees. It is the goal of this committee to actively recruit, develop, certify and advance referees for all levels of play.

The Utah Soccer Referee program offers two Entry Level clinics, the USSF Grade 8 Referee and Grade 9 Recreational Referee clinics, which are sponsored by affiliate organizations in various locations throughout the state. In order to become certified participants must attend one of the two courses. The courses differ in content and length. It is necessary to determine which clinic is more appropriate for age of the participant and/or the desired level of participation.

The 2010_Information_for_New_Referees document provides more insight into what is expected and required once you become a certified referee.

USSF Grade 9 Referee

The USSF Grade 9 Recreational Referee may officiate games as either a Referee or Assistant Referee on recreational youth games for under-14 and younger only. They may not officiate older ages, competitive youth matches (Class 1), or adult matches. For the latter matches, you must be at least a Grade 8 Referee. The Grade 9 clinic consists of a one-day eight-hour class, or two 4 hours classes or Three 3 hour classes designed mainly to train and certify kids and adults interested only in running lines on competition games or refereeing recreation games within specific age limits and guidelines. It also serves as an added opportunity for those who are too young to certify as Grade 8 referees.

There is no pre-registration, simply show up and attend the classes and certified instructors will teach everything needed to become certified. There is a $10 clinic fee which includes the costs for the books on "FIFA Laws of the Game", and "Guide to Procedures", other course materials as well as the test fee which is due on the first day of class. There will be a 50 question test on the last day of the clinic. Upon passing the test with a score of 75% or better, the participant will have the option to register with the United States Soccer Federation by filling out the registration form and paying the registration fee. The fees to register as a USSF Grade 9 Recreation referee are $45 a year.

Once registered, all information of newly registered referees will then be given to the referee assignors to ensure that all referees have the opportunity to participate as many games as possible. This course certifies participants to work as center referees only under limited restrictions. The majority of the assignments can be expected to be that of assistant referee. Certified assignors assign appropriate game assignments according to the age, division and skill level of the teams with the ages and experience of the referee to ensure a good experience for both teams and the referees themselves.

USSF Grade 8 Referee

The Grade 8 Entry Level clinic may consists of six (6) 3-hour sessions or two (2) 8 hour sessions or some combination or classes, for a total of Sixteen to eighteen (16-18) hours of instruction. Attendance at all sessions is required for successful completion of the course. USSF requires those wishing to certify as a Grade 8 referees, to be at least 14 years of age. Those younger than fourteen (14) will need to take the Grade 9 course.

Currently, for most clinics, there is no pre-registration, simply show up and attend all the classes and certified instructors will teach everything needed to pass the USSF test and become certified. There are however a few classes that require a pre-registration for the class. If pre-registration is required, instructions to do so will be present with all other pertinent information on the Clinic page.

There is a $10 clinic fee which includes the costs for the books on "FIFA Laws of the Game", "Guide to Procedures" and "Referee Administrative Handbook", other course materials as well as the test fee which is due on the first day of class. There will be a 100 question test on the last day of the clinic. Upon passing the test with a score of 75% or better, the participant will have the option to register with the United States Soccer Federation by filling out the registration form and paying the registration fee. The fee to register as a USSF grade 8 referee is $50 per year. Once registered, all contact information for newly registered referees is then given to certified referee assignors to ensure that all referees have the opportunity to participate in as many games as possible.

This course certifies participants to work as center referees as well as assistant referees in most games. Certified assignors assign appropriate game assignments according to the age, division and skill level of the teams with the ages and experience of the referee to ensure a good experience for both teams and the referees themselves.