LATEST NEWS

2011 REGISTRATION OPENS

USSoccer has opened the 2011 registration cycle effective August 2, 2010.  There is important new information on the Referee Registration page for this cycle.  Please take the time to read this information.

MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Midwest Regional Championships were held in Dayton, Ohio from June 26 through June 30 as part of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.  The winners of the State Cups in the fourteen states in the Midwest Region compete for a chance to represent Region II in the National Championships to be held in Kansas later this month.  Just as the teams compete to represent the Region, so do the referees “compete” to be chosen to officiate at the National Championships.

There were 214 referees present from the fourteen states.  These are some of the best referees from each state and are usually chosen based on their performances at the respective State Cups.  Out of that pool the region chooses twelve individuals to represent Region II.  Seven will be assigned as referees in Kansas City and five will be assigned as assistant referees.

Ohio North had three referees chosen to represent Region II at the National Championships.  Josh Sherman and Ryan Slack were chosen to be Referees and Vicente Suarez was chosen to be an Assistant Referee.  These gentlemen were chosen based on their performances at the Regional Championships and it is quite an honor.  Congratulations to all of them!

The other referees that represented Ohio North also performed extremely well.  I received numerous compliments on the performances of the entire delegation.  Approximately half of the 214 referees present have the honor of officiating at either the semi-finals or the finals.  Ten of the fourteen Ohio North referees were chosen to officiate at Semi-finals and finals.  (Two had to leave the tournament early and were not available for these games.)  This was the highest percentage of referees from any of the fourteen delegations that were at the tournament.

The other attendees were:  Sean Gorrell, Joe Kuzma, Ryan Lubbe, Steve Perry, Mike Presby, Sal Saia, John (JD) Sheppard, Nick Vass, Aaron Vnuk, Aaron Wolfe and Rob Young.  Jeff Mellen attended as a Mentor and Toby Tomazic, Tom Chapman and Barry Brooks attended as assessors.

NATIONAL CUP FINALS

The Region II National Cup Finals were held at Gaelic Park in Chicago, IL on June 18, 19 and 20.  The delegation from OHN included Tom Chapman SRA, Terry Campbell SDA and Referees Jason Krnac, John Safar, Sorin Storica, Michael Farmer, Salvatore Saia and Ryan Slack. 

The games were not only used to determine the team participants for the National Finals in Philadelphia, PA over the weekend of July 24 & 25; but also the Referees to represent Region II were chosen based on their performances in the games over the weekend.  I am please to announce that Sorin Stoica was chosen as one of the four Referees chosen to represent Region II at the National Finals.  I was notified last week that John Safar has been invited by US Soccer to attend an Assistant Referee Academy to be held in conjunction with the National Finals in Philadelphia.  This means that of the 12 Referees and 8 Assistant Referees chosen to attend the National Finals of this USASA event, 2 of them are from OHN.

I am very proud of the performances by all our officials at the Region II National Cups Finals this year.  I know that our representatives were noticed and given very favorable feedback in formal Assessment sessions and also in informal conversations with other National Assessors in attendance.  Brian Hall of US Soccer was at this event for Saturday and Sunday games and offered advice and feedback to our people as well.

Tom Chapman, SRA

SEVERE WEATHER

Summer time brings with it the possibility of thunder, lightning or other severe weather.  All referees must be aware of any potential severe weather and how to deal with it.  USSoccer has a postion paper titled Dealing With Severe Weather that details the requirements in all USSoccer affiliated games.  This procedure is NOT OPTIONAL.  Please take the time to read this paper.  You will find a link to all position papers on the Forms and Publications page.

ASSIGNOR POLICY

The State Referee Committee approved the following policy at the April 13 meeting that applies to all assignors:

  
Assignors are registered through Ohio North and not through any district, league or local referee association.  Assignors must treat all registered officials equally.  An assignor cannot discriminate against a registered referee because of race, religion, national origin, sex or membership in a local referee association.  Age should only be a factor when the league mandates a minimum age difference between players and referees.   Assignors cannot give preference in their assignments of referees based on the referee’s membership in a local referee association.
All registered assignors will be given a listing of all referees registered in Ohio North.  Any assignor that implies or suggests, directly or indirectly, that membership in a referee association is a condition to getting an assignment is subject to discipline up to and including revocation of their assigning certification.
Per the Administrative handbook:  Referees being assigned must have a current year registration on file with U.S. Soccer before being assigned to any games by U.S. Soccer personnel

Unauthorized disclosure of a list of registered referees

State Referee Administrators may furnish lists of referees only to state associations, registered assignors, affiliated leagues or tournaments for conducting their soccer related activities. These lists may not be made available to anyone else (including soccer related businesses) for a fee or free of charge.  (2010 Administrative Handbook page 34.)

2011 Referee Recertification Clinics and Upgrade Clinics

The registration cycle for calendar year 2011 starts on July 1, 2010.  New referees that successfully complete a novice clinic after July 1, 2010 are permitted to officiate for the balance of 2010 and the entire calendar year of 2011.  Current referees that did not re-certify by June 30, 2010 are not permitted to officiate the entire calendar year of 2010.  They may take a re-certification course in 2010 but are not licensed until January 1, 2011.  Please be sure to visit the Upcoming Referee Clinics link for upcoming referee clinics in Ohio North. New dates are being added everyday, so be sure to check back often if the type of clinic or host district is not yet offered in the listing

GRADE 5, 6 AND 7 MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS ANNOUNCED

The Administrative Handbook lists the annual re-certification requirements for State Referees and Grade 7 Referees.  These are mandated by USSoccer and the State Referee Committee.  Included in the requirements are assessments, physical fitness test, achieving an acceptable score on the appropriate re-certification test and attendance at in-service instructional hours.  The SRC has approved the use of the Referee Maintenance Record form to help the various administrators ensure that the requirements are being met.  IT WILL BE MANDATORY FOR THE REFEREE TO TURN IN THE COMPLETED FORM TO REGISTER FOR 2011. The form may be found on the Forms and Publications page.  .  Refer to the Administrative Handbook for a complete listing of the requirements.

ATTENTION GRADE 7 REFEREES

Referee Class 1, commonly called a grade 7 referee, have earned their upgrade by their experience and demonstrating their proficiency on an upgrade assessment.  However, once a referee attained a grade 7 they have never been required to demonstrate their continued proficiency at that grade.  Unlike State Referees which are required to have an annual assessment in order to maintain their grade, there has been no such requirement for grade 7.  Yet grade 7 referees are looked up at by the refereeing community and assumed to have greater skills than a grade 8 or 9 referee.  Their performance reflects on the Ohio North Referee program not only when they officiate locally but also when they travel to tournaments outside the state.  The State Referee Committee has determined that we need to ensure that the grade 7 referees continue to be good ambassadors of the Ohio North Referee program by keeping their skills up to date.

Effective this year, all grade 7 referees will be required to have a maintenance assessment in 2010 in order to be certified as a grade 7 for 2011.  The assessment will follow the same guidelines that are required in the administrative handbook for a person to be upgraded to a grade 7.  The assessed game should be full length at U-17 or higher and of a sufficient difficulty level that the referee can demonstrate their skills.  Grade 7 referees will be required to have an assessment biannually after that to maintain their level.  District Referee Administrators will be required to certify that the official has met the assessment requirement as well as having successfully passed the annual physical fitness and written tests before submitting the grade 7 referee for recertification.  All Grade 7 assessments should be scheduled through and coordinated with your District Director of Instruction.  The contact information for these individuals may be found on the Ohio North Districts page.

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