USSF Certification for Affiliated Youth and Amateur Games
All soccer referees must be certified by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
NEW YORK STATE law requires children to be 14 years old or older to be allowed to work.
USSF Referee grades are as follows
Level 9: Beginner level soccer official. Must be 14 years old or older by the start of the course for which one is registering. WYSL will only allow 14 year olds to work as A/R (assistant referee) not as a center referee starting 2019.
Level 8: Beginner/intermediate level soccer official. Must be at least 16 years old by the start of the course for which one is registering.
Level 7: Experienced soccer official, qualified to officiate at higher amateur levels
Level 6: State level soccer official
New referees should start with Level 9 Course.
After registration, candidates must take the Entry Level ONLINE module, which consists of 17 videos, and is then ready to move on to the classroom portion of the course.
Level 9:
To referee the WYSL (Westchester Youth Soccer League) games, Level 9 referees must be 15 years old, and are permitted to ref games U8 through U-14, provided they are at least two years older than the age of the players. 14 year old and older Referees may serve as Assistant Referees. Level 9 referees may also officiate in recreational youth leagues.
The Level 9 class consists of eight-hours of instruction, normally presented in one day. A field component is included with the course and may be presented on a different day.
Bridge Course – Level 9 to level 8
Level 9 officials, who will be 16 years of age by the start of the upcoming soccer season, may take a bridge course in order to advance from Level 9 to Level 8.
Level 8:
Candidate must be at least 16 years of age by the start of the upcoming soccer season. The classroom component, consists of eleven hours of instruction, usually given over three weekday evenings or a weekend (Fri/Sat).
ATTENDANCE
Attendance at all sessions and passing an exam (passing grade is 80%) are required for successful completion of the course.
Upon completion of the Level 9 or Level 8 course, the student receives a USSF badge, a certificate plus a uniform package consisting of 2 referee shirts (1 yellow / 1 green), shorts, stockings, whistle, line flags, yellow/red card wallet, flip coin and a carrying bag.
The course fees are, $180.00 for Level 9, $125 for the Bridge course (Level 9 to Level 8) and $210.00 for Level 8. Fee includes USSF registration as well as WSRO yearly dues and the Risk Management protocol (“child-safe” for refs over 18). A rebate of $85 is given by the WYSL, at the end of the season, to any ref officiating a minimum of 10 WYSL travel games (does NOT include Premier, Westchester Cup or tournaments) in the first season in which the ref has become certified.
To find the WSRO course dates, locations and fees, please refer to Entry Courses
Courses being offered elsewhere in the New York area may be found at:
https://enysra.