GOLD: Entry level referees can take one of two different courses; Assistant Referee or Regional Referee. Each of these will be wearing the gold jersey with black pin stripes. Those wearing the Assistant Referee badge have taken a six hour course with emphasis on Assistant Referee duties and signaling. The Regional Referee badge is obtained by taking a nine hour course covering the Laws of the Game, starting, stopping and restarting play, and passing the examination with a score of at least 75%. These volunteers are the core of our referee program, and keep the game Safe, Fair and Fun for our younger players.

BLACK: Those referees in the black jerseys with white pin stripes are our Area level referees. To reach this level, a referee must have been a Regional Referee for at least one year, center refereed in at least 25 matches, taken an additional Area Referee course emphasizing the mechanical aspects of refereeing, and passed a examination on the Laws of the Game with a score of 90% or higher. Area Referees have also contributed to the referee program by obtaining at least three service units, by observing, mentoring or training other referees.

RED: The referees in the pin striped red jerseys are Section level referees. These referees have been center referee in at least 50 games, taken hours of additional training, passed increasingly difficult examinations (90% or better, of course) and passed physical fitness tests, as well as formal assessments by trained referee assessors at both center referee and assistant referee in higher level matches. These higher level referees have also performed multiple service units, helping others in the AYSO referee program.

BLUE/GREEN: If you come across a referee wearing the blue or green jersey, you have met someone truly committed to AYSO soccer. These National level referees have refereed at least 100 games, taken countless hours of advanced training, passed the most difficult examinations on the laws of the game, proved themselves physically fit, passed multiple assessments on the field, as well as volunteering hours to the program by training other referees, mentoring new referees and assessing referees that wish to upgrade.

Every referee, no matter what badge or jersey they are wearing, is committed to providing our children with a Safe, Fair and Fun soccer experience. If you would like to become a referee or move up to a different color of jersey, please contact The Regional Referee Administrator.