Become a Referee

2025 Fall Referee Info

AYSO depends on volunteer referees. Refereeing is a fun, active, way to share the game with your kids (and improve your knowledge and appreciation of the game). AYSO Region 599 has a great group of referees, and every year we offer training to help new volunteers learn the basics of officiating. We need help at all levels of play, and we help to group experienced refs with newer refs for their first games. Some new referees choose to start as Assistant Referees, while others choose to start refereeing 8U games. See below for more information on each of these certification levels and read the Referee FAQ for more information.

Questions? Contact the Regional Referee Administrator (RRA) Aaron Hope

How to Become a Regional Referee

The regional referee certification is required to referee or assistant referee 10U games and the minimum age is 12. A Regional Referee can also officiate 8U.

Step 1: Register as a volunteer through our AYSO 599 website
Step 2: Sign up for one of the in-person "Regional Referee Online Companion Course" sessions via AYSOU
Step 3: Take the "Regional Referee Online + In-Person Companion Course" via AYSOU
Step 4: Take the Safe Haven, Concussion Awareness, Sudden Cardiac Arrest, and Safesport online trainings via AYSOU. More info on AYSOU is here.
Step 5: Register for and perform the livescan fingerprinting (Region will reimburse this cost if you submit a reimbursement request and a copy of the receipt. Ask RRA for more details)
Step 6: Attend a two-hour in-person field training session. Online training must be completed before the in-person session. The dates for the Fall 2025 in-person trainings will be posted on the "Referee Schedules" section of the website. A total of three dates will be available between early September and October: you only have to attend one of the trainings. Sessions are generally on a weeknight at Damon Garcia or Emerson Park.
Step 7: Once you are Regional Referee, you can sign up for games that fit your schedule and comfort level. AYSO will provide you with a referee uniform and equipment.

The online training courses can only be taken after an account has been created through SportsConnect. To take the courses, log in, go to "My Account", click on "Volunteer" tab on the left, then click "Find Volunteer Roles" in the upper right of the screen, Click "View Divisions" for the "2025 AYSO Fall Season" program. Choose a division and click "View Selected Opportunities". Choose "Referee" and "Sign up a registered user" and click "Continue". Then fill out the required information and follow the remaining prompts. Once you are registered, online classes can be selected by going to "AYSOU" through your SportsConnect account.

How to Become an 8U Referee

An 8U certification allows you to referee 8U games and the minimum age is 10.

Your team needs you to referee! Each week, 8U home teams must find a referee for their own game. Coaches are often left doing all the work if no one else volunteers. As a parent, refereeing 8U games is a great way to help your team and run around with your kid. There is no keeping score, no offside, no penalty kicks, and very few intentional fouls. The main job of an 8U referee is to keep time, get the ball back in play properly (throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks, kick-offs), and keep the kids safe. Since most of the kids don’t know what they are doing out there, there is a lot of instruction on the re-starts–and the players rarely second-guess a call because they have no idea if the ref is right or wrong! They are 5, 6, and 7 year olds–our adult referees can stay one step ahead of them without much difficulty!

The steps for becoming an 8U referee are similar as for the Regional Referee (see above) except you will take the "8U Official" online course in AYSOU (instead of the regional referee course) and the in-person 8U class is optional (the region will host the optional in-person class only if there is sufficient interest). All 8U certified referees will receive a referee t-shirt and a whistle at the referee tent on game day.

Youth Referees (Under 18)

Youths follow the same steps as an adult volunteer with some exceptions. Youths must have their parent/guardian setup a SportsConnect account for them OR log into a parent's existing account and enter in their child's information and volunteer them to be a Youth Referee. The Safesport Training and the LiveScan fingerprinting is not required for Youths, under 18.