*** REFEREE ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY - EFFECTIVE MARCH 01, 2025 ***
How do soccer refs schedule an assessment?
Grassroot Referees can request an upgrade.
Regional Referees and above are required by USSF to obtain an annual maintenance assessment. This may replace the developmental assessment or you may have both.
Why upgrade? It's a sign of growth and progress. You get better games. Upgrade assessments are "by the book". Read the USSF Administrative Handbook to be sure you have reffed the required games, are prepared to take the tests for your new grade and meet the physical requirements.
1. Review the USSF Expectations by Grade (scroll down for document link). Can you perform at the grade you are upgrading to? Are you getting developmental or maintenance feedback that suggests you should move up?
2. Contact Tyler Soyer, State Director of Assessment, to schedule an assessor. You do not schedule your own assessor.
3. Contact your local assignor to be placed on a game of "sufficient challenge" for your grade. A lot of this responsibility falls on your local assignor, who knows the games required for an assessment at your level. (Arranging assessments takes a long time in other states. We hope for prompt customer service, and we have seven assessors of different levels to serve you.) You connect the dots for step two and three. Be sure to close the loop by informing the assessor of game date and time. Ask for confirmation.
4. On the day of the game, make plans to allow the assessor to hear your pre-game.
5. There will be a short post-game conference to hit the highlights of your assessment, so you should not have a game immediately after your assessed game. You can review the digital assessment by following the website on the e-mail you receive when the assessor has filed the digital USSF copy. If you don't have e-mail, you may be able to provide a mailing address and receive a printed copy.
6. Assessments are pass/fail, but there are point values within each grade for your feedback. (Note, the assessment results are not 90% A; 80% B; etc. The values are specific to USSF and each grade.)
Exception? Tournaments. At tourneys, you work with the tourney assignor and the SDA to receive an assessment. See steps 2 & 3 above.
Costs? Developmental Assessments are free. Maintenance and upgrade assessments cost your game fee (up to a maximum of $60) to the assessor.
We hope this helps your growth. That's why we're here.