2008 Fall Season
Referee Training
Making it Safe, Fair and Fun for all involved!
last update June 5, 2008

[ Checklist ]   [ Course Schedule ]   [ Agendas ]   [ Course Handouts ]   [ For Instructors ]

All referees and coaches must complete a Volunteer Application Form and a training course once a year to be covered by AYSO Accident and Liability Insurance and the US Govt Volunteer Protection Act of 1997

Referee Checklist (for new and returning referees each year):

Complete a Referee Training Course in 2008:

• New Referees:
  • take the U8 Official or Regional Referee (U10/U12 intro) course, and
  • should take Referee Safe Haven training online. (This is required for adult volunteers only.)
    Study material available. You must first complete your eAYSO volunteer form and get your eAYSO ID to use the online course. Can skip that module if part of your course then.
• Returning Referees:
  • take the Upgrade to Regional (U10/U12) or Intermediate (U12/U14) course, and
    (If done with those, we encourage the Advanced or National course.)
  • attend the Annual Update / Refresher meeting to review the upcoming season and rule changes

Complete, Sign and Submit the eAYSO Volunteer form:

• eAYSO volunteer form
  This form is required every year from every referee and must be correctly filled out to be accepted.
• Hand the completed form(s) to the course instructor, the referee staff (RRA / RDI) or US mail them to:
  "AYSO Region 43, Attn: CVPA, PO Box 1303, Los Altos, CA 94023-1303"
     (for Region 43 Los Altos referees) or
  "AYSO Region 45, Attn: CVPA, PO Box 4252, Mountain View, CA 94040"
     (for Region 45 Mt View /South Los Altos referees)

Register with and use Web Youth Soccer
(our online scheduling and management system):

• Get an account by signing up in Reg43 or Reg45 and get a username and password, if not already done during your kids registration. Make sure to indicate next to your kid(s) name that you want to referee.
• Login to your account via the region's main page: http://ayso43.org/ or http://ayso45.org/member.htm
• NOTE: you can RSVP for a training course via the "Parent" / "Volunteer" menu selection at the left. (only available if logged into region 43 or 45)
• NOTE: You no longer should complete and print the " Volunteer Application Form" in Web Youth Soccer. Use the eAYSO.org National system for this.
• Set referee scheduling preferences by mid-August to get game assignments (especially set the dates you are available; the default is not available any date)
• Accept or decline game assignments weekly during the season or as your region tells you.
• IMPORTANT: After every game, enter game cards into Web Youth Soccer for any games you are the (center) Referee.

Pick up your uniform and equipment (new or upgrading referee's only):

• at your course (if taking from Region 43/45),
• at an orientation meeting, or
• by special arrangement with the Referee Equipment Manager (see below)

Contact Your Regions Referee staff with questions or to get a mentor assigned:

Region 43 (North Los Altos) Staff:
Regional Ref Admin (RRA)	Laurent Delamare	rra@ayso43.org
Director of Mentoring and Assessment (RDM)
Director of Training (RDI)	Randy Harr	rdi@ayso43.org
Referee Assignor (acting)	Laurent Delamare	rra@ayso43.org
Referee Equipment Manager (acting)	Laurent Delamare	rra@ayso43.org

Region 45 (Mountain View / South Los Altos) Staff:
Regional Ref Admin (RRA)	Beau James	rra@ayso45.org
Director of Mentoring and Assessment (RDM)	Bob Henderson	bob@starshippilot.com
Director of Training (RDI)	Bob Henderson	bob@starshippilot.com
Referee Equipment Manager (acting)	Beau James	rra@ayso45.org

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Referee Training Courses:

[ Refresher ]   [ U8 Official ]  [ Upgrade to Regional ]  [ Regional ] [ Asst Ref ]
[ Intermediate ]   [ Advanced / National / Instructor ]   [ Checklist ]  [ Agendas ]   [ Course Handouts ]

Not sure which course to take? See the Referee Checklist above.

Note: all referees and coaches must complete a Volunteer Application Form and a training course once a year to be covered by AYSO Accident and Liability Insurance and the US Govt Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. For referees, training implies a new or upgrade referee course (patch advance) or the Annual Referee Update / Refresher at minimum.

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   General Organizational Meetings, Annual Update (Refresher) and Safe Haven Courses:

Meeting / Course Name	Date	Day	Start	End	Location	Address	RSVP
Annual Referee Update (Refresher) Region 43 Los Altos: Presentation, AYSO 2007 Memorandum, AYSO 2007 Referee Update Pack	Aug 17 2008	Sun	5:00 PM	6:00 PM	TBD	550 Almond Ave	WYS
Annual Referee Update (Refresher) Region 45 Mt View / South Los Altos	Aug 24 2008	Sun	6:30 PM	8:30 PM	TBD	1120 Rose Ave	RRA45
Referee Refreshers in Palo Alto (if you cannot make our night, visit our neighbor region 26)	TBD	Weekdays	6:15PM	?	Cubberly Rm ?	Middlefield Rd	RDI26
Referee Safe Haven Certification (mod 1)	See	sched	below	or	take it online

NOTE: Course times, dates, and locations subject to change. Please RSVP with your intentions to be kept informed of such changes.

Referee Safe Haven is required once of every adult age referee assisting in youth soccer. Safe Haven is nominally the beginning of the U8 Official course.

To save you time, we dropped Safe Haven from the weekday night course. You must have safe haven to pass the course. So weekday night students must take the Safe Haven course online and bring your completion certificate to class. Even if you attend a referee course, you cannot get your uniform and be certified until you complete Safe Haven. If you have not taken Safe Haven Certification since 2003, we suggest you take it again as it went through a major overahaul.

Ask your RDI for a copy of the AYSO Guidance for Referees and Coaches book for reference if you take the Safe Haven course online. If taking online, we urge you to review the module 1 presentation notes at socref.net for a comprehensive coverage of the Safe Haven topic before coming to the course and taking the referee exam. The referee exam includes safe haven course taught material.

The Referee Annual Update (or refresher) covers updates to Safe Haven and all the rules, regulations, and laws of soccer. The annual update is required of every referee not taking any other referee training course that season. Safe Haven Certification does not count as an annual update nor as a referee training course.

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  U8 Official:

This is the entry-level course to start helping out on the U8 (1st and 2nd grader) fields. This short course of only a few hours covers all the fundamentals needed to make the field a safe, fair and fun experience for these new players of soccer. It provides an introductory taste to refereeing before taking the longer, more comprehensive Regional course covering all the laws of the game. There are many classes scheduled -- you can take any one of them. The course is one night, a morning or an afternoon.

Course / Agenda	Mods	Date	Day	Start	End	Location	Address	RSVP
U8 Official + (no safe haven)	3-7	19 Aug	Tue	6:30 PM	10:00 PM	Springer Elem Multi	1120 Rose Ave	WYS
U8 Official *	1-7	23 Aug	Sat	8:15 AM	1:15 PM	Covington Library	205 Covington Rd	WYS
U8 Official + (no safe haven)	3-7	26 Aug	Tue	6:30 PM	10:00 PM	Covington Rm 31	205 Covington Rd	WYS
U8 Official *	1-7	31 Aug	Sun	12:30 PM	5:30 PM	Springer Elem Multi	1120 Rose Ave	WYS
U8 Official + (no safe haven)	3-7	2 Sep	Tue	6:30 PM	10:00 PM	Springer Elem Multi	1120 Rose Ave	WYS
U8 Official *	1-7	7 Sep	Sun	12:30 PM	5:30 PM	Springer Elem Multi	1120 Rose Ave	WYS
U8 Official + (no safe haven)	3-7	9 Sep	Tue	6:30 PM	10:00 PM	Covington Rm 31	205 Covington Rd	WYS
* Arrive 1 hour later if you take the online Safe Haven Course and bring your certificate of completion. + Safe Haven not included. You MUST take the online Safe Haven Course and bring your certificate to take the exam.

NOTE: Course times, dates, and locations subject to change. Please RSVP with your intentions to be kept informed of such changes.

See also Palo Alto, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale for other course times and locations. If you take the course there, make sure to let us know so we get your records transferred to our region. Palo Alto's courses not conflicting with ours are shown in our schedule for convenience.

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   Upgrade to Regional Referee:

There are two forms of the Regional Referee Course. One is for brand new parent volunteers who have never refereed before. This is the entry level course shown later in this schedule. The second form is for trained U8 Officials who are looking to UPGRADE to Regional Referee and is described here now.

To upgrade, you only need to attend Modules 8 through 13 of the regular Regional Referee course. This is generally the last half of an all day course or starts the second night of a 3-consecutive night course. Click the course name to see the agenda for the approximate starting time of Module 8 in each course.

Upgrading referees are advised to review the material in Modules 1 through 7 in the Course Handouts as the Regional Referee exam is comprehensive (as are all referee exams). Or you can simply sit through the U8 Official course as a refresher. The evening Upgrade course is broken across two evenings. You can mix and match which evening you take as best fits your schedule. You must take the Wednesday night part first though.

Course / Agenda	Part	Mods	Date	Day	Start	End	Location	Address	RSVP
Upgrade to Regional Two night course	1 of 2	8-11	19 Aug	Wed	6:30 PM	9:30 PM	Springer Elem Multi	1120 Rose Ave	WYS
	2 of 2	12-13, 2	21 Aug	Thu	6:30 PM	9:15 PM
Upgrade to Regional One afternoon course	All	8-13	23 Aug	Sat	1:15 PM	7:00 PM	Covington Library	205 Covington Rd	WYS
Upgrade to Regional Two night course	1 of 2	8-11	27 Aug	Wed	6:30 PM	9:30 PM	Covington Rm 31	205 Covington Rd	WYS
	2 of 2	12-13, 2	28 Aug	Thu	6:30 PM	9:15 PM
Upgrade to Regional Two night course	1 of 2	8-11	3 Sep	Wed	6:30 PM	9:30 PM	Springer Elem Multi	1120 Rose Ave	WYS
	2 of 2	12-13, 2	4 Sep	Thu	6:30 PM	9:15 PM
Upgrade to Regional Two night course	1 of 2	8-11	10 Sep	Wed	6:30 PM	9:30 PM	Covington Rm 31	205 Covington Rd	WYS
	2 of 2	12-13, 2	11 Sep	Thu	6:30 PM	9:15 PM
Upgrade to Regional One afternoon course	All	8-13	14 Sep	Sun	12:30PM	6:15 PM	Los Altos Main Library Program Room	1 S. San Antonio Rd	WYS

NOTE: Course times, dates, and locations subject to change. Please RSVP with your intentions to be kept informed of such changes.

Regional Referee training is broken up into 13 modules (see detailed agenda's by clicking on the course name). The first 1 hour module is usually the Referee Safe Haven Certification. If you are an existing, trained U8 Official, you can simply attend: modules 8-13. If you need to make up a few missed modules to complete your training, see the agenda for the approximate time that each module starts. Anytime you are not taking the whole course, make sure to get an "Application for Referee Certification" form signed for those modules you do attend. You may mix course modules and sessions as long as you eventually take all 13 of the required modules and associated exam(s).

    See also Palo Alto, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale for other times and locations. If you take the course there, make sure to let us know so we get your records transferred to our region.

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   Regional Referee (new referee volunteer):

The Regional Referee Course is for brand new parent volunteers who have never refereed before. This course consists of the U8 Official course followed by the Upgrade to Regional Referee course. Both are listed above and offered consecutively for your convenience..

    See also Palo Alto, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale for other times and locations. If you take the course there, make sure to let us know so we get your records transferred to our region.

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   Intermediate:
  (old Area badge; arranged and taught by Area staff)

Course Name	Mods	Date	Day	Start	End	Location	Address	RSVP
Intermediate Referee	14-19	1-3 Aug 08	Fri-Sun	See	Flyer	St Mary's College	Moraga, CA	Director
Intermediate Referee	14	12 Sep 08	Fri	6:30 PM	9:00 PM	Covington Elem School Rm TBD	205 Covington Road , Los Altos (Hosted by Area A, Silicon Valley)	ADRI
	15-18	13 Sep 08	Sat	9:00 AM	5:00 PM
	19	14 Sep 08	Sun	9:00 AM	Noon
Intermediate Referee	14	10 Oct 08	Fri	6:30 PM	9:00 PM	Cubberley Rm TBD	4000 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto (Hosted by Area A, Silicon Valley)	ADRI
	15-18	11 Oct 08	Sat	9:00 AM	5:00 PM
	19	12 Oct 08	Sun	9:00 AM	Noon

NOTE: Course times, dates, and locations subject to change. Please RSVP with your intentions to be kept informed of such changes.

See the area lists for other training opportunities: Area A (Silicon Valley), Area N (San Mateo County), Area J (San Jose / Saratoga / Cupertino)

Note: These courses request registration via the National eAYSO system. This eAYSO system is different than our local WebYouth Soccer one. Once you fill out your Volunteer Registration Form there, you can simply register for the course by using the "Lookup - Course" menu item.

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   Advanced and National and Instructor courses:
(old Sectional, National 1, and National 2 badges; as well as old Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Instructor badges;
  generally only taught in Section 2 or Area arranged meetings once a year or so)

Course Name	Mods	Date	Day	Start	End	Location	Address	RSVP
Advanced, National Referee; (Basic) and Advanced Instructor	20-24 N/A	1-3 Aug 2008	Fri-Sun	See	Flyer	St Mary's College	Moraga, CA	Director
Advanced, National @ "Ken Aston Referee"	20-24	27-29 June 2008	Fri-Sun	See	Flyer	Chapman University	Orange, CA	Director
Advanced Referee in Area 2A (if enough RSVP, will set course)	20-24	7-9 Nov 2008	Fri-Sun	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	ADRI
(Basic) and Advanced Instructor	N/A	Mar 2009	Thu-Fri	See	Flyer	Section 2/9 meeting	Sacramento, CA

NOTE: Course times, dates, and locations subject to change. Please RSVP with your intentions to be kept informed of such changes.

National, Advanced, and Assessors courses are offered at Section camps. The Section 2 Golden Gate Camp at St Mary's College, Moraga, CA offers a live in, full immersion experience for coaches and referees. You can also attend the southern california section 1/10/11 Ken Aston Referee Camp at Chapman University in Orange, CA. We usually offer a local Advanced referee course as well. Keep checking back for details.

A reminder that to get the Advanced and National referee patch, you must perform volunteer service on referee projects such as mentoring, instructing, and management. What better way to earn those points than instructing our new referees. See the Instructors page for open teaching assignments!

Note: These courses request registration via the National eAYSO system. This eAYSO system is different than our local WebYouth Soccer one. Once you fill out your Volunteer Registration Form there, you can simply register for the course by using the "Lookup - Course" menu item.

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   Assistant Referee:

We no longer offer the Assistant Referee grade as a separate course. If starting out, simply take the Regional Referee course and ask the assignor to only place you as an Assistant Referee. There are no assistant referees in the U8 program, only (center) referees. If you want to upgrade to an Intermediate Assistant Referee instead of taking a full Intermediate referee course, then talk to the Intermediate course instructor about what subset of modules you need to take in the Intermediate course to accomplish this. But we urge you to simply take the full Intermediate course so you can more fully understand what the (center) referee is trying to do. Then simply ask the assignor to only assign you as an assistant referee. The assistant referee course is only 1.5 hours shorter than the full course.

See also Palo Alto, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale for other times and locations. If you take the course there, make sure to let us know so we get your records transferred to our region.

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   RSVP for courses :
We no longer accept email RSVP's for courses in region(s) 43 and 45. Please login to Web Youth Soccer (WYS) and click on the desired course shown under the Parent / Volunteer tab at the left. This tab lists all the volunteer positions including various courses being offered to coaches and referees. Even youth volunteers can get to this list if they have obtained a separate login (which is needed for referee scheduling anyway). The screen shots below are an example from a previous year.

If you are not a region 43 or 45 volunteer, then your region does not support the WYS RSVP mechanism for the courses. In that case, send an email to RDI to RSVP for a specific date and type of course. They will confirm the course has space and make sure you are informed of any changes. Due to a spam blocker, you may have a challenge / request in response to emails sent to the RDI.

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Referee Training Course Agendas

(Instructors: See teaching assignments / allocations. See http://aysohelp.org/ for course syllabus and other material. See handouts below for presentation material and more detailed course notes.)

Over three (3) nights, two (2) afternoons or one (1) day there are three different courses: the Safe Haven Referee course, the U8 Official Course, and the Upgrade to Regional Referee course. Each course has an exam which is comprehensive and builds on the previous course(s). A new referee hoping to do U10 or U12 games should take all three courses. Only existing U8 Officials can take the Upgrade to Regional Referee course alone without taking the other two courses.

Full Day Regional Referee Course (also 1/2 day U8 Official and 1/2 day Upgrade to Regional Referee)
U8 Official class in 1st half (modules 1-7) and Upgrade to Regional in 2nd half (modules 8-13)
Afternoon-only courses defined by looking at modules 1-7 or 8-13 only and using 1/2 day start times.
NOTE: Some modules are indicated as likely being taught OUTSIDE to help you get comfortable for what it would look like on the field. If you learn material visually (via powerpoint or similar), please review the course handouts for the content of those modules. The exam is comprehensive and may be the first time you see some material in print if modules are taught outside. If you arrive late to the classroom and find it empty, go to the field.

Start (Full Day)	Start (1/2 day)	Mod	Min	Title
8:15	12:30		15	Intros/Overview/webyouthsoccer Tutorial / Breakfast
8:30	12:45	1	60	Safe Haven Course and Exam
9:30	1:45	3	30	Pre-Game (outside)
10:00	2:15	4	30	Starting the Game (outside)
10:30	2:45		15	break (lunch order)
10:45	3:00	5	30	Stopping Play
11:15	3:30	6	45	Restarting Play
12:00	4:15	7	15	Post Game
12:15	4:30	2	30	Game of Soccer
12:45	5:00		30	U8 Exam / Lunch Break
1:15	12:30		15	Intros/Overview/webyouthsoccer Tutorial (repeat) / Lunch Break
1:30	12:45	8	30	Mechanical Aspects
2:00	1:15	9	45	Stopping and Restarting Play - Basic (outside)
2:45	2:00	10	60	Fouls and Misconduct - Basic
3:45	3:00		15	break
4:00	3:15	11	30	Offside - Basic (outside)
4:30	3:45	12	45	Ref and AsstRef Mechanics - Basic (outside)
5:15	4:30	13	45	Understanding the AYSO Game & review
6:00	5:15		35	Regional Ref Exam
6:35	5:50		10	Wrap-up, Uniforms
6:45	6:00	end

The day (or two afternoons) consists of three courses: the Safe Haven Referee course, the U8 Official Course, and the Upgrade to Regional Referee course. Each course has an exam which is comprehensive and builds on the previous course(s). A new referee hoping to do U10 or U12 games should take all three courses. Only existing U8 Officials can take the Upgrade to Regional Referee course alone without taking the other two courses.

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3-Evening U8 Official with Upgrade to Regional Referee Course
If taking U8 Official course only, you attend first night only. If upgrading from U8 Official to Regional, start on the second night. Otherwise if becoming a Regional Referee as a first time referee, then plan to attend all three evenings.
NOTE: Some modules are indicated as likely being taught OUTSIDE to help you get comfortable for what it is like on the field. If you learn material better visually (via powerpoint or similar), please review the course handouts for the content of the "outside" modules. The exam is comprehensive and may be the first time you see some material in print when modules are taught outside. If you arrive late to the classroom and find it empty, go to the field. Key is don't be late as we start promptly just as a game should!

1st Evening of 3	Start Mod Min Topic 6:30   15 Intros/Overview/webyouthsoccer Tutorial 6:45 3 30 Pre-Game (outside) 7:15 4 30 Starting the Game (outside) 7:45 5 30 Stopping Play 8:15   15 break 8:30 6 45 Restarting Play 9:15 7 15 Post Game 9:30   15 U8 Exam *** see note 9:45   15 Uniform handout for U8's 10:00 end Note: requires you have safe haven certification
2nd Evening of 3	Start Mod Min Topic 6:30 8 30 Mechanical Aspects (outside) 7:00 9 45 Stopping and Restarting Play - Basic (outside) 7:45   15 break 8:00 10 60 Fouls and Misconduct - Basic 9:00 2 30 Game of Soccer 9:30 end
3rd Evening of 3	Start Mod Min Topic 6:30 11 30 Offside - Basic (outside) 7:00 12 45 Ref and AsstRef Mechanics - Basic (outside) 7:45 13 30 Understanding the AYSO Game & review 8:15   15 break 8:30   35 Regional Ref Exam *** see note 9:05   10 Wrap-up, Uniforms 9:15 end Note: requires you have U8 Official certification

NOTE: this 3-Evening course does NOT include the Safe Haven Referee course. You must take that module online and bring the certificate of completion to the class. To take the online class, you must be a registered volunteer in the National eAYSO.org system and get your eAYSO ID.

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Referee Training Course Handouts

Items marked with an asterisk ('*') are handed out in the class. Others you will have to obtain or print from here yourself..

    Orientation, Annual Update / Refresher
* Region 43 Orientation Presentation (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, and module 0 of courses)
* Region 43 Regional Guidelines (rules) and Policy of Play (Aug2007)
* NEW Area Rules for U12 through U19 inter-regional play (and tournaments)
* NEW FIFA Laws of the Game with expanded 70 page "Additional Instructions" section
* AYSO 2007 Memorandum on FIFA law changes and
   2007 Referee Update Pack (30+ pages)
* Region 43 Referee FAQ
* AYSO Application for Referee Certification

    Referee Safe Haven
Module 1 Presentation
* Safe Haven Certification Book (now part of Guidance for Referees and Coaches)
* Safe Haven panphlet (available from AYSO Supply Store only)
* Soccer Accident Insurance pamphlet (available from AYSO Supply Store only)

    U8 Official
Exam pulls from Simplified Rules and AYSO Guidance (NR&R, Small-Sided Games)
Modules 1-7 Presentation
* Rules of Soccer, Simplified (YSP)
* Region 43 Policy of Play Appendix A (U8 Short Sided Game) (Aug2007)

    Upgrade to Regional Referee (from U8 Official)
Exam pulls from FIFA LOTG (cursorary) and AYSO Guidance (NR&R, Small-Sided Games)
Modules 8-13 Presentation
* FIFA Laws of the Game (LOTG) (2007 AYSO Edition PDF)
* AYSO Guidance for Referees and Coaches (2007 PDF) (which now includes:
   + AYSO National Rules and Regulations pamphlet
   + AYSO Short-Sided Game Rules
* Region 43 Regional Guidelines AND Policy of Play (Aug2007)

    Regional Referee (entry-level, first time)
Modules 1-13 (full 9 hour course) -- simply see both sets of material referenced above for:
* U8 Official, and
* Regional Referee (upgrade from U8 Official).

    Intermediate
Exam pulls material from complete FIFA LOTG (complete) and AYSO Guidance (NR&R, Small-Sided Games)
Exam may be given at start of class!
Modules 14-19 Presentation
* FIFA LOTG Additional Instructions (2007) (Only in AYSO edition of LOTG) (will be on exam!)
* USSF Advice to the Referees (ATR) on the Laws of the Games (2006) (not needed for exam)
* USSF Guide to Procedures (GTP) for Referees, Assistant Referees, and Fourth Officials (2007)
* AYSO Application for Referee Certification

For replenishment, as needed, and Regional Referee documents listed above

    Advanced
Exam pulls material from FIFA LOTG, USSF ATR & GTP, and AYSO Guidance (NR&R, Small-Sided Games)
Exam given at start of the class!
Modules 20-24 Presentation
* AYSO National Referee Program Manual (2007) (not needed for exam)
* FIFA Q&A (AYSO Edition) (not needed for exam)

    National
Exam pulls material from FIFA LOTG & Q&A, USSF ATR & GTP, AYSO Guidance (NR&R, Small-Sided Games) & National Referee Program manual
* " For the Good of the Game", Robert Evans and Edward Bellion, 2002 (SoccerOne)

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For more information, see the Referee section at http://ayso43.org/ or email rdi@ayso43.org.

This page created and maintained by Randy Harr.