Referees

Referees are vital members of our club and we want to ensure that they continue to develop in their craft. One way to ensure this is for coaches to give helpful feedback to the refs through George Pinter, our Head Ref or Jim Niebuhr.

Take a few minutes after a game to communicate both positively and critically regarding the referees involved with your games. If you do chat with a referee after a game, remember that it is not your role to straighten him or her out. You may have some questions as to why they made or didn’t make a call from the game. They will make some mistakes and we have to learn to live with this. It is not an easy job, so remember that when communicating with them. It is also important that we coaches set the example for our players and parents in terms of how we respect the referees during and after games. This applies to your team’s parents on the sideline as you are responsible for them.

The referee has final authority over calls and non-calls as well as field conditions to determine whether or not to play or cancel a game. Please note that a volunteer running the sideline flag during a game (coach or parent) is not to call offsides. This is the responsibility of the referee and he/she is helped only if he/she has certified assistant referees. 

All coaches are encouraged to visit the FIFA web site, and watch the Interactive Guide to Offside (Law 11) as well as review the Laws of the Game.

Are you interested in becoming a referee? 

Click here for available referee certification courses. 

Look for the following clinic:

Entry Level Referee Clinics (Administer by BC Soccer)

(This is the clinic you want to take if you are looking to become a registered referee in British Columbia)

 The Entry Level Referee Clinic is the entry point into the Provincial Referee Program.  Once an individual is successful in passing this clinic they will be classified as a Youth Referee, if they are 14 or 15 years old or a District Referee, if they are 16 years old or older.

 The goal of this three day clinic is, through experienced referee instructors and video, provide the knowledge of refereeing in all aspect of the game.  The topics covered include, but are not limited to the Laws of the Game, Positioning, Signals, Administration of the game, and Preparation & Match Reporting. 

 Pre-requisite: Minimum 14 Years old

Course Length: 17 hours

Course Fee: $100.00

Clinic Time: Friday 6pm - 10pm - Saturday 9am - 4pm - Sunday 9am - 2pm

Pass this clinic, we can put you to work!

Referees: click here for a Referee's Pre Game Checklist.