THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program

Transcription

1 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program SECTION 1 - ASSISTANT REFEREE PROGRAM GUIDE CONGRATULATIONS on your interest in LISRA s Assistant Referee Certification Program, which is OFFICIALLY called your USSF Grade 9 Entry Level Referee Course! LISRA would like to welcome you to the G9 Assistant Referee Program (LISRA G9 Program)! This is an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT document for you. You MUST READ IT, SAVE IT and FOLLOW EVERY INSTRUCTION and guideline contained herein. You WILL BE treated like an adult in the G9 Program, which means YOU ARE EXPECTED to read, understand, follow and TAKE SERIOUSLY, all directions, instructions and guidance provided. A consistent failure to do so may result in your dismissal from this program. HOW TO OBTAIN GAME ASSIGNMENTS (Officiating Opportunities) All AR game assignments are issued via an online, internet based assignment system called ARBITER SPORTS ( YOU MUST HAVE ACCESS to a COMPUTER, either your family s computer, a relative s, friend s or neighbor s computer OR you may utilize a computer in your local library. YOU MUST PROVIDE the LISRA G9 Director (G9@LISoccerRefs.org) with the following information in order to become registered to use ARBITER SPORTS: 1) Your Full Name, Your Address including Zip code, your phone number (home and cell) and DOB (Date Of Birth). 2) The distance (in miles) you are able to travel for game assignments. (Typical distance is 10 miles. The lower the number, the fewer the opportunities to officiate may exist, depending on where you reside). 3) A UNIQUE ADDRESS that you WILL MONITOR at least daily and respond to. This address will be your official login ID to the ARBITER SPORTS site. NOTE: We CANNOT ACCEPT YAHOO, HOTMAIL, MSN or ME accounts for registration. They have proven to be completely unreliable for dependable use with our assigning system. If you need a FREE account, please obtain a FREE GMAIL account (Google Mail) by visiting We must refuse any Registration request specifying a YAHOO or HOTMAIL address. 4) Your Home club or Town you want to consider your home base. 5) Tell us when and where you took the AR course SEND THE ABOVE INFORMATION, VIA , to G9@LISoccerRefs.org IMMEDIATELY in order to become REGISTERED and to become eligible for Game Assignments. The LONGER YOU WAIT, the LONGER YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE Game Assignments! Your valid USSF Certification as a Grade 9 Referee MUST be verified by the LISRA G9 Director BEFORE you will be authorized to use ARBITER SPORTS and receive game assignments. If you are not certified for the current calendar year you MAY NOT OFFICIATE GAMES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! 6) SEND IN a W-9. You can find one at or Once you have access to Arbiter go to [Lists] [Forms] and download and print the W-9 form and mail it to: Referee Office, LIJSL, Koehler Ave, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779, Attn: Nanci SECTION 1 Page 1 of 15

2 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program THE ARBITER SPORTS WELCOME Once you submit the requested information (above) to the G9 Program Director and your Current Certification status has been verified, you will be setup to register with the ARBITER SPORTS system. ARBITER SPORTS will send you a WELCOME once the LISRA G9 Program Director has entered you into the system. The following is exactly what this looks like: Welcome to ArbiterSports.com! One of your officiating associations will be using this website for online referee assigning and now needs you to sign in. This will explain the information needed to help you get started. - How do I Sign In? - What should I do first? - Where can I get further help? How do I sign in? To sign into ArbiterSports.com: 1. Go to and enter the sign in information provided below into the entry fields at the top right of the page. 2. Enter your sign in information as listed below: - User Name: name@gmail.com - Password: password NOTE: The first time you sign in you must accept the Terms and Conditions, as well as change your password. What should I do first? Once you are signed in the system, you may want to do the following: - If allowed by your admin, block dates when you can t work. Your admin might also have some other blocking options available to you. - Make sure your personal information is accurate by clicking the Profile tab. Phone numbers can be updated by clicking the Phones link on the left-hand side of the profile page. A picture of yourself in either jpg or gif format can also be uploaded using the left-hand menu. Pictures of officials are always appreciated by admins, partners and schools/leagues. SECTION 1 Page 2 of 15

3 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program - Mark yourself as Ready to be assigned once you have set your availability and other blocks by clicking the check box located on the at the top right of your Main tab. If you don t have this checked, your admin might not assign you to any games. - When your admin assigns you to games, you will receive a notification . Then it s up to you to accept or decline games, if allowed by your admin. To do this, you must sign into the system and view your game schedule. On the right side of your game schedule, you will see accept and decline check boxes. Once you are finished marking the games, be sure to click the Submit button to submit the changes and have the games accepted or declined. Where can I get further help? If you need further assistance, please your admin at G9@LISoccerRefs.org and always include your complete name and Club/Town. This contains complete instructions, your INITIAL PASSWORD and a LINK to the ARBITER SPORTS site to allow you to login and COMPLETE your Registration ARBITER SPORTS will make you choose YOUR OWN PASSWORD at the start of this initial logon session. NO ONE BUT YOU will know that password so REMEMBER IT PLEASE! Make sure your computer is not configured to block from ARBITER SPORTS and that it does not block s with embedded graphics from this site. If we cannot reach you via , YOU WILL NOT GET GAME ASSIGNMENTS. With literally hundreds of ARs in the LISRA G9 Program, we simply CANNOT make phone calls or send US Mail to all of you so those communication options are not options. If you need assistance, the LISRA G9 Group via G9@LISoccerRefs.org and include your name and Club/town! Remember, IS THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE WITH YOU! CONFIGURING ARBITER SPORTS FOR YOUR PERSONAL SCHEDULE Once you have completed your ARBITER SPORTS Registration, READ ALL the ARBITER SPORTS Home Page Announcements as they contain IMPORTANT items you need to COMPLETE and things you MUST BE AWARE OF. The 2 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR YOU TO DO ARE: 1) ATTACH yourself, if you are a soccer player, to YOUR OWN GAMES 2) Enter and MANAGE your own AVAILABILITY YOUR AVAILABILITY: o There is an illustrative document POSTED at the end of this Guide (SECTION 2) named How to Manage Your Availability. o ARBITER SPORTS allows YOU to control and dictate YOUR OWN AVAILABILITY and you MUST DO THIS. If you have any questions after reading the document, the LISRA G9 Group at G9@LISoccerRefs.org for SECTION 1 Page 3 of 15

4 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program assistance! And always include your name and Club/Town. o There should be almost NO REASON for you to ever DECLINE a game since YOU ARE IN CONTROL of WHEN AND WHERE you can work! Remember that DECLINES and NO-SHOWS are grounds for your possible dismissal from the G9 Program. Your game assignments are to be taken seriously! Players, coaches and, most of all, your fellow Officials are COUNTING ON YOU! You must block out the time you are not available on Saturdays as well as Sundays. Rainouts and Game reschedules may result in games played on Saturday. So you never know when you may also be assigned a game on Saturday. If you ever decide to Bridge to Grade 8, you will be assigned to CR games on Saturday. So making sure your Saturday availability is accurate is important. ATTACH YOURSELF to your own games: use the ATTACH function in ARBITER SPORTS to associate yourself with your own games. Find your Age Group and then your Team. Then ATTACH yourself to your games to PREVENT assignments to Officiate your own game! NOTE: Arbiter Sports WILL HAVE YOUR OWN GAME SCHEDULE once we announce it. You WILL be able to ATTACH to your own game schedule long before your coach has your team s playing schedule each season! NOTE: ATTACHMENTS must be done PER GAME so you MAY need to do this several times as additional games are imported into the system at the start of the season. After clicking the ATTACH Function link the following window is displayed. It includes 3 pull-down menu boxes that show DEFAULT VALUES of Boys Soccer, U19 and the Boys Soccer U19 current season s team list. YOU NEED to use these pull-down menus to NAVIGATE to the proper selections for YOUR TEAM. 1. Boys Soccer / Girls Soccer 2. Correct Age Group U14 thru U19 3. Once you have made those 2 selections, you will use the Team Details pulldown to find your team. Once you select your team, your team s scheduled games will be displayed. Click EACH GAME S ATTACH checkbox to associate yourself with each game. This will BLOCK the system from showing you as AVAILABLE for these specific games as well as these specific time frames. Click the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the screen to register your ATTACHMENTS. SECTION 1 Page 4 of 15

5 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program To ALL GRADE 9 s AWAY AT SCHOOL So we don t delete you from Arbiter just because you go away to school and are unable to officiate we need you to do the following:. 1) Block All Day from Sept 1 thru Nov 30 or March 1 thru your return date. 2) Add the following Note to [Custom Fields] ][Restrictions O] Away at School 3) Click Ready We need you to do this so because: 1) You show up as Active and Ready and will receive Important s about the season and Recertificati on. 2) You will not be assigned any games because you Blocked the time and you added the note Away at School If you don t do this, officials who have not logged in and not set themselves to ready and added the Note will be looked at as NO LONGER INTERESTED and will be deleted from the system to make room for active officials. Have you looked into officiating where you are going to school? Would you want to make some extra money? Do you have the time? If so, you may wantt to try contacting the local Referee association. Let them know you are a Grade 9 and ask if they have any games for you. If you need help locating the closest association, please let us know where you are going to school and we will seee if we can help If you do not intend to officiate, and do not attend to recertify, please let me know and we will remove you from the system and you will no longer be contacted. SECTION 1 Page 5 of 15

6 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program GAME ASSIGNMENT PROCESS Details Once you are Registered AND you have informed us of your travel distance (we can easily assign you to ANY games to which you are willing and able to travel): o LISRA G9 Assigners will ASSIGN you to appropriate games. NOTE that YOU DO NOT CHOOSE your games! They are ASSIGNED to you by authorized G9 Assignors via ARBITER o ARBITER SPORTS will YOU a NOTICE that you have Assigned Games to review and ACCEPT. You will have a set number of days in which to ACCEPT your game assignments (usually 3 days). If you do NOT ACCEPT within that time period, your assignments EXPIRE and YOU LOSE THEM! DO NOT ALLOW your assignments to EXPIRE!! Logging in DAILY to Arbiter Sports will prevent this from occurring. o IS NOT 100% RELIABLE so YOU MUST LOGIN DAILY or at a MINIMUM, EVERY OTHER DAY, to ARBITER SPORTS to check for any NEW ASSIGNMENTS. ASSIGNMENTS expire and you MUST RESPOND to them as soon as possible. o NOTE that ALL AR Assigning is carried out via and ONLY! DETERMINING FIELD LOCATIONS: o The week OF YOUR GAME(S), BY TUESDAY before the following SUNDAY GAME(S): --login to Arbiter Sports ( --Click on SCHEDULE to access your game schedule --Click on the BLUE GAME NUMBER for each of your assigned games --That will display the REFEREES assigned to that game, including YOU --Note the "CR" entry which is the CENTER REFEREE --you MUST CONTACT ( /PHONE) THAT CENTER REFEREE to obtain FIELD LOCATIO We do NOT know the Center Referee assigned to your game(s) until the week prior to your game. SECTION 1 Page 6 of 15

7 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program When you CONTACT ( /PHONE) the Center Referee do the following: If you MUST leave a message, make it DETAILED: --provide your name --your phone number(s) --state the SPECIFIC GAME you are an AR for, Date/Time/ /Home Team/Away Team If you leave 2 messages without receiving a RETURN CALL: IMMEDIATELY with the SAME DETAILS and SUBJECT: NO RETURN CALL and we will helpp you. Always sign your s with your name and Club/Town. When you SPEAK to the Center Referee, do the following: Find out the specific FIELD LOCATION Ask for the TIME TO MEET at the FIELD SWAP CELL PHONE NUMBERS so the Center Referee can contact you last minute if necessary Arbiter Sports Screen Pictures showing access of the Center Referee: Figure 1 of 2: DETERMINE FIELD LOCATION Above illustrates an AR s SCHEDULE PAGE in Arbiter Sports. Let s say you need the FIELD LOCATION for the first game listed, Game #2. Place your MOUSE on the Game Number and CLICK. Assignment GAME DETAILS. It is a LINK that will display the SECTION 1 Page 7 of 15

8 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program Figure 2 of 2: DETERMINE FIELD LOCATION The above screen display illustrates Game #2 after CLICKING on the GAME NUMBER and the display of the GAME ASSIGNMENT DETAILS. The CR entry is YOUR CENTER REFEREE. Use the PULL DOWN menu at the far right to access ALL PHONE NUMBERS for your CENTER REFEREE. First use his or her HOME NUMBER or CELLULAR NUMBER. Use the CENTER REFEREE S WORK NUMBER ONLY in an Emergency when you MUST CONTACT him or her during working hours. CR Work numbers are generally NOT available. NOT ALLL CENTER REFEREE S will have ALLL 3 Phone Number Types. Use what is listed. You can ALSO Click on the CENTER REFEREE S NAME to display a pop-up window displaying the CENTER REFEREE S information and PHONE NUMBERS. NOTE: CRs are occasionally reassigned and the CR you contacted earlier in the week may no longer be officiating your game. That is not reason to not know where to go. If by Thursday, you have not heard back from your CR, or there is not a CR posted, then click on the home team, contact the home coachh and let the coach know you are one of the officials for the games and need to confirm game directions and time with him/her. Then send an to the G9 group that the CR did not respond but you have contacted the home coach and will get directions and time from him. Then show up and work with the CR that comes to the field. COMMUNICATIONN is two way. When you send an , or call someone, it is complete only when they get back to you and acknowledge it. This is especially important if for some reason you can t make a game because of injury or illness. If you already talked to the CR you must contact him first, via or phone, then you must contact the G9 group. Only when someone has returned your or call is the communication complete and your responsibility complete. We need this acknowledgement becausee we are committed to have every three man game covered. And if you can t make it, we need to know so we can make a few calls and get someone there. Only with your help can we accomplish it. So remember every or call needs to be acknowledged to be complete. Always include your name and Club/Town in every and call. SECTION 1 Page 8 of 15

9 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMETHING CHANGES ON GAMES DAY or the day before? Up until the Friday 5 PM before the weekend's game, all communication is with the G9 group via and confirmed received as per above. But what happens after once Friday evening begins is that all communication needs to be verbal and confirmed before proceeding. So should an emergency arise that you cannot officiate your games due to an injury, or illness, or a CR gives you directions to officiate another game contrary to Arbiter, this is what you do Your first call is to your CR! (Always), then you contact the G9 group (when you are near a computer) If something happens on Game Day your first contact is your CR, Next if you can, send an to G9 and someone will get back to you. If you can t send and or you need to speak to someone immediately, you call Put this on your phone now This number will be forwarded, as NEEDED, to the office, voice mail or an assignor (Nick Apostolides who takes care of the Center Referees and all of Long Island). During the weekend, it will go to the Assignor s office during Saturday s and Sunday s office hours and then be forwarded to assignor or someone who can help during the afternoon. If an assignor is not available, it will go to the voice mail and will be retrieved as necessary. Do not worry if you do not speak directly to someone. If you call and leave a message (a clear message with your name and call back number and a brief message) then SEND AN , THE NEXT CHANCE YOU GET, TO THE G9 GROUP explaining what happened. Most of the time the office will tell you to contact the G9 group via anyway. But at least they know of the emergency. And once you have contacted the CR and sent an to the G9 group you have done your job. Remember as Grade 9 Official you are limited to the following duties: 1) You can officiate LIJSL and LIJSL Cup ALL AR positions 2) You can officiate LIJSL and LIJSL Cup CR positions U9-U11 and only when assigned by a USSF assignor 3) You can officiate JSS and NYCSL as CRs and ARs 4) You can officiate your Intramural club provided they are part of LIJSL and all the players are rostered. You must insure they are rostered and insured. Otherwise do not officiate in your full uniform. Do not wear your badge on. You cannot be Center Referee for any LIJSL games U12 and older, State Cup games All ages, NERP all ages or any other games, unless permission is granted by a USSF Certified Assignor such as Nick Apostolides or Nanci Apostolides. Failure to follow these procedures will be grounds for inactivation and/or fines. SECTION 1 Page 9 of 15

10 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program GAME DUTIES Details As stated, the Center Referee is your Crew Chief and boss for that game. Follow his or her pre-game instructions TO THE LETTER! Use each and every Center Referee to learn from. If you have ANY problem WHATSOEVER on the touchline from any PLAYER, COACH or SPECTATOR, you MUST bring this to the attention of the Middle Referee immediately. Allow him or her to handle these situations. DO NOT ASSUME they are aware that you are uncomfortable. Make sure you advise them of anything that is bothering you. They are there to help you, teach you and PROTECT YOU! You MUST be dressed in your FULL and PROPER Uniform, NO MATTER WHAT! This means: o o o o o o o Your Official Referee Shirt and CURRENT BADGE. A CURRENT Badge is one with the current YEAR imprinted on it. If you do NOT have your CURRENT Badge, you will be sent home without Pay so DO NOT SHOW UP WITHOUT YOUR BADGE! Do NOT WASH your Badge as it will fall apart! You can purchase a replacement Badge BEFORE JUNE of each year for a nominal fee. After JUNE of the year, the current year s badge is NO LONGER AVAILABLE! Your Official black Referee Shorts (Not PLAYER S shorts, even if black!). Your Official Referee socks. Black sneakers or cleats, not WHITE, BLUE, RED or any other color! If you wear ANYTHING for warmth, make sure it is BLACK and is worn UNDER your Referee shirt and/or shorts! Although not written, proper uniform includes hair neat and appearance professional" Do not show up in an "appearance that does not promote the professionalism of the officiating team" That means no rolling up shorts or makeup as if going on a date. Bring a small PAD and Pen or Pencil to record game information that you need to complete your AR Payment Form and other game details as needed. o Wear a sports watch with a TIMER! These can be purchased at any sporting goods store inexpensively. Watches and Stop watches are acceptable times. Cell phones, IPods and PDA are not. o pencils or pens, sheets of paper, whistle We HOPE this is not necessary; however, it is in writing for all to read and understand. Once again, as stated, the Center Referee is your boss for each game. Just like any other job, you should NEVER openly disagree with him or her. If you have a question about anything that occurs in the game, by all means ask that question, but do so at the halftime or game s end, privately. You are a TEAM and you must always reflect that fact. Here are some other reminders for Game Time Requirements for AR s: Be ON TIME for every game as pre-arranged with your Center Referee. DO NOT SPEAK WITH PLAYERS, COACHES or SPECTATORS BEFORE OR DURING ANY GAME! You may know many of them and it is CRITICAL that all Officials are IMPARTIAL! Do not give ANYONE ANY REASON to think you are performing your duties with favoritism. Do NOT RETRIEVE the Ball for either Team.EVER! You are NOT part of the playing game. You have NO REASON to touch the ball, stop it from travelling off the field or SECTION 1 Page 10 of 15

11 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program otherwise fetch it for any player on either team. Simply DO NOT DO IT! POST-GAME DUTIES Details Make SURE you have downloaded the latest AR PAYMENT FORM from or This form can be found on your Home Page under the LISTS Tab and then under FORMS. SAVE a copy of this form ON YOUR COMPUTER for this season but always download and new copy for next season as fees may change. Only send in Page 1 Ensure you know what information is REQUIRED for each game you Officiate. NEW ARs: There is an entry for YOUR LISRA REFEREE NUMBER on this form. You will find the number in your profile after a few days of being entered in Arbiter. Be SURE you sent in your W-9 When you first signed up and the beginning of every calendar year thereafter for Tax Reasons. NEVER include your Social Security number in ANY ! Follow the explicit directions for completing, signing and MAILING your AR PAYMENT FORM. Everything is detailed ON THE FORM itself. Submit an AR PAYMENT FORM within 24 hours of EVERY GAME YOU OFFICIATE!! DO NOT WAIT TO SUBMIT THESE! Complete them and submit them EVERY WEEK immediately AFTER you complete your games for the day. KEEP A COPY of every AR PAYMENT FORM you submit. PAYMENT is made to each LISRA Official, including AR s, AFTER THE SEASON is complete and within a few weeks of the end of each season. LIJSL pays each Official DIRECTLY, by check, for all games Officiated, based on ALL PAYMENT FORMS SUBMITTED. AR s MUST KEEP a copy of every PAYMENT FORM submitted so you can reconcile the LIJSL payment and ensure it is complete and correct. LISRA does NOT PAY Officials. Officials are NOT PAID after EACH GAME and there are NO CASH games at all! LIJSL strives to pay all Referees, including ARs, as soon as possible after the season ends. You can usually expect to receive your payment check within a few weeks of the season s end. SECTION 1 Page 11 of 15

12 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program If you do not receive a payment (4 weeks after the last game) OR your payment is not correct, you will need to re-submit payment forms for the games in question directly to the Assignor office. The address is Referee Office LIJSL Koehler Avenue Ronkonkoma, NY Attn: Nanci Apostolides Please include with your payment forms a copy of your paycheck stub and a note explaining what games you were not paid for. Please understand that it might take a few weeks for this to be corrected and for you to receive another check for the games that were missed. Be AWARE that you MUST do this IMMEDIATELY! DO NOT WAIT months before you claim a payment problem. If you do, LIJSL MAY NOT HONOR your request. DO NOT PHONE THE ASSIGNOR OFFICE FOR ANYTHING AT ALL!!! This goes for ARs AND PARENTS OF ARs!! There are simply TOO MANY OF YOU and the Assignor staff is already stretched so thin handling the Middle Referees that we CANNOT accommodate your phone calls. Your support is STRICTLY via G9@LISoccerRefs.org. PLEASE honor this request ALWAYS! And when sending any please sign it with your name and Club/Town. Other Facts: Newly certified ARs begin officiating the youngest age group presently U13, U14 or U15 games to gain experience. We prefer to see new ARs officiate U15 and U16 games for at least 1 to 2 seasons before they begin officiating U17/19 age group games. The real AR training comes on the field with the help of experienced Center Referees. LISRA expects all Center Referees to: PROTECT the ARs from any and all harassment that might occur. Continue training and helping ARs improve their officiating skills. Provide AR evaluation reports to LISRA to help identify ARs that can move ahead more quickly, ARs who need additional help and ARs who do not seem to have a real interest in officiating. LISRA is NOT simply looking for warm bodies to put on the field and we will weed out those who simply are not interested as they do not help the game or the program. The LISRA G9 Group, G9@LISoccerRefs.org, also expects ARs to provide feedback as regards their experience with the Center Referee. Center Referees who do not protect them, train or teach them, or pay any attention to them, are of great interest to us so we may further educate those Center Referees. Remember to always sign your with your complete name and Club/Town AR Officiating Fees: As of the Fall 2013 Season, the AR Fees are: U13 and U14: $27.00 per game U15 and U16: $34.00 per game U17 and U19: $39.00 per game SECTION 1 Page 12 of 15

13 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program FINES Fines were implemented in 2012 to curtail the excessive Expirations, Declines and Turn- Backs. It is not meant to make an AR go broke but to enforce the seriousness of letting assignment expire, declining games (under two weeks away) and Turnbacks after accepted assignments thru the penalty of a Fine as it seems other methods did not work. So the following Fines schedule has been approved by the Board of Directors of LISRA. EXPIRATIONS will incur a $10.00 fine per Day s Expiration. You should be checking Arbiter every two days starting 4 weeks before the season starts and throughout the season as previously noted on Page 6 of this guide. Declines less than 2 weeks the Friday before the weekend are unacceptable and will be fined $10.00 per day. You should be reviewing your schedule and updating it so it is as accurate as possible and you are not having to decline games. FIND A REPLACEMENT. If you can find someone to cover, and that person is approved by an Assignor, then you will not be fined for turning back a game. This shows us that you are taking responsibility for the assigned obligation. All fines can be challenged thru arbitration, but you must follow instructions included in the letter you will receive, which includes that the fine MUST be included with you challenge. If your challenge is upheld, your money will be returned. Any challenges that do not include the fine are automatically denied. Anyone who doesn t pay the fine will have their access to Arbiter removed and made Inactive. Don t let this happen to you. SECTION 1 Page 13 of 15

14 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program Bridging From Grade 9 to Grade 8: This is a great opportunity to become Grade 8s and make some additional money. You can still AR games on Sundays for the G9 program and CR for the younger age groups U10 and U11 on Saturdays. You will also be eligible to AR higher level games such as U19, Premier and State Cup game. Premier and State Cup require all officials to be Grade 8 or higher. These games are usually fun to do as you will have a higher grade CR to work with and the level of play is that much more enjoyable. The 8 requirements to Bridge to Grade 8 are: 1) Be at least 15 years old by the last day of the Bridge class 2) An interest in doing games in the middle (CR) 3) That you make yourself available to CR LIJSL U11 and younger games. 4) Take and Pass the Bridge to Grade 8 Course. Present cost is $ ) That as a Grade 8 you are encouraged to join LISRA and pay dues to get access to Arbiter and assignments. Grade 9s access to Arbiter is Free. Dues for those under 21 or full time student is $ ) That as a Grade 8 you are required to have minimum 4 Jersey colors (yellow, Black, Red and Blue (Green is optional). 7) Yearly recertification test (Grade 8) and recertification fee (determined by ENYYSA). 8) As a Grade 8 it is important to attend the 2 mandatory meetings and as many clinics during the year. Schedule to be posted on the LISRA Website What you need to do: 1) Send an G9@LISoccerRefs.org stating that you want to Bridge and that you understand the 8 requirements. Remember to sign all your s with your name and Club/Town 2) Take and Pass the Bridge to Grade 8 Course. We will notify of the next Bridge Course will be held or you can check and for course announcements. What the G9 group will do: 1. We will get you CR assignments on Saturday and at some Tournaments 2. We will have someone watch some of your games to assist you. 3. We will assign a Big Brother. Someone you can call and talk about what happened at the game. Good luck and should you have any questions remember to the G9 group at G9@LISoccerRefs.org and always include your name and Club/Town. This is other information important for the Bridging to Grade 8 SEE SECTION 3 SECTION 1 Page 14 of 15

15 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program More Information: You should become familiar not only with Arbiter Sports ( but also which is the official website of the Long Island Soccer Referees Association. LISoccerRef.org has a lot of very valuable information and is available for every referee and you DO NOT have to register to get to this information. Some of the information that you will find useful is found on the Home Page, in the left hand side menu blocks as you scroll down: Announcement/Classes Registrations Benefits of Members Week in Review Links Forms About Us Contact us Other Valuable Websites - LIJSoccer.com ENYSoccer.com ENY-soccer-referees.com USSoccer.com FIFA.com These are OFFICIAL sites and the information here is sanctioned by the governing soccer bodies. They are the ONLY sources for accurate and complete information about the Laws of the Game and Match Rules for the games that you will be working: The official site for the Long Island Junior Soccer League The official site of Eastern New York Soccer The official site of Eastern New Your Referees The official site of the United States Soccer Federation The official site of the Federation of International Football Association LISRA Contact Information: LISRA G9 Contact (includes the Director and ALL G9 Assignors): G9@LISoccerRefs.org and always sign your with your name and Club/Town SECTION 1 Page 15 of 15

16 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program SECTION 2 - MANAGING YOUR AVAILABILITY Once you have completed your ARBITER SPORTS Registration, READ ALL the ARBITER SPORTS Home Page Announcements as they contain IMPORTANT items you need to COMPLETE and things you MUST BE AWARE OF. The 2 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR YOU TO DO ARE: 1) ATTACH yourself, if you are a soccer player or a coach, to YOUR OWN GAMES 2) Enter and MANAGE your own AVAILABILITY YOUR AVAILABILITY: o SEE BELOW INSTUCTIONS BELOW FOR A STEP BY STEP on how to Managing Your Availability o o ARBITER SPORTS allows YOU to control and dictate YOUR OWN AVAILABILITY and you MUST DO THIS. If you have any questions after reading the documentation, the LISRA G9 Group at G9@LISoccerRefs.org for assistance! Always sign your with your complete name and Club/Town. There should be almost NO REASON for you to ever DECLINE a game since YOU ARE IN CONTROL of WHEN AND WHERE you can work! Remember that DECLINES and NO-SHOWS are grounds for your possible dismissal from the G9 Program. Your game assignments are to be taken seriously! Players, coaches and, most of all, your fellow Officials are COUNTING ON YOU! You must block out the time you are not available on Saturdays as well as Sundays. Rainouts and Game reschedules may result in games on Saturdays. So you never know when you may also be assigned a game on Saturday. If you ever decide to Bridge to Grade 8, you will be assigned to CR games on Saturday. So making sure your Saturday availability is important. SECTION 2 Page 1 of 7 Rev 2012A

17 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program Click the Calendar link found under the BLOCKS Menu Sectionn found in the left hand column of the page: SECTION 2 Page 2 of 7 Rev 2012A

18 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program Select the correct MONTH in the drop-down menu on thee Right: SECTION 2 Page 3 of 7 Rev 2012A

19 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program Select the ACTION you want from the left hand side RADIO BUTTONS: Note you can VIEW, Block An ENTIRE DAY, Block PART or PARTS of a DAY and CLEAR BLOCKS In this example we chose "Block Part Day" and 9:30 AM as the STARTT TIME for the BLOCK SECTION 2 Page 4 of 7 Rev 2012A

20 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program and we chose 12:15 PM as the TO or ENDD TIME for the BLOCK SECTION 2 Page 5 of 7 Rev 2012A

21 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program Next, we click on the 4th date in the Calendar which sets the 9:30 AM to 12:15 PM BLOCK on the 4th of September SECTION 2 Page 6 of 7 Rev 2012A

22 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program ATTACH YOURSELF to your own games: use thee ATTACH function in ARBITER SPORTS to associate yourself with your own games. Find your Age Group and then your Team. Then ATTACH yourself to your games to PREVENTT assignments to Officiate your own game! NOTE: Arbiter Sports WILL HAVE YOUR OWN GAME SCHEDULE once we announce it. You WILL be able to ATTACH to your own game schedule long before your coach has your team s playing schedule eachh season! NOTE: ATTACHMENTS must be done PER GAME so you MAY need to do this several times as additional games are imported into the system at the start of the season. After clicking the ATTACH Function link the following window is displayed. It includes 3 pull-down menu boxes thatt show DEFAULT VALUES of Boys Soccer, U19 and the Boys Soccer U19 current season s team list. YOU NEED to use these pull-down menus to NAVIGATE to the proper selections for YOUR TEAM. 1. Boys Soccer / Girls Soccer 2. Correct Age Group U14 thru U Once you have made those 2 selections, you will use the Team Details pull- down to find your team. Once you select your team, your team s scheduled games will be displayed. Click EACH GAME S ATTACH checkbox to associate yourself with each game. This will BLOCK the system from showing you as AVAILABLE for these specific games as well as these specific time frames. Click the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the screen to register your ATTACHMENTS. Now that you have set YOUR UNAVAILABILITYY you can Click READY and the Assignors will now see your name. SECTION 2 Page 7 of 7 Rev 2012A

23 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program SECTION 3 - BECOMING A GRADE 8 REFEREE REPORT: Instead of filling out the AR payment form. You now need to complete an official REFEREE REPORT. You can find this document in Arbiter in [Lists] [Forms] USSF Referee Report. Information on how to fill out this report is in the LISRA handbook which is located on our home page in the members section. To Gain access to the member section please contact Support@LISoccerRefs.org and request access. All referee Reports are required to be mailed into the correct office within 48 hours of the game. That means Monday for Saturday s game and Tuesday for Sunday s. If a RED CARD was issued then you need to mail it along with a supplemental report to the correct office and on the outside of the enveloper on the bottom write RED CARD ENCLOSED. It is very important that the report be accurate. If you are not sure about how to fill it out, please contact your Big Brother. If he is not available, or you can t reach him, send an to G9@LISoccerRefs.org and one of the assignors will help you. Remember to sign your with your name and Club/Town. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP: The individual must be under the age of 21 or must be enrolled as a full time student. An Associate Member may not hold office, may not be a member of a standing committee, and may not vote in association matters. Dues for Associate Members will be determined by the Board of Directors. ASSIGNMENT AND GAME COVERAGE AVAILABILITY Each referee must make his availability known to our assignors. Arbiter is used for this purpose. CR assignments are automatically entered as ACCEPTED since your Arbiter Availability was used to determine your availability for the game. Should a referee turn back an assignment, he/she will be subject to a $10.00 fine for each game turned back. Appeals of these fines can be made to our Grievance Committee. If you anticipate a change in your availability, as indicated in Arbiter, you must inform the assignor of the change a minimum of two weeks prior to the date in question. If you are uncertain of your availability, rather than face the possibility of a fine, place yourself as unavailable and then call the Assignor the Wednesday before the weekend to see if there are any games you can cover. SECTION 3 Page 1 of 3 Rev 2012A

24 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program Turnbacks You must do your utmost to stop turning back games. The amount of work required to cover your turn-backs continues to be excessive. PLEASE DO NOT TURN BACK YOUR GAMES ONCE THEY VE BEEN ASSIGNED TO YOU!! Remember you WILL be fined $10.00 for each turned back game. As with any fine assessed to you, you may always appeal to the Grievance Committee. You also cannot Turnbacks one game for a better game. This includes a better level games or Cash games (JSS or State). Once assigned, and accepted, only an assignor can approve the change CALLING COACH LEAVING YOUR PHONE NUMBER Please call, or , EACH home team coach to verify your field location and game time and to get travel directions to your field. It is very much to your advantage to leave your name and phone number with the home team coach so that you can be contacted directly in the event of any last minute change in plans. BAD/WET WEATHER - ASSESS FIELD/PLAYING CONDITIONS It is your responsibility to go to the field and assess the playing conditions in person, if you have not heard from the home team coach two or more hours prior to the game s scheduled starting time. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE MAY YOU CANCEL A GAME OVER THE TELEPHONE. Only the Home Coach, the League, the Assignor or the Referee office may do it over the phone. If the home coach does not cancel, you must appear at the field and make a decision as to whether or not the field is in playable condition. Be careful sometimes, if there is more game scheduled on a field, one game can be canceled but the following games may still be played. Check with each coach just to be sure that all games on your field have been canceled. In the event of bad weather, check the office answering service. If there has been a cancellation, there will be a message to that effect on the machine. A REAL EMERGENCY IF YOU CAN Not COVER YOUR GAMES If you cannot cover your assigned game(s) due to a last minute emergency, you must contact the Assignor phone (917) and leave a message. SECTION 3 Page 2 of 3 Rev 2012A

25 THE AR Guide: LISRA G9 Program If, for whatever reason, your game(s) go uncovered, you will receive a call from a LISRA Board member to determine the reason. That board member will report his/her findings to the Arbitration Committee for evaluation and appropriate action will be taken. The assignors are usually in the Assignor s office Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7am-11am during the Spring and Fall seasons. - END - SECTION 3 Page 3 of 3 Rev 2012A