1- Requirements to become a LWYSA Referee

Completing the Administrative Steps

The next few sections provide detailed information about each step you must complete to be a referee. Note that the forms you must complete sometimes take time to complete. W-4, I-9, and Minor Work Authorizations may be completed and turned in before you complete your referee education. Similarly, you may request an ID on the LWYSA referee system while in class as well. That way, you will be that much closer to completing all of the administrative steps when you complete your exam.

USSF License

The United States Soccer Federation provides training for referees. Current education (2014/2015) requires a new student to complete a series of online education modules and attend an 8 hour clinic taught over a couple of evenings, or during a long weekend session. Students learn the laws of the game and are given an introduction to referee and assistant referee technique. A listing of all Washington Clinics is found on the Washington_State_Referee_Committee web site. Look at the top of the page under "Instruction" or click on "How to become a referee" on the right side of the page. You may attend any clinic, as your license is actually a national license. Classes closest to LWYSA will be listed in Clinic Area "02-East King County" - though you may attend any class any where (your license is a national license).

Register at the LWYSA Web Site

LWYSA assigns its referees using this web site. If you are new to LWYSA, you must REGISTER at http://referees.lwysa.org. You will provide your name, address, and contact information. Our referee administrator will activate your ability to sign up for games once you have completed your class, the Referee Registrar from class has validated your completion and updated the state database, and you have completed ALL of the paperwork below.

When you first sign on, you will be presented with two Agreements. These agreement describes our policies concerning use of the web site, as well as our expectations and basic policies related to your work as a referee for LWYSA. You must electronically accept this agreement, by clicking on a button on the web site when you first log on, before being permitted to take LWYSA assignments. You may register at the site before you finish your class. However, you will not be able to see or use all of the referee functions until you have completed class and submitted all paperwork.

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Several forms must be completed to begin work for LWYSA. These are identified below. If you attend an LWYSA clinic, these forms will be provided to you (or instructions for obtaining them) during that clinic. You may find it beneficial to obtain these forms yourself and bring them to the clinic completed. See the following paragraphs for how to obtain the forms.

Complete a form W-4 and File with LWYSA Office

You may complete this form at any time and provide it to the LWYSA office. You do not require a logon ID to obtain this form.
All referees who officiate for any of LWYSA programs are employees of LWYSA and a W-4 form must be on file in the LWYSA office for you to be eligible to sign up for matches. Please complete a [a1]Form_W4 and submit it to LWYSA using one of the following methods: (1) Give it to an office staff member at an LWYSA referee meeting, (2) Drop it off at the office during business hours, (3) mail it.

Complete a form I-9 and File with LWYSA Office

You may complete this form at any time. You do not require a logon ID to complete and submit this form.
All referees who officiate for any of LWYSA programs are employees of LWYSA and an I-9 form must be on file in the LWYSA office for you to be eligible to sign up for matches. Please complete a [a1]Form_I9 and contact the LWYSA office at (425) 821-1741 to arrange a time to submit this form or receive instructions for how you can submit the necessary documents.

Parent/School Work Authorization

You may complete this form at any time. HOWEVER, the information on the form is unique to LWYSA. You must obtain a hardcopy form from LWYSA. You CANNOT use the form you may obtain from another organization (such as EKCSRA) and they cannot use the form you obtain from LWYSA.
This form (sometimes referred to as a work permit), is required by any person under the age of 18. LWYSA will provide you with this form, which must then be signed by a parent. In addition, if you are planning to work during any part of a school year, the form must be signed by a school official. This form must also be returned to the LWYSA office as indicated for the W-4 form. The authorization to work is valid until 9/30 of the upcoming school year. In other words, if you obtain the form in Spring, you must get a new form signed at the start of the fall school year. If you take a class in summer and get the form signed at the start of the school year, it will be valid for approximately a year. The form must be resubmitted each year the referee is under 18.

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Age Requirement

Washington State law requires that any person working in a non-agricultural job be at least 14 years old. While a recent change to the law makes it possible for persons under the age of 14 to be a referee, LWYSA does not believe that we have any games to which it is appropriate to assign a person under 14. Being a referee requires not only that a person have knowledge of the game and laws, but that they must also be "experienced" enough to handle the decison-making process and the sideline challenges that will come their way while being a referee. Experience has taught us that new referees are most successful when they are at least 14. We understand that some associations may hire persons under 14, but some of those associations also assign referees to younger games (U8-U9) on which LWYSA uses parent volunteers. Therefore, LWYSA's requirement is that a person be at least 14 when they officiate their first match for us.

LWYSA U10-U13 Orientation (if offered)

This 2.5 hour class is an important session for any new LWYSA referee. It is the session used to clearly communicate LWYSA expectations and give an opportunity to learn the administrative procedures required by the association. It is highly recommended for ALL LWYSA referees to attend this session once each year as additional topics include: changes to LWYSA rules, clarification of LWYSA policies and procedures, and an open opportunity to discuss matters of concern to the LWYSA referee. An important part of this session is demonstrating the online system used to get assigned to games and submit game results.