Important Administrative Information

Registration of soccer officials in TN is managed by The Soccer Officials of Tennessee (SOTN).

Information about some of SOTN’s policies/procedures can be accessed by clicking the following links.

Referee Information

• New Referees
• Referee grades managed in Tennessee
• Referee registration
• Referee recertification
• Referee upgrade
• AYSO to USSF cross-certification in Tennessee
• Registration fees charged in Tennessee
• TSSA State League Fees
• Referee uniforms
• Traveling Out of State
• Print a USSF ID Card

New Referees

To become a new referee, you need to take an entry-level referee class. In Tennessee, two types of entry-level classes are offered. One certifies you as a grade-8 referee and the other certifies you as a grade-9 referee.

For the most part, grade-8 referees manage and conduct youth-level matches at a competitive level (Divisions 1, 2, and 3 . . . including ‘select’ matches). The grade-8 entry-level class takes about 15 hours.

Grade-9 referees (sometimes referred to as ‘recreational’ referees) are trained to manage and conduct U14-and-younger matches within recreational leagues. The grade-9 entry-level class is about 8 hours; this class is not offered everywhere in Tennessee.

Grade-8 referees can referee recreational games, but grade-9 referees are not supposed to referee competitive games. For every grade-9 referee in Tennessee, there are about a dozen grade-8 referees.

To register for an entry-level class, click Approved Classes (top menu bar) and follow the online instructions.

For detailed instructions, click here.

If you need assistance, please contact Peggy Gruzalski.

Referee Grades Managed in Tennessee

Items listed are applicable to Tennessee certifications.

• Grade 9 – U.S. Soccer Federation Recreational Referee
  1. Minimum Age: None
  2. Badge: U.S. Soccer Recreational Referee, with current year
  3. Assignment Level: Referee (whistle) on recreational youth games U-14 and younger only and assistant referee on any game U-14 or below
• Grade 8 – U.S. Soccer Federation Referee
  1. Minimum Age: 12
  2. Badge: U.S. Soccer Referee, with current year
  3. Assignment Level: All youth games, assistant referee in comparable games
• Grade 7 – U.S. Soccer Federation Referee
  1. Minimum Age: 16 with SRA Approval
  2. Badge: U.S. Soccer Referee, with current year
  3. Assignment Level: Referee (whistle) all youth games and mixed leagues and assistant referee in the top adult division.
• Grade 7A – U.S. Soccer Federation Referee
  1. SOT designation: The “A” demonstrates that the Official has met the requirements to Referee (whistle) Amateur and State Youth D1 matches. For 2016 it indicates taking a qualifying Sprint and Interval test. Beginning 2017 it will also indicate the passing of an assessment on a U15 or higher match.
  2. Minimum Age: 16 with SRA Approval
  3. Badge: U.S. Soccer Referee, with current year
  4. Assignment Level: Referee (whistle) all youth games and mixed leagues, adult amateur games through second division and assistant referee in the top adult division. To Referee (whistle) D1-State-League matches or amateur matches, a referee must take one of our sprint and interval tests. Beginning 2017 an assessment on a U15 match will be required to achieve the “A” designator.

• Grade 6 – U.S. Soccer Federation State Referee
  1. Minimum Age: 18
  2. Badge: U.S. Soccer State Referee, with current year
  3. Assignment Level: Assignment Level: All youth games and adult games including first division and assistant referee in professional league
• Emeritus – Grades 13-16 – Emeritus grades allow State and National Referees the option of retiring from that level of officiating while retaining the grade and officiating at a lower level. Referee grades 5 & 6 correspond to emeritus grades 15 & 16, respectively.

1. Badge: U.S. Soccer Emeritus Referee
2. Assignment Level: Assignment of Emeritus referees without the “A” designator as Referee (whistle) in Amateur or youth division 1 is NOT ALLOWED. Assignment of Emeritus Referees as Referee (whistle) in youth D2-4 matches and as Assistant Referee at any level as needed to pass on their experience is most welcome and is encouraged.

• Emeritus – Grades 13A -16A – Referees Emeritus with an “A” designator.

1. SOT designation: The “A” demonstrates that the Official has met the requirements to Referee (whistle) Amateur and State Youth D1 matches. For 2016 it indicates taking a qualifying Sprint and Interval test. Beginning 2017 it will also indicate the passing of an assessment on a U15 or higher match.
2. Badge: U.S. Soccer Emeritus Referee
3. Assignment Level: Emeritus referees are Retired, may not be used in normal rotation assignments.  Emeritus referees should not be assigned or accept assignments as Referee with a whistle in Amateur or D1 Youth matches more than one DAY a week. Use of Emeritus Referees as Assistant Referee (AR) at any level and in youth D2-4 matches as Referee with a whistle to pass on their experience is most welcomed and encouraged.

Referee Registration

1. Referee registration in Tennessee is managed by the Soccer Officials of Tennessee (SOTN), and all SOTN records (registration records, class records, etc.) are stored in a Game Officials database created especially for SOTN and its members. These records are SOTN’s official records.
2. About once a month, SOTN’s registration information is sent to US Soccer, and US Soccer uploads this information into its database (usually within a few weeks of receiving it). Consequently, Tennessee registration information on US Soccer (www.ussoccer.info) is almost always out of date.
   Going to referee out of state?
   The fact that US Soccer’s data lags behind SOTN’s data can have a negative impact on Tennessee referees who officiate out of state. If you plan to work for an out-of-state assignor who will require that your registration information is in US Soccer’s database, then it’s imperative to register in Tennessee well before you plan to go out of state. We suggest that your Tennessee registration is completed two months ahead of time.
3. Soccer officials have registered annually, for the period January 1 through December 31.
4. USSF badges have a date on them. Referees should wear only the current year badge when officiating.
5. Many of the Frequently Asked Questions have to do with referee registration.

1. Begin here.
2. Click ‘Yes…’ to continue.
3. Select the type of class you are requesting.
4. Enter the requested information.
   1. In the field called Host League, enter the lead instructor’s name and the district in which the class will be taught. For example, if Rufus Woodard is wanting to teach a class in Murfreesboro, he would enter “Rufus Woodard / Central.”
   2. In the field called Special Request (near the bottom of the form), please list the names of the other instructors to be posted.
5. The class fees that follow are the default. When applicable, a late fee ($15) is added for the two recertification classes.
   

   	Max Class Fee	Registration Fee	Max Total Fee
   Referee Entry Level (9)	$30	$35	$65
   Referee Entry Level (8)	$40	$48	$88
   Referee Bridge (9 → 8)	$30	$48	$78
   Referee Recertification (9)	$20	$35	$55
   Referee Recertification (8)	$20	$48	$68
   Assignor Entry Level (8)	$30	$35	$65
   Assignor Recertification (8)	$20	$35	$55

   If a different amount from what’s listed above is being charged, please indicate this in the field labeled Special Request. Do not worry about late fees, these will be added automatically when appropriate.

   If you wish to charge more than what has been listed above, please also provide the justification (e.g., lunch will be part of the class).

6. When you’re done, click ‘SAVE (Add Class)’ at the bottom of the page.
7. Enter your email address in the box that appears next and then click ‘OK.’
8. Within a few minutes, you will receive an email from admin@pasmail.com. Open the email and click the link. If this isn’t done, I may not receive the request.

To request a presentation kit, please click here.

To order books and badges, please send an email to Peggy Gruzalski. To find out which books need to be handed out at class, please see ‘Which books do I need to hand out in class’ (below).

A list of Tennessee cities and their corresponding districts

.  .  .  can be found here. In what follows, I refer to this a ‘the pdf list.’

I realize that the official TSSA districts are only approximated by the pdf list. Because TSSA assigns each county to one district, some cities map into more than one district. For simplicity, however, I choose to ignore this annoying complication. And so, if you ever need to know in which district a particular referee resides (for referee-registration purposes), please feel free to use the pdf list.

If you notice errors or omissions in the pdf list, please bring them to my attention.

Thanks.

Greg Gruzalski

Failing the refresher exam

If a referee fails the refresher exam, SOTN requires that he/she wait 30 days before retaking it.

Failing a maintenance assessment

If a referee fails a maintenance assessment, SOTN requires no waiting period to retake.

• The first failure will require only one additional passing assessment (one for one).
• For the second and any additional failures, the ‘two for one’ rule will apply. That is, two passing assessments are required to offset each failing assessment (other than the first one). For example: If someone were to fail three maintenance assessments, he/she would have to pass five to offset the ones failed.

Failing to officiate at the Boys D-1 State Championship

Grade-5 or grade-6 referees who fail to officiate at the Boys D-1 State Championship will be downgraded at least one grade for the remainder of the year.

Failing the physical fitness test

If a referee fails the physical fitness test, SOTN requires no waiting period to retake.

Recertification after not being certified for one or more years

Grade-8 referees who miss 1-2 consecutive years of registration can be reregistered as a grade 8 after completing a referee recertification clinic.

Grade-8 referees who miss 3-4 consecutive years of registration can be reregistered after taking the Bridge class or the entire grade-8 entry-level class.

Grade-8 referees who miss 5 or more consecutive years must retake the entire grade-8 entry-level class.

Grade-7 referees and higher who have missed one or more consecutive years will be downgraded a minimum of one grade. Once they have taken the appropriate class as listed above for grade-8 referees and have completed all requirements for their previously held grade, they may be reinstated.

Grade-9 referees who miss one or two years of registration may be reregistered after fulfilling all requirements for that grade. A grade-9 referee who misses two years of registration can be eligible to take the Bridge class after he or she has met the requirements to be recertified as grade 9.

Registration Fees

TSSA State League Fees

as of 1/1/2018

Make sure to check the Referee Fees page on this website for up to date info:

 Referee Uniform

From the 2009-2010 Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game:
5.1 REFEREE UNIFORM
Referees may wear only the gold primary jersey or the black, blue, red, or green alternate jerseys, and may wear only the approved socks. (The term “primary jersey” means only that this is the color all referees must have. It does not mean that the gold jersey must be worn in preference to other colors.) No other colors will be worn without the express permission of the USSF. If the uniform colors are worn by a goalkeeper and the referee or by a team (or both teams) and the referee are similar enough to invite confusion, the goalkeeper or the team(s) must change to different colors. Only if there is no way to resolve the color similarity must the referee (and the assistant referees) wear the colors that conflict least with the players. Referees and assistant referees must wear the same color jerseys and the same style of socks, and all should wear the same length sleeves. The referee uniform does not include a hat, cap, or other head covering, with the sole exception of required religious head covering. Referees must wear the badge of the current registration year.

Referees should select their shoes with an eye for both utility and appearance. Referees have to run on the field with at least as much speed and agility as do the players, so the shoes should enable them to do this under all field conditions. Players, team officials, and spectators often make initial judgments about the skills and knowledge of the referee based on appearance, and shoes can contribute significantly toward building that reserve of confidence. It is also occasionally important that players, who are frequently looking down at the ground, be able to identify the referee quickly by differences in the shoes. Accordingly, the referee’s shoes should be predominantly black, clean, polished, and neatly tied.

Under normal circumstances, it is not acceptable for a game official to wear headgear, and it would never be seen on a high-level regional, national or international competition. However, there may be rare circumstances in local competitions where head protection or sun visors might sensibly be tolerated for the good of the game, e. g., early morning or late afternoon games with the sun in the officials’ line of sight causing vision difficulties; understaffed situations where an official with sensitive skin might be pressed into service for multiple games under strong sunlight, or a referee who wears glasses needing shielding from rain. Sunglasses would be subject to the same considerations. In addition, we ask referees to remember that sunglasses have the unfortunate side effect of suggesting that the referee or assistant referee is severely visually impaired and should not be working the game. They also limit communication between the officials and the players by providing a barrier against eye-to-eye contact. Sunglasses, if worn, should be removed prior to any verbal communication with players.

Points of Emphases for Tennessee Referees:

1. When possible, Tennessee Referees are requested to adjust their uniform colors when there is a conflict with team colors.
2. Referees should dress in the same uniform which includes:
   1. Jersey colors, same length sleeves
   2. Same style of socks
3. Referees should not wear any headgear without a significant reason for doing so.
4. Sunglasses should not be worn without a significant reason for doing so. If sunglasses are worn, they should be removed prior to any verbal communication with players or match officials.
5. When temperatures are below 45 degrees or with assignors’ approval, referees may wear pants, gloves, headgear, etc. as described here:
   1. Long Pants: All officials must wear the same color and all officials must dress the same.
   2. Gloves: Black
   3. Head Gear: Black referee designed earmuffs or pile (watch) caps.
   4. Other gear approved by the assignor – with emphases on CREW uniformity.

Many of you like to travel to out of state events.  You are encouraged to do this as it makes us all better officials when we are exposed to different environments.

Please note the following TN requirements;

• All Tennessee Referees are required to notify the TN State Referee Administrator (SRA) when they wish to officiate out of state.
• The SRA will provide the referee with an email attesting to their good standing and that a background check has been performed on the referee requesting to travel.
• SRA approval will be processed within 5 working days from time of a request. Please avoid duplicating request within the 5-day period.
• When the desired event is in January, you MUST complete your recertification requirements not later than December 1st so that your next year recertification can be processed.

As a common courtesy, assignors generally ask referees to provide this letter of good standing and that a background check has been performed, be proactive and have it in your possession before you are asked for it.

Please provide the SRA with advanced notice, especially when the requested travel dates are near a Holiday.  Remember, the SRA is a volunteer, request within a week of the event may not be approved.

Failure to notify the SRA of impending or actual officiating out of State could result in the referee placed in “Bad Standing” and could jeopardize the referee’s certification.

Referees may print a USSF ID Card on the USSF Web Site.

Go to the USSF site here (you can print your registration card)

https://ussoccer.secure.force.com/referee/

If you do not have a login/password

• Go to Sign up now
• Provide the first two letters of your last name and your USSF ID number
• Provide your email address and a password
• Exit the site and log in

If you have a login

• Login
• Go to Current Registrations tab
• Print your registration card