2015 assignor certification

2015 ASSIGNOR CERTIFICATION
Matching Referees to Games
United States Soccer Federation
Michigan Referee Committee
1
This power point is for those who will become certified assignors at the
conclusion of this class. The presenter view has the note section
available below each slide to permit individual note taking.
This ppt is intended to be a workbook & reference
document during class.
John Corbett
State Director of Assignors
1630 Oxford SE; Grand Rapids, MI 49506
616-334-4240
SDAmichigan@gmail.com
2
Once certified, you are a crucial part of the Michigan referee
community, and the national referee community (United States
Soccer Federation - USSF).
Referees depend upon you: for games that allow them to grow
their skills; to challenge their risk taking; for advocacy and support.
The Michigan Referee Committee depends upon you to impartially
work with referees, with their best interests as your most important
goal. You receive assignor insurance, access to Michigan USSF
referees, and free use of Game Officials software to not only assign
referees in your area, but link with assignors and referees throughout
Michigan.
Just as you help referees progress, the MRC offers resources and
contacts to help develop your assigning skills, advance in league and
tournament assigning, and support when you need it.
It is a privilege to have you on our team.
Welcome!
3
Class Objectives:
o Give you an overview of assignor ethics, protocol and expectations
o State how you obtain games and match referees to those games
o Explain Game Officials, the online program to offer game assignments
o If/when/how to handle complaints, problems and compliments
o Remember- no matter what the situation, you are always on-duty
o Pair each new assignor with a veteran assignor
o You pass the class and become an asset within our referee community
4
o
Overview of assignor ethics, protocol and expectations
Assignor Code of Ethics
- I will maintain the utmost respect for referees and other officials
of the game, and conduct myself honorably at all times,
- I consider it a privilege to be part of the USSF and my actions will
reflect credit upon it and its affiliates,
- I will conduct myself ethically and professionally in the assignment process (ie: not show favoritism)
- I will make assignments based upon what is good for the game
good for the referee, and only assign USSF certified referees,
- I will offer equal opportunity to all qualified referees and not discriminate against, or take advantage of, anyone or group
based on: age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin or
disability,
5
Assignor Code of Ethics cont’d
- I will respect the rights of dignity of all the referees and will not
criticize them unless it is in private, constructive, and for their
benefit,
- I will contribute to the continuous development of referees in
the National Program for Referee Development,
- I will give priority to USSF-affiliated game,
- I will safeguard the confidentiality of the USSF-registered referee
list and the assignor access to US Soccer and Game Officials’
data bases,
- I will cooperate fully in the timely resolution of any grievance,
hearing or complaint.
6
Assignor Protocal and Expectations
- The State Director of Assignors is appointed by the State Referee
Administrator, and is a member of the Michigan Referee
Committee.
- League/Club assignors assign for a group of clubs (a league) or
individual clubs. Assignors may be contracted by a
league, a tournament or a club; or assigned to a club or
venue by the referee association staffing games in that
area.
It is the assignor who matches referees to games, not the
club who contracts for assigning services.
- The Michigan Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA) requires
referees to be assigned to Michigan State Premier Soccer
and MSYSA Tournament matches by a certified assignor.
7
Assignor Protocals and Expectations cont’d
- MSYSA doesn’t require certified assignors for youth recreational, select and adult matches.
- The benefits for certifying are: access to certified USSF
referess to assign, assignor insurance (identical to the
coverage for referees), game officials software to assign
referees, and being eligible to assign to premier games
and become a tournament assignor.
- All USSF assignors, referees, referee instructors and assessors
are required to have a current Risk Management card if
they are at least 18 years old. Certification cannot be
completed without one.
- Assignors are encouraged to provide input for state cup,
director academy and premier match assignments.
8
Assigning Protocals cont’d
- You may not sell or otherwise transmit any directory of
currently registered referees received from the MRC to
any outside third party or non-USSF certified assignor
without express written approval of the National Referee
Committee and the BOD.
- Your access to Game Officials (referee database and
assigning software) is for the sole use of Michigan certified
assignors. DO NOT SHARE YOUR ACCESS CREDENTIALS
WITH ANYONE.
- You may assist another certified assignor or referee via
Game Officials, but do not share your credentials!
- Assign only one center referee. Never assign or permit
two referees on field, with or without a whistle.
9
o
Obtaining games and matching referees to those games
Obtaining Games
- If you are affiliated with a club and in this in order to
assign for them, you have access to their game schedule
(home teams, away teams, game dates/times and
venues)
- You need to find a club who needs an assignor. You may
contact the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association
and request the names of the clubs and their contact
people
- After you find a club, and before you contract to be their
assignor, you should reach agreement (in writing) with
the club on the following:
10
Obtaining Games cont’d
-when will you receive the schedule to assign referees?
you need time to enter the games, assign the referees,
time for them to accept/decline/ignore the assignments,
and re-assign the game if the assignment isn’t accepted.
- who will give the schedule to you? Who will tell you when
are added, changed, or cancelled?
Each club should designate one person as your contact
for this information. Not one per team, but one for the
entire club.
- who do you inform when you cannot schedule enough
referees to play a game?
- how many referee positions are to be assigned per
game?
Typically, you will assign 1 or 3 referees/game.
11
Obtaining Games cont’d
- what are the referee’s fees? When are they paid?
The fees are typically set by the age group playing
(ie u8-10, u11-12, etc). Fees are paid to the crew before
each game, when the teams give the referees the passcards and team rosters.
- what happens with referee fees when the referees are paid
but are not able to start the game? Start, but cannot
complete the game? The game may not be started if
lightning/thunder occurs, one team does not have the
minimum number of players, team does not have pass
cards, etc. The match may not be restarted if
thunder/lightning continues, the field becomes unsafe,
etc.
In any of these instances, the referees keep their fees. They
are not obligated to work the rescheduled game at all.
12
Obtaining Games cont’d
- If the referee is notified the game is cancelled before the
referee leaves for the game, no fee is owed to the
referee.
- If the referee is working consecutive games and is notified
of the cancellation, no fee is paid to the referee.
- If the game is cancelled after the referee leaves for the
field, especially if the referee is driving a distance, the
referee will want to be paid, and the team will not want
to pay him (there may not be anyone there to pay him).
So what constitutes “notification” and who provides it?
Notification by the assignor, by text or telephone call, is
sufficient. When notification is made, not when the
referee sees/hears it, is when the referee received the
notification.
It is crucial that referees keep their contact information in
Game Officials current.
13
Obtaining Games cont’d
The most important part of the assigning agreement is what
you are to be paid, and when you will be paid.
There are typically two major assignor pay rates:
$ x per game assigned per season, and
$ x per season, regardless of the number of games.
You are encouraged to contract to be paid per game
assigned. When the club pays for each game, they make most
every effort to have games played when scheduled because
their referee budget is predicated on the number of games on
the original schedule- not on the original schedule + reschedules.
When they pay a single fee for the season, you will likely be
at their mercy with reschedules. And they will expect you to find
referees at their convenience.
14
Obtaining games cont’d
There is a range of fees assignors are paid per game.
$7/game is a rough average.
You should track all rescheduled games. If the club
questions why a game number appears more than once in your
billing you can tell them. Sending a list of the games you
assigned referees to (without the referees’ names) can be
created in Game Officials. It is a good business practice to send
this list with your assigning bill.
While you will want to bill towards the end of the season in
order to have as many games listed as possible, do not wait
until the season is over before you send the initial bill to the club
contact. They need time to review your bill, write the check,
have it signed and mailed to you. After the season is over, many
clubs close their books for the season. You do not want to wait
until the next season to be paid for the past season.
15
Matching Referees to Games
15 years ago “matching” was called assigning. You assigned
a referee to games and that was it. Referees were on their own to
sink or swim, and it was up to them to manage their futures.
Now, much of their success and opportunities rest with you.
We want you to know the referees- how old they are, their referee
grade, whether they will travel for games, whether they want to
be assigned (or never assigned) to the center, the oldest game
they can do well in the center and on the line, etc. Much of this
information will change for each referee during a season and
between seasons. You need to know when a referee is doing
well, and should be given more difficult games to challenge himto push him to the edge of his comfort zone. You also need to
know when not to push because the referee will quit. You need to
know when to move a referee down to younger games to
improve some skills and/or regain confidence.
16
Matching Referees to Games cont’d
Your start-up costs of time are greater to learn Game Officials
than to use Game Officials; greater to make initial matches than
to cover subsequent declines and turn-backs.
The same applies to getting to know your referees. If other
assignors use the same referees you will, talk to the assignors
about the referees. Whether you are the only assignor or part of a
group of assignors, schedule a pre-season meeting to meet the
referees and discuss assigning practices and referee preferences.
The referees are independent contractors, and are free to
accept or decline game offerings from you. The bottom line is:
you need them more than they need you. Get to know them, and
with the younger referees who do not own a vehicle- get to know
their parents on a first-name basis. When you schedule the
referee, you are really scheduling the parent and the family car.
There will be times when you need a parent to say his kid will take
the game, or tell the kid he cannot turn-back an assignment.
17
Communication with referees, parents and everyone else!
You’re never off the clock. People may forget who was supposed
to hear your comments, but they will not forget you made the
comments.
Follow-up with referees. Guide them, help shape expectations,
direct them, and at times, listen to their venting. If a referee has a
concern, follow-up on it to the extent you are able and let the
referee know what you are doing. Let the referee know the
outcome of your efforts.
Public contact. Typically concerns come from coaches. Listendetermine if they just want to vent or if there is a justifiable
concern. If additional action appears justified, get the complaint
in writing. No written concern = no further action on your part. You
may discuss with the referee anyway. DO NOT give out referee
contact information – serve as the lmediator.
Do not promise more than you can/will do. Do no less than what
you said you’d do.
18
Now you are ready to learn what you must do to assign with
GAME OFFICIALS, the assigning software used by the Michigan
Referee Committee. It is at no charge to you or the referees you
will match to games.
Referees who do not use Game Officials for game
assignments, cannot be directly assigned to premier games,
Directors Academy Games, State Cup or Midwest Regional
games. Game assignments in these leagues are by
invitation/recommendation. A referee who does not receive
Game assignments via Game Officials, is not visible for offerings.
Game Officials is the on-line software referees use to sign up
for classes to certify and recertify, and that you accessed to
register for this course.
The remainder of this class is how to use Game Officials. To
assist you, after the class you will be paired with a mentor, who
knows how to use Game Officials and is your 1:1 link for help.
19
F82A3130
5
1303
1
www.game
o GAME OFFICIALS
- log into game officials via our portal: michiganrefs.gameofficials.net.
this puts you directly in the Michigan group.
-Prior to this class, your game officials home page consisted of
just the registration and learning group, #1303.
Registration and Learning System Identities
Num Group
Type
Full Name
Prim Sport
Version
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
20
As a certified assignor, your home page will have two groups:
the Registration and Learning #1303, and Assignment System
Identities #1308.
21
Game Officials cont’d
- All assigning work will be performed in group #1308.
-When you log in you will show being in the Registration and
Learning group
-Left-click on “switch” to the far left of “assignor” in order to switch
into the assigning group (so you can assign).
Assuming you are not joining an existing league in game officials
you have to create a league with everything needed to
assign referees to games.
ITEMS YOU NEED TO CREATE:
#1. The league needs a name Your group of games (the season)
is a league in game officials.. If you copy the name of the
league you assign for, and use it as the name of your
assigning group, the games are more easily identified and
linked. For example- you assign for the Grand Valley Soccer
Association. You may name your group “GVSA”.
22
Game Officials cont’d
On the left is GROUP MAINTENANCE, and below is “Leagues”.
Click on “Leagues”.
Click on “Click to add a new league”
Select a sport “soccer” and click “continue”
You are on the LEAGUE MAINTENANCE page.
Add all the required information on the following page:
23
24
25
26
27
Game Officials cont’d
If the venues already exist in Game Officials, link the venues to your
league. If the venue does not appear in alphabetical order, make
sure it is not spelled incorrectly or abbreviated.
If the venues aren’t in game officials you will have to have the league
secretary (or another league secretary) enter the venues to
preserve formatting consistency. After they are entered, you can
link the new venues to your league.
28
29
The secretary has to enter the group characteristics for each age
group. You provide the secretary with the information.
the age group: ie u10
boys or girls
the length of the half: ie 25”
the length of both halves + the amount of time for half-time: ie 55
(25+25+5)
the number of referees positions you need to assign refs to
(it will either be 1 or 3)
U10’s play 25 minute halves, and u11’s play 30. U11 also plays with
a larger ball. When you schedule a teams with these types of
differences, the younger team will play to the game standards of
the older team.
In this example, the u10 team will play 30” halves and use a larger
ball.
30
31
Now that you have the venues, age-group information, you need
referees in your group to match to games. The steps to place
referees in your league is called “certifying” in Game Officials.
There are two ways to have an official certified for your assigning
group (league).
1) The official goes into his Game Officials account, the
“preferences” link and checks your league. Then goes into
“league/tournament preferences” and checks the box for
your league. Then goes to “working areas” and checks the box
for the area your leagues home games are played. In the last
drop down :misc preferences/notes) the official can list any
team conflicts or venue preferences. Checking “save” in any
drop down saves information in all of them. This is “self
certifying”.
32
33
34
2) The alternative means to certify an official is for you to click on “officials”
on your main menu. Enter the official’s name and click search. Click on
the correct official’s name; then on “conflicts/preferences”.
Click on “league/tournament preferences”. Place a check in the box
next to your league. Go to the next drop down “working areas” and
check the box for the area your league’s home games are played.
Then drop down to the bottom of the page and click “save”.
Now you have the venues (game fields), the age groups for the teams and
the game features unique to each group. You have referees certified (who
will accept game assignments from you.
The next step is managing your referees:
 Make sure each referee indicates when they are available for games
on their G.O. calendar,
 Prompt the referees to keep their availability current.
35
G.O. assumes the referee is not available, unless the referee makes
himself available on a given date and time period. A problem with this
format is you do not know if the referee is really not available, or just forgot
to show he is available.
Whenever possible, ask and remind your referees to mark when are
available and when they are not available. They need to do the former,
and it will minimize your guesswork if they show when available.
If you need referees on short notice, first contact referees who appear
available, then go to those that do not show as available or not available,
then contact those that are not available and who do not show game
assignments on the same date and time.
The following slide shows how to read the calendar. Red is not
available for the day, green is available the entire day, red/green stripes
mean the referee is not available for part(s) of the day, and is available for
part(s) of the day.
36
37
After you have entered your games in G.O., you are ready to begin
assigning.
Click assigning games on the main menu.
Select the date, or range of dates, you want to view games for.
Enter the league information, location area and the location. The
location can either be a single venue, or a filter that combines
several fields at a venue or several venues.
Click on reload. This pulls up the game information that matches the
variables you input.
The next slide shows the games on 12-4-14 at the Northview complex.
38
39
Click on batch assign all approved games below.
Click on assigning window sort/display options.
The next screen shows all the filters active for your assigning. You can
disable any (or all) of them by checking the box to the left of the filter
name.
You may need to look for any official to assign- the certified ones are
not available. Or you may want to judge for yourself whether an
Official is not available- to do so, check the availability filter.
Click on TBD in order to assign each position.
40
41
42
The official is identified, but the assignment is not sent. The icon is blue.
43
Click Publish all tentative assignments, then click save.
The assignments are sent to the referee, the icon is black, and it is up to the
referee to accept/decline the assignments. If not responded to within 72
hours, the system will un-assign the referee and send an e-mailt to you to
re-assign the position.
44
After you match and publish the assignments, you must frequently
check the game assignment page(s) for declines (red icon) and
re-assign another referee. You also need to watch the assignments
that have not been responded to. If you are nearing the 3rd day,
contact the referees who have not responded and tell them to go
into their G.O. account and accept the offered assignments.
Your matching involves repeatedly re-assigning referees you
matched to the game until all assignments are green (accepted).
The following slide shows a blend of responses to assignments.
45
The next step is to match referees to games. Your game schedule can
be for a single field at a venue, all the fields at a venue, or for multiple
venues. After you are comfortable navigating between venues, you
Can create filters to combine fields and venues.
46
The games at this venue are assigned and accepted. The primary
reason for coming back to this page is if a referee has to turn back
an accepted assignment and you need to re-assign the match.
47
Referee Declines, Turn-backs and No-shows:
Decline: The referee does not accept an assignment and you
receive notice to re-assign that position.
Check if you read the referee’s calendar correctly, If
decline is for an available slot, call and find out why the
assignment was not accepted.
Turn-back: Assignment was accepted. Referee contacts you to
be un-assigned. Find out why and discourage if there
isn’t a compelling reason, or a sub available.
No-show: Assignment is accepted and referee fails to appear for
the game(s) without notice to you. Very serious referee
error. Find out why. May be a reason. Find out why.
A repeat and you should think twice before offering
more assignments.
48
For discussion:
o You cannot find a full crew of referees for a game.
- is it appropriate to have a game played with an incomplete
crew?
- at a venue with multiple fields, when can you borrow from
one game and leave an incomplete crew in order to
have a full crew at another game?
- when do you decide to notify the club that you do not have
a full/any referee crew and the game needs to be
rescheduled? (You do not cancel games.)
- you have a full crew, and the assignor for a higher league
calls to borrow at least one ref.
- ref calls you to be unassigned in order to accept a higher
level assignment.
49
The follow slide is the PROPOSED “LEVELS” SYSTEM for ranking
referees in the Michigan Game Officials Account.
 The odd-numbered levels are Referee levels
 The even-numbered levels are Assistant Referee levels
 This is a hybrid of several systems for ranking and promoting
referees.
 It is also hoped this level system will motivate/encourage referees
referees to develop their skills to be moved to the next level.
 A referee at a given level is also able to be assigned to games
at NUMERICALLY higher levels. IE: a Level 18 referee is also able
to be assigned at the games for level 19 & 20 referees.
 If a referee/ar is having difficulty at a given level, he can be
moved down a level for games that will allow him to remediate
and move back to a higher game level.
50
LEVEL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
COMMENTS
Left open
Left open
Referee: PDL,NPSL, MPSL Div 1
AR: PDL, NPSL, MPSL Div 1
Referee: MPSL Div 2, MUSL 1st Div, USSoccer Devel. Acad.
AR: MPSL Div 2, MUSL 1st Div, USSoccer Devel. Acad.
Referee: MUSL (all other Div’s) & all non-MUSL Adult Leagues
AR: MUSL (all other Div’s) & all non-MUSL Adult Leagues
Referee: MRL, ECNL, National League, Midwest Dev. League
AR: MRL, ECNL, National League, Midwest Dev. League
Referee: State Cup, Jr. State Cup, Directors Academy
AR: State Cup, Jr. State Cup, Directors Academy
Referee: MSPSL
AR: MSPSL
Referee: non-MSPSL travel leagues u16-19
AR: non-MSPSL travel leagues u16-19
Referee: non-MSPSL travel leagues u12-15
AR: non-MSPSL travel leagues u12-15
Referee: local leagues (u11 and younger)
AR: local leagues (u11 and younger)
51
Matching new assignors with experienced assignors.
At this point in the presentation, a lot of information has been
presented in a compressed format. This power point is
constructed to be a workbook/reference guide to help remind
you what to do to be able to use Game Officials and reduce
your downtime to a minimum.
After class you will be paired with an experienced assignor
who can offer additional assistance, in a 1:1 format. You should
contact your mentor ( and your mentor should contact you)
before there is a problem (ie before you start creating your
assigning structure).
This means advice and support should be much more
immediate with someone you know. Ideally, between the
mentor, the class and this workbook, you can avoid more issues
than assignors before you had to work through.
52
The Michigan Referee Committee believes assigning consists
of matching referees to games.
The clubs you assign for believe assigning means that a full
referee crew appears on time for each game.
In fact, both are your core assigning duties.
The assignors you are paired with, and the assignors
statewide will help you. ASK for help. Input test games and
Work the system so you can use the system when the games
Are sent to you.
53
This is the end of the assignor certification class. You have a
short break, and will then participate in the next class- the
assignor recertification class. These are the experienced
Game Officials users, the ones who are able to provide the
immediate, hands-on help.
We look forward to your success, and your contributions to
maintain the Michigan Referee Program as one of the most
successful in the United States.
THANK YOU!
54
55