BAY AREA SOCCER REFEREE ASSOCIATION HANDBOOK

1 GENERAL

1.1 CHARTER

The Bay Area Soccer Referee Association (BASRA) is a local group. We provide officials to games for Bay Area Youth Soccer Association, Bay Area Soccer League, and other clubs in the area. We are also associated with the Southwest Soccer Officials Association serving the high school games. Some of the games require the referee be a member of a specific organization before they may be assigned to their games.

1.2 OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

1.3 CLUB LIAISONS

Club liaisons shall be appointed by the President. The primary function of the liaisons is to act as an interface between BASRA and the individual clubs, and as a contact for the club affiliated referees.

Specific duties of the Club Liaisons are:

• Attend the club meetings to provide information to the clubs from BASRA.
• Provide feedback to the BASRA President regarding issues or problems presented by the clubs concerning referees and policies. Referee evaluations shall be in writing.
• Provide information to the clubs from BASRA (concerns about coaches, players, fields, markings, etc.).
• Assist the area referees in obtaining current information and rule changes from the clubs, and provide information from BASRA to those referees who cannot attend meetings.
• Assist the clubs on referee clinics (coordination within the club and with other clubs, and the BASRA Lead Instructor).

1.4 RULES AND MEMBER REQUIREMENTS

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

All referees who have completed a USSF referee training clinic, and passed the USSF entry level exam are eligible for membership.

ANNUAL TESTING

All referees must take a recertification test each year. This test is administered several times from July through December. Persons who fail, or who fail to take, the test will not be eligible for assignment to games.

MEMBERSHIP FEES

All referees desiring to become a member of BASRA and returning referees must remit the $12.00 annual membership fee. The annual membership fees are used to pay the operating expenses of the Association. All forms and fees are due in September and are to be directed to the BASRA Registrar.

TRAINING

All referees are expected to continue their training. Current referees must attend a minimum of 5 hours training each year. BASRA provides continuing training during each scheduled meeting. Additional training may be provided at special sessions.

FAILURE TO APPEAR AT SCHEDULED GAMES

Referees are expected to be at the game field, in uniform, 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the game. Referees who fail to appear for a scheduled game, without prior notice to the Assignor, will be fined an amount equal to the game fee due for each game skipped. This fine may be waived by the Executive Board (comprised of BASRA officers) if they believe the circumstances justify the failure to appear.

LEGAL STATUS

All referees are independent contractors, hired by the league for whom they officiate. BASRA will collect and distribute game fees for its members for selected leagues as a service for its members. This service does not obligate BASRA to pay any game fees for which it can not collect from the involved league.

Also, as a self-employed independent contractor, the referee is liable for filing a federal income tax return and paying all applicable taxes on game fees. The referee is not eligible for unemployment compensation due to lack of assignments.

INSURANCE

As an independent contractor, you must provide your own liability and personal injury insurance. Neither the Leagues nor this Association provides any insurance for the referee. Liability insurance, as well as accident insurance, may be obtained for your protection. Sources of special insurance are listed in Section 3.1 of this Handbook.

ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS

BASRA holds a monthly meeting on the second Thursday of each month. In addition, during the months of August through October, a second meeting is held on the fourth Thursday. Youth and First Year Referee gatherings begin at 7:00pm with topics directed specifically toward the needs of these referees. The business and training meetings begin at 7:30 PM.

Meetings are held at: Webster Presbyterian Church, 201 W. NASA Rd. 1, Webster, TX

1.5 BAYSA REFEREE RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

BAYSA will reimburse new referees up to $30 to cover the expense of becoming a referee. Eligibility for this program is one time only, and requires the new referee to work a minimum of four (4) BAYSA matches. The "Request for Reimbursement" form should be completed by the new referee, receipts for expenses being claimed attached, as well as copies of the game stubs for the four BAYSA matches worked.

BAYSA has also established a policy to reimburse USSF-registered referees $25 of their registration fee. Referees are requested to work twenty (20) BAYSA matches to receive this reimbursement. The "Request for Reimbursement" form should be completed by the referee and copies of the game stubs for the twenty BAYSA matches worked attached.

The form and attachments should then be sent to BAYSA, PO Boz 1268, Deer Park, TX 77536.

The Reimbursement form is included as a separate attachment to this Handbook, or is available at BASRA meetings and for download on the BASRA Web Site.

1.6 CONTACT INFORMATION

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Last page update June 19, 2007