“Soccer is like a play in two acts with the referee as the director. The drama contains the full spectrum of emotions including suspense, excitement, periods of calm followed by intense action, there are heroes and occasionally villains, and good performances building to a dramatic conclusion. A good director (referee) with well-coached actors (players) has the capability of creating a wonderful two-act play (game) that will be enjoyed by all who observe.” — Ken Aston

The Section 1 Referee website provides all volunteers in Section 1 with current information, guidance and training opportunities to fulfill all aspects of the AYSO National Referee Program. A good place to find everything about the program is in the National Referee Program Manual. You will find links to topics such as Laws of the Game, Referee forms, Books on Refereeing, Game videos and more. This material is provided to assist in your development as a Referee.

If there are additional materials or links that you feel would benefit our Referee community, please forward your recommendations to the Section 1 Referee Administrator.

News Alert!!

  • AYSO: Referee Abuse — Not Tolerated
    Abuse of referees (or, more generically, game officials) has continued to escalate and has become the #1 or #2 reason that game officials leave a sport.  Raised as an issue during the most recent AYSO Coaches’ Meeting it became very clear, as referees, we need to nip abuse in the bud.  While player, coach and ...
  • 2022 Ken Aston Referee Camp
    We’re back! If you are a Regional Referee Administrator or a Regional Commissioner – or just a senior referee in your Region – please encourage your up-and-comers to attend the Camps, and ask your Region to support them financially to do so. The skills they bring back – whether in refereeing, instructing, or assessing and mentoring ...
  • 25 March 2022: Update on The IFAB’s 136th Annual General Meeting
    As communicated on 2 March 2022, due to exceptional circumstances, The IFAB postponed its 136th Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was scheduled to take place by videoconference on 3 March 2022. Ahead of the rescheduled AGM, and owing to the importance of communicating changes to the Laws of the Game to all stakeholders as early as possible prior to ...
  • AYSOU MIGRATION UPDATE
    Instructors, Assessors, Evaluators, Directors of Instruction, Coach Trainers, Coach & Referee & Management Administrators- We have finalized the migration plan.  Based on requests from the Board, we have moved the migration back one month to allow your seasons to get well underway before tackling this last migration.  As a result, instructors can continue to schedule live training up until the weekend ...
  • A new California requirement for Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) training
    Effective Jan 1, 2020 by California law AB 379, all Coaches and Referees associated with youth sports programs must complete Sudden Cardiac Arrest training (SCA).  Details may be found at https://aysovolunteers.org/sudden-cardiac-arrest-sca/. Here are the instructions for taking the course or, for those of you who have already completed the course outside of AYSO (via club, high school or ...
  • 2019 Player Development Implementation
    2019 Player Development Implementation

News Archive…

Interested in becoming a (better) Referee?

Sign-up for one of the upcoming courses on the Referee Training page. There are plenty of dates to choose from. Find the one that is right for you! If you have any questions about what it takes to volunteer as a referee or how you can take your referee skills to the next level, please contact the Section 1 Director of Referee Instruction.

2022 Goals and Objectives

  • Implement the AYSO National Referee Program in response to the needs of AYSO Volunteers in Section 1
  • Promote Referee Assessment and Instruction for all AYSO Referees
  • Provide officials of the highest caliber for Section programs
  • Support the special development needs of Women Referees
  • Promote Referee mentoring, development and retention

Section 1 Referee Staff

Updated: April 1, 2022 at 1:49 PM