Referee Program
Referee Assignment
Belmont United Soccer Club and many area clubs use the PENSRA referee assignment system for both league games & tournaments. Register & request games through this system. PENSRA is a powerful and easy to use system that provides the ability for referees to self-assign to matches for those matches they are rated for. You can manually request others.
BUSC offers hundreds of assignments each year and referees are expected to be independent and highly reliable. No show, no call situations are dealt with harsh consequences.
Belmont United moved to electronic payments for league and tournament referee assignments. Currently, Belmont United uses PayPal to remit payment. You will need to update your PENSRA account with a valid PayPal address in order for the money to be sent to you. You will also need to provide a valid Tax ID number in PENSRA. There are currently no fees to set-up a PayPal account or to receive the payment.
Belmont United pays referees twice monthly, first for the 1st-15th and second for the 16th-last day of the month. The Belmont United treasurer will be authorized to make payments within a couple of days of the payroll period, assuming all referees have submitted their match reports in PENSRA. The payments are virtually instant, once processed.
To get games, be sure to keep your profile updated with a correct and accurate e-mail address, then, mark your profile with the BUSC ‘availability’ check-box. This way you will get the Assignor’s messages. Make sure your rating is up to date and accurate and contact the assignor to request rating changes. Leverage self assign as often as you possibly can. Read the PENSRA failure codes to determine why you can’t self assign.
Games are released for self assign about three weeks in advance, but other short-notice opportunities also pop up. Keep your PENSRA account Referee Inquiry window handy to monitor for matches.
License Information
You cannot referee games without a current license. As of September 3, 2019, all USSF referee certification and license renewals are handled centrally via the US Soccer platform (aka CNRA is no longer handling this locally for Northern California referees and rather it’s done on a national basis which long term will help referees that move across state lines, etc.).
Referee Instruction
Belmont United offers free entry-level classes for Belmont United players/families. All entry-level instruction (aka classroom portion of training) takes place via US Soccer’s Digital Learning Center, followed by onsite field instruction, certification, and then in game referee mentoring. Please refer to US Soccer’s Learning Center Referee Program for detailed information about becoming a referee.
This is a great opportunity to expand our training to better serve referees once they’re on the field. Accordingly, the Entry-Level Program will now consist of three components:
1. Online learning through the U.S. Soccer Learning Center
2. A 3-hour field session taught by a CNRA instructor (also mandated by U.S. Soccer)
3. On-the-field mentoring once the referee starts working games
All classroom portions of training take place on the internet via self-paced instruction. This is followed by onsite field training at the location of your choosing. Belmont United along with other local clubs typically host a few courses each year. Otherwise, attendance at any other sanctioned course is acceptable but may involve a longer drive for the onsite field portion of the training.
Securing a Ref Mentor & Youth Referee Program
Referee Equipment
Referees are expected to coordinate their colors; as a crew, they too should be ‘uniform’. See New Referee Uniforms from Official Sports.
Referees should bring back-up kits to ensure they match. Referees should be able to reliably wear yellow, red, blue, green or black. Visible undergarments should match the color of the item covering them. Referees are encouraged to reach out to each other in advance to ensure each match is properly presided over.
Referee systems
All official USSF 11v11 matches must have a three-referee crew. A ‘Club linesman’ is allowed, with limited responsibilities, to cover for an assistant referee in the event of an absence. U.S. Soccer reiterated in Spring of 2016 that the two-referee system should not be used. Although 9v9 matches are allowed to have single-referee assignments per some League rules, BUSC continues to assign three referees to these matches.
| 4v4 | 1CR |
| 7v7 | 1CR |
| 9v9 | 1CR, 2AR |
| 11v11 | 1CR, 2AR |
League Game Pay Rates
Effective 3/1/2022*
| Age Group (halves) | Center Ref | AR1 | AR2 |
| U17-U19 (45 min) | $65 | $55 | $55 |
| U14-U16 (40 min) | $60 | $50 | $50 |
| U13 (35 min) | $55 | $45 | $45 |
| U12 (30 min) | $50 | $40 | $40 |
| U11 (30 min) | $50 | $35 | $35 |
| U8-U10 (25 min) | $45 | $30 | $30 |
* Pay rates for tournaments are different and can vary
Note that CYSA & NorCal match lengths can vary. At the moment, there are now different lengths for U14 games (effective 2016):
NorCal League & Cup U14’s – 40 min halves
CYSA Fall League U14s – 35 min halves
Contacts
Darrell Ringman
1) Do not dump assignments back in my lap; when you’re contacting me because you cannot make a match, be responsible and have a back-up identified – I need to be in the loop and make adjustments in PENSRA
2) While the CR typically provides flags, all officials should have all equipment necessary to carry out the match, including ARs*!
3) Arrival time is a MINIMUM of 15 minutes prior to kick-off, you need this time for a pre-game conference, check-in and field inspection
4) Red cards must be reported promptly, each league has it’s own requirements – do NOT delay!
5) Referees who are awarded matches with conditions to complete training, etc. MUST follow-through and fulfill the conditions before working the match!
6) There are multiple ways to reach me; use Pensra SiteMail for issues which are not time sensitive, e-mail for important issues, SMS messaging for urgent issues and CALL ME if something critical comes up.
7) Be responsive. If you don’t reply to me, I will stop using you for assignments.
8) Do not have others represent you – all officials must be responsible and keep in touch with me, just like a real job!
9) Do NOT sit on unaccepted assignments, accept them promptly!
10) SHOW-UP for your assignments – no show/no call situations will be treated harshly.
While I appreciate all officials specific and unique needs and circumstances, please resist the temptation to contact me until after you have consumed all the terrific resources on this page, in PENSRA’s FAQs and on CNRA.net.
Important Links
Peninsula Soccer Referees Association (PENSRA) for scheduling, match reports, evaluations, information, etc.
Cal North Referee Administration (CNRA)
CYSA District 2 Referee Administration
CNRA YouTube Channel for Referee Instruction
ProReferees Site for video review and learning from professional matches
US Soccer Referee Resource Center includes online training videos