Are you interested in being a high school and/or middle school soccer referee?

Next scheduled training sessions will be held Spring of 2021 by video conference.. 
(see detail below)

Requirements: Be 18 years old as of the start of the Fall soccer season, have an interest in serving the student athletes and be able to pass a background check. Prior experience in playing , coaching or refereeing soccer at any level is useful but not necessary.

Games: All games (boys and girls) are played in Sept and Oct. Most games are played at or near a local high schools at 4:00 pm in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. Referees must be able to get to the field not later than 15 minutes before the start of a game.  A few games are played in the evening, Monday through Friday, and a very few games are played on Saturday. No games are played on Sunday. Certified referees may request to do from 1 to 6 games per week. In the Fall of 2021, the game fees are $87 per varsity game and $64 per sub-varsity game. 

Training: EMSOA conducts training for new soccer referees under the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) rules. The next regular Entry Level Training courses are listed below. Candidates must communicate with the contact person before the first session to let them know that you are coming. The contact person can tell you about any last minute changes.

Those who hold a current , advanced USSF referee grade only need to come to the last two hours of the training session where NFHS and MIAA specific rules are covered and then take the entry level test.

 There is a clinic fee of $172.00 which includes EMSOA dues for 2021.

OTHER ASSOCIATIONS: Although EMSOA is the largest NFHS referee association in Massachusetts (600+ members), there are several other Massachusetts NFHS referee associations (with a combined membership of 400+ members) and many more across the country. You may do your training at any one of the Massachusetts associations and then do games in the area of any other Massachusetts association. The rules are the same; the commitment to excellence is the same. Only the area covered is different. 

 If you are interested in being a referee for college games, please go to New England Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NCAA) which trains and certifies soccer referees for college games played under NCAA rule. EMSOA is mutually aligned with New England Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association, but EMSOA does not certify referees for college games. 

If you are interested in being a referee for youth and adult soccer games under USSF and FIFA rules, go to the Mass. State Referees Committee (USSF) web site.  EMSOA is not affiliated with USSF.

WHERE AND WHEN

Video Conference: Training for new high school soccer referees will be held Spring of 2021.  The classes will be held from 6:00 to 10:00 pm two consecutive nights using Zoom.  You must attend the entire conference.  Having had experience attending a video conference with Zoom, Google Hang-out,  Microsoft Teams or something similar is highly desirable but not required.  Pre-registration is required but no deposit is required. Download the membership application form, fill it out, save it to your device and return it by email or print it out and send it by US Mail.  If you have not used Zoom before, you need to download and install the Zoom client before the beginning of the class.  Contact Fred Corey, the instructor, for more information

NORTH CHAPTER:  An in-person clinic to become a high school soccer referee is typically held in the spring and summer.  Training for new high school soccer referees is done under the National Federation of High Schools rules. The training by video conference (above) may be  the only opportunity in the spring and summer of 2021.    If you live or work anywhere near North Reading, contact Richard Beaudoin for information about becoming a high school soccer referee.

SOUTH CHAPTER:   An in-person clinic to become a high school soccer referee is typically held in the summer.  Training for new high school soccer referees is done under the National Federation of High Schools rules. The training by video conference may be the only opportunity in the summer of 2021.    If you live or work anywhere near Hanover contact Randy Ellis for information about becoming a high school soccer referee.

WEST CHAPTER:   An in-person clinic to become a high school soccer referee is typically held in the spring and summer.  Training for new high school soccer referees is done under the National Federation of High Schools rules. The training by video conference may be the only opportunity in the spring and summer of 2021.    If you live or work anywhere near Westwood, contact Ed Rae for information about becoming a high school soccer referee.

EXTRA SESSIONS: If 3 or more people contact the chapter trainers about joining at any time (expect September & October) when a regular session is not scheduled, it is possible that a special session would  be set up at a mutually convenient time. 

Background Check: The MIAA requires a Background Check for all high school sports officials. Click here for more information. Requests to the MIAA for background checks for the upcoming fall season begin on July 1st for that year. It is recommended but not required that this be completed prior to attending any clinic held after July 1.

There is a clinic fee of $172.00.  The clinic fee includes clinic materials, EMSOA dues for 2021 ($86),  badges for the uniform, and liability insurance coverage.  Member will obtain an appropriate uniform at his/her own expense. Please fill out a membership application form and return it to the contact for your clinic or mail it to EMSOA, 100 Powdermill Rd #240, Acton, MA 01720-5932.  You can download and print the form to paper and mail the completed form. Or you can download the form as a file, fill it out with Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat, save the file and e-mail the file to the above e-mail address.

Payment The clinic fee of $172.00 can be paid by cash, check, money order, credit/debit card or bank e-transfer.  Cash should be given in person to the clinic contact at the clinic site.  Check and money order can be mailed to the instructor or to EMSOA, 100 Powdermill Rd #240, Acton, MA 01720 before the clinic. If only a deposit has been paid prior to the clinic, the balance must be paid to the instructor at the beginning of the clinic.   To pay by credit/debit card or bank e-transfer, click on the grey box below.  There is a convenience charge of $3.95 added for credit/debit card payment and a convenience charge of $1.00 for payment by electronic transfer of funds from your checking account to the EMSOA checking account.  Payment by credit/debit card or bank e-transfer must be paid not later than one business day before the start of the clinic.  For example, if the clinic starts on Sunday, credit/debit card or bank e-transfer payment must be made not later than midnight of the Thursday before the clinic.