In-Town and Travel
Be properly dressed:
- Official referee shirt – Yellow (primary), red, black, or blue (long or short sleeved – if it is cold and you only have a short-sleeved uniform, wear a black long-sleeved shirt and layers underneath)
- Referee badge for the current year
- Black shorts
- Black shoes – cleats or sneakers
- Black soccer socks, preferably with white stripes
- Shirt tucked in!
Mandatory Equipment:
- Whistle
- Coin for coin toss
- Pad of paper and pencil
- Red and Yellow cards (travel only)
- Wristwatch
- Linesman flags (travel only – center must bring flags, ARs should bring flags too)
- Water bottle (stay hydrated!)
- “RESPECT” Armband – New for 2022 – More Details to follow
Optional Equipment and Clothing:
- Sunscreen
- Air pump
- Plastic Bag (to be used inside sports bag to keep clothing dry)
- Extra referee shirt in an alternate color
- Black warm-up pants (not preferred, but acceptable in cold weather)
- Long underwear
- Black gloves/black hat
Arrive at least 15 minutes before game time to check the field:
- Goals must be secured to ground. If held with bags, bags must be to rear of frame.
- Check nets. Be aware if there is any hole and report after the game.
- Check that the field is lined adequately.
- Make sure the home coach has put out corner flags / markers. Discs can be used to mark corners.
- Check field for obstacles. Remove any debris, such as rocks, sticks or trash.
- Look for dangerous conditions, especially inspecting for soft areas due to wetness, holes, rocks, turf that is not level and can cause a tripping hazard, etc. Confer with the coaches if you are considering canceling the game for safety concerns – but the final decision is up to you.
- Introduce yourself to the coaches.
- Collect team rosters – travel only – each coach will give you 2, keep one roster, give one to opposing coach.
- Check coach lanyards they must be worn at all times!! No lanyards – NO GAME!
- Have players line up for inspection
- For Grade 8 games only: The Center Referee will read the BAYS RESPECT statement to each team prior to commencing inspection.
- Call attendance from rosters. (travel only). All players must be on roster. Hand-written names are not acceptable!!
- Check cleats: No metal cleats allowed. Sneakers OK.
- Check shin pads: All players MUST wear. They must be completely covered by socks.
- NO JEWELRY – NO CASTS. Players must remove all jewelry, including earrings.
All players must be in uniform:
- Shirts must be matching or very similar. If teams have same colors the home team must wear pinnies.
- All shirts must be tucked in to start game, quarters, and halves. You can ignore it if they come untucked during the game or ask player to tuck shirt in if it becomes a safety hazard.
- If extreme cold, players may wear sweatpants or leggings. They should be worn under shorts and must not pose a safety hazard.
- Shirts may be worn under the uniform shirt.
- Goalkeepers MUST be dressed differently than players on BOTH teams.
- Goalkeeper can wear soft-brim hat if sun is a factor.
- Field players may wear brimless hats if weather is cold.
Call captains to sidelines for coin flip:
- Visiting team gets to call the coin flip.
- Winner of coin flip chooses side of field or possession of the ball - the other team starts with opposite of first team’s choice.
- Discuss any pertinent information with captains and ask them if they have any questions.
After the game:
- Monitor teams as they shake hands.
- Contact Referee Director/Assignor to report any significant issues or serious injuries encountered before, during or after the game.
- If there is a ZERO Tolernace violation, please call Ray Almeida IMMEDIATELY at 508-878-9103. DO NOT file game report until you have discussed the ZT violation in depth with Ray.
- If there are no ZT issues, Complete the game report on the BAYS website (travel only).
- Complete game report for in-town via email and send to Ray Almeida ([email protected])