How Do Referees Get Assigned Games?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is 13 and thinking about refing. How much would she get paid to ref the little kid rec games?

Usually 25-35. My son started reffing at 13 and was AR at travel games immediately. Hasn’t done rec because once he could AR for more than rec, it didn’t interest him anymore. He did not center until a year later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you see any requests for refs for the Villareal tournament, let us know! So curious as to what is going on with that.

The requests are posted. Looking ok so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is 13 and thinking about refing. How much would she get paid to ref the little kid rec games?

It depends. Every club pays a little different AND it depends on if you are centering or if you are AR and the age group. So for example, a U13 rec boys game can pay $50 for center and $25 for AR. Maybe a little more maybe a little less depending on the club. U9 might pay $35 you might not have ARs though so you are on your own out there.

[Anonymous]

How does that work for teams in more remote areas? Do they tend to use the same refs for all games? Seems like an unfair advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the rec games pay the least?

Very much so

If there's a ref shortage, how do they ever get anyone to ref a rec game if the same age travel games pay more?

Because sometimes it's not all about which pays more. Referees may consider the club (some clubs are notorious for crazier coaches and parents), some may consider the location (they like to stay in the neighborhood), some may consider what games are available, some may consider the intensity of the games (rec often is less intense), some may not like the responsibility of some travel games (thinking teams play for promotion and relegation in NCSL), etc....lots to consider. If it was all about money, everyone would only want to center U18/U19 EDP games! And some rec leagues pay very close to travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does that work for teams in more remote areas? Do they tend to use the same refs for all games? Seems like an unfair advantage.

Sorry...what's unfair?

[Anonymous]

My DD used to ref and only did rec games because she wasn’t up for a high stress situation and that mattered more to her than the $.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Short answer is that we get on referee ASSIGNORS email lists and/or their platforms and they share their games that are available. We contact the assignor, request the games, and they assign them to us. The pay is sometimes in the email or in the platform. By platform, I mean there are apps or websites that are used like Assignr.

So every internal rec league, travel league (NCSL, ECNL, MLS, GA, etc), and tournament has an assignor hired by the club, league, or tournament to find referees for their games. Some leagues use more than one assignor. For example, NCSL has one assignor, EDP has a few. Seems that each club in EDP has their own assignor. ECNL has one assignor. ECNL-r has at least two. Etc. So once you become certified to referee, its up to you to contact these assignors and ask that they add you to their email lists and then you can add yourself to their group on the Assignr app. I personally am on the list of 6 assignors and it covers my local rec league, NCSL, ECNL, ECNL-R, local EDP, GA, etc. So I log into Assignr and click on that assignor's group and it lists all of their available games. For most, I click on "request game", highlight and copy the game, paste it into an email to the assignor, and request the game(s). You will receive an email confirmation eventually giving you the game. You can then click and see all the games assigned to you. You can toggle between the different assignors and see what is available. As to the fees...they are all pretty similar but some can differ by $5-$10-$20 between leagues. It depends. I keep a spreadsheet with all the fees paid by the different leagues/tournaments. Once you are assigned the game, the pay rate pops up next to your name in Assignr. So this question came up in the Viva tournament thread. I posted that the tournament has not requested referees yet. It is possible that they used an assignor that I am not associated with, but I find that hard to believe. Normally, assignors email a few weeks in advance saying...Hey, Dulles tournament is in 3-4 weeks, I'll be loading the games in Assignr next week. Send me your availability if you want some games. Something like that. But nothing like that has come out for this Viva tournament that I know of...and the tournament is in one or two weeks if I'm not mistaken.

With all that said...just remember that ECNL/MLS/GA/ referees are not better than rec or NCSL refs or anything. Once certified, you can request any game. Now there is some screening by some assignors (you get to know them if you ref alot) but in general, referees are free to request any games they wish. It's up to the assignor to assign it to them. Hope that makes sense.

My son is a new ref and the system is a bit confusing to learn. We have the Assignr app. Is there an Assignr website too? Who is the AssignR for NCSL rec? Any other contacts for asdignRs besides what is on the NCSL site?

[Anonymous]

Did they hire refs for the Villareal tournament? Our schedule keeps changing and teams keep dropping out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a new ref and the system is a bit confusing to learn. We have the Assignr app. Is there an Assignr website too?

Yes, assignr.com

Anonymous wrote:Who is the AssignR for NCSL rec? Any other contacts for asdignRs besides what is on the NCSL site?

This is one of those "it depends" answers. There are numerous assigners for the various rec teams. Most clubs have the assigner listed on their website, usually under the "referees" sections. Find your local club(s) and search around. This site may help, if you're in the DC Metro Area: https://www.vadcsoccerref.com/assignors/

[Anonymous]

Some clubs get to pick their refs if you know what I mean