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AYSO Region 76 2008-2009 Volunteer Point Program Guidelines

August 2008

This document describes the implementation details of the Volunteer Point Program in AYSO Region 76 (Beverly Hills) for the 2008-2009 Season.

SUMMARY

The purpose of the Volunteer Point Program is to help ensure that AYSO Region 76 recruits, trains, certifies and fields enough volunteer referees to officiate at our Regional games. In this Program, volunteers agree to referee games during our Regional Regular Season (usually September through most of November) and Playoff Rounds, which will take place in late November and early December, 2007.

Referee volunteers earn Volunteer Points which they allocate to one or more teams.  For the 2008-2009 Season, Volunteer Points may also be earned by youth coaches who complete their coaching assignments, volunteers who assist with referee scheduling and coaches who attend a Region 76 seminar entitled "What Coaches Should Know About Refereeing."

During the 2007-2008 Season, each team in Divisions U10 must be allocated at least 18 volunteer points to qualify for the Final (elimination) Round of Regional Playoffs, which leads to Area and Section Playoffs. Teams in U12-U14 must earn at least 12 points. Teams that fail to accumulate the required points will play the same number of Regular Season and Preliminary Playoff games, but will not advance to the Final Playoff Round. Teams that fail to accumulate the required Volunteer Points cannot become Regional champions.

During the Final (elimination) Rounds of our playoffs, teams must earn an additional 2 points in the first weekend to be eligible for advancement to the 2nd weekend.  Teams that qualify for the 2nd (semifinal/final) weekend of our elimination rounds must then earn an additional 2 points during the final weekend to be eligible to become league champions.

In our U8A Divisions, teams must earn at least 11 volunteer points.  There are no playoffs in U8A but all teams that earn at least 11 volunteer points will participate in the "Courtesy Cup", a tournament that will take place during the last 2 weeks of the season.

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

1. Regular Season Games and Playoff Games:

For Divisions U10 through U114, the schedule for our season is divided in two parts --- the Regional Regular Season and Playoffs. Regular Season and Playoff games are separately identified on the Region 76 Game Schedule.

During the Regular Season for Divisions U10 through U14, teams play each other in a pool play format and no standings are kept.  At the conclusion of the Regular Season, teams begin competing in a series of playoff games with other teams in their Division.  So that each team has an opportunity to play an equal number of games, these playoff games use a pool play format.   All teams participate in this preliminary round.

Following this preliminary round of playoffs, there are single elimination games which are played during the last one or two weekends of the season in order to determine our 2008 league champions and runners-up.

To participate in the single elimination playoff round, a team must have earned the require number Volunteer Points (18 for U10, 21 for U12-U14) by Sunday, November 16, 2008 regardless of how well the team performs during the preliminary pool play round.  If a team would otherwise qualify for the single elimination playoff round, but doesn't have enough Volunteer Points, the opportunity to participate in the single elimination playoff round will go to the next team in the standings that qualifies.  Teams that don't qualify for the single elimination playoff round will participate in friendly games.

For Divisions U16 & U19, because play is between our Region and other Regions, interregional standings are kept during the Regular Season in order to determine Area 1-P Playoff seedings. Region 76 U16 & U19 teams that fail to accumulate the required number of volunteer points may not participate in the Area 1-P Playoffs.

 

2. Team Responsibility to Recruit Volunteers and Track Points:

While individual volunteers are welcome to sign up at any time, it is each team's responsibility to recruit its own volunteers to sign up to referee. Since first time referee volunteers must fill out an AYSO Volunteer Application form and attend the Basic Referee and Referee Safe Haven courses before any referee volunteer points can be earned, each team should endeavor to identify prospective volunteers and encourage them to sign up as early as possible after team formation. Please note that since an individual volunteer can allocate no more than 12 points to a single team, teams should recruit at least two volunteers.

Prospective volunteers must be at least 12 years old. Prospective volunteers under the age of 18 must have parental consent.

Volunteer Point totals allocated to each team will be posted on the Regional website and updated no less than biweekly. However, it is each team's responsibility to track whether their volunteers are likely to earn enough points by the end of the Preliminary Games to meet the minimum required number of Volunteer Points.

 

3. Volunteer Points:

   Since there are many facets to our Regional program, there are also multiple ways volunteers earn points. In addition to awards for officiating games, incentive points are also given for completing training, upgrading certification and helping out with teaching and referee assessment.

  Coaches, youth coaches and referee schedulers also have opportunities to earn points that they can allocate to their team.

a. One (1) game assignment point is awarded to a volunteer who completes an assigned game as either Center Referee (CR) or Assistant Referee (AR). Multiple games on the same day earn multiple points. Points are awarded only to volunteer referees who are certified as AYSO Referees (have successfully completed at least the Basic Referee and Referee Safe Haven courses and submitted an AYSO Volunteer Application during the current season) or higher and who complete their referee assignment(s) in an approved uniform. Club linesmen do not earn volunteer points.

b. Three (3) training completion incentive points are awarded to a volunteer who successfully completes the Basic Referee and Referee Safe Haven courses and three assigned games as either CR or AR. These incentive points are in addition to any game assignment points and may be earned once per volunteer.  Training completion incentive points may be earned once per volunteer (once a volunteer has taken the course, the volunteer is no longer eligible for training incentive points in future seasons).

c. One (1) first time center referee incentive point is awarded to a volunteer who successfully completes an assigned game as CR. This incentive is in addition to any game assignment points and may be earned once per volunteer.

d. Three (3) upgrade completion incentive points are awarded to a volunteer who successfully completes the AYSO Referee Certification Requirements for the next certification level (e.g., Regional to Intermediate, Intermediate to Advanced or Advanced to National) and one assigned game as either CR or AR following certification. These incentive points are in addition to any game assignment points and may be earned once per volunteer per certification.

e. Three (3) upgrade completion incentive points are awarded to a volunteer who successfully completes the AYSO Certification Requirements for either Regional, Intermediate, Advanced and/or National Referee Instructor or G2 or G1 Referee Assessor. These incentive points may be earned once per volunteer per certification.

f. One (1) referee training volunteer point is awarded to a volunteer who participates as an invited instructor during a registered Referee Course sponsored by Region 76. While only one (1) point may be earned per Course, volunteers who teach in multiple Courses earn multiple points.

g. One (1) referee assessor/mentor volunteer point is awarded to a volunteer who successfully completes an upgrade assessment or mentors another referee in Region 76. Multiple assessments/mentoring assignments earn multiple points. In order to earn referee assessor/mentor volunteer points for assessments, volunteers must be AYSO Certified Assessors or National Assessors. In order to earn referee assessor/mentor volunteer points as a referee mentor, volunteers must be assigned to mentor by the Regional Referee Administrator, or his designee.

h. One (1) volunteer point per coach (up to a maximum of two points per team) is awarded to a coach or assistant coach who attends the Region 76 "What Coaches Should Know About Refereeing" workshop.

i. Two (2) volunteer points are awarded to each certified referee volunteer who attends a Region 76 Laws of the Game Refresher course.  This award may be earned once during the season.

j. Two (2) volunteer points are awarded to a referee scheduler volunteer for each week that volunteer assigns referees.

No points are awarded for missed assignments or failure to successfully complete a training program.

In cases of doubt, the Regional Referee Administrator is the final authority on whether and how many volunteer points have been earned by a volunteer under these guidelines.

While every effort will be made to record volunteer points accurately, each volunteer should maintain a separate record of volunteer points earned.

Volunteer points expire at the conclusion of the 2008-2009 Season.

 

4. Allocation of Volunteer Points to Teams:

   Volunteer points earned by a volunteer referee belong to that volunteer until they are allocated to a team. The guidelines for allocating points to teams follow.

   a. When a volunteer signs up to referee (or attend training), he or she must specify which team should be allocated the volunteer points. Volunteer points may be split between more than one team, but each allocation must be at least one point.

   b. In order to promote maximum volunteer participation, a maximum of twelve (12) points may be allocated by a volunteer to a single team in Divisions U10.  A maximum of fifteen (15) points may be allocated to a team in U12-U14.   A maximum of six (6) points may be allocated by a volunteer to a single team in the U8 Division.

   c. Volunteer allocations are final after game day. Points allocated to one team may not be retroactively allocated to other teams.

   d. Points earned may be allocated to any team.

   e. Volunteer Points belong to the Volunteer who earns them.  Allocation decisions by a Volunteer cannot be appealed.

   f. Youth Referees have the same rights and privileges as Adult referees under this program.  The minimum age to certify as a Referee is 12 years old.

5. Signing Up for Games and Getting Trained.

For referees needing training, dates for referee clinics and additional details are posted here.

Certified Referees may sign up for games by logging into their AYSO Online account, and selecting the "Scheduling and Credits" link on the left hand side of the page.

No one except the AYSO Region 76 Commissioner may grant an exception to these guidelines.

These guidelines may be revised as necessary by the AYSO Region 76 Commissioner or Referee Administrator.

Questions or comments concerning this program should be addressed to the Region 76 Referee Administrator.

Last updated August 21, 2008 at 11:04 PM