Substitute

During the course of a soccer season, there may be times when you will be unavailable to take a referee/assistant referee assignment due to a prior commitment, or because something important unexpectedly arises (e.g., business meetings, out-of-town trips, etc.). Also, there may be times when personal problems, such as illness, arise at the last minute. Have no fear, here is what you do:

IF YOUR UNAVAILABILITY IS LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY, OR YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN SCHEDULED:

Here's what you are supposed to do and not supposed to do if you are scheduled to referee a match and you can't, for whatever reason.

PLEASE DO NOT simply e-mail or call either Dorothy Comeau (our Referee Scheduler) or Brad Phillips (the Regional Referee Administrator) or send a general e-mail to the entire referee population, saying that you are unavailable. Neither of us has the time to find substitutes for everyone who cannot cover their assigned matches, and the general e-mail doesn't usually work and delays the process of finding a replacement. Remember that there are more than 200 referees in the Region, and we cannot deal with every scheduling change on an individual basis.

PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING: Look at the Schedule and determine what referees might be qualified and available to substitute for you. Then call the eligible referees and ask them to substitute for you. If you're unsuccessful that way, you can also call referees who are already scheduled on fields and at times near your match, who might be willing to pick up another match. For example, if you are assigned to referee a U8 match at 9:50 at Will Rogers NE but cannot be there, look for referees who are listed as "Unassigned Referees: Available" at the bottom of the schedule; then check which of those referees do not have conflicts with a 9:50 match (by looking under their names on the Schedule by Referee -- it shows both their kids' matches and their referee assignments); check the Referee Roster to see whether the people you have identified are qualified to referee that match (for U8 and above, the person must have a Regional badge -- an "R" next to his or her name on the Referee Roster; for U6, either a Basic -- "B" -- or Regional badge is fine). Then start calling to ask those people to substitute for you. Once you have a substitute arranged, call one of the other referees assigned to your match and let them know who will be taking your place.   Remember that both the Schedules and the Referee Roster are available on the website at www.ayso69.org.

IF, BUT ONLY IF, you have gone through this procedure and have spoken with at least three potential substitutes for each of your impossible assignments without success, you may e-mail the Divisional Referee Administrator for your Division (listed below), to inform him or her of the situation and ask for assistance. Put your name in the "subject line" with an ALL CAPITAL LETTER "UNAVAILABLE SAT." Provide the names of the potential substitutes that have already turned you down in the text, so the Divisional Administrator doesn't duplicate your efforts.

The Divisional Referee Administrators are:

U12 and U14:    Dennis McCarthy (310) 471-1530
               dmccarthy2000@aol.com

U10:            Mike Reilly (310) 454-3574
               mreilly@gte.net

U8:             Mark Kremer             (310) 454-3993
               mdk@conklelaw.com

U6:             Sue Pascoe              (310) 573-7508
               slpascoe@dellepro.com

MOST IMPORTANTLY: If Dorothy knows in advance that you will not be available, that information can be incorporated into the schedule prior to publication. That information should be e-mailed to her at least two weeks in advance, but as soon as possible, at decomeau@alum.mit.edu.

PLEASE DON’T EVER just not show up without telling anyone!!

That would be extremely disrespectful to both the children and your fellow officials.

As AYSO referees and assistant referees we are all brothers and sisters - part of a very special group of parents who have chosen to make a substantial commitment to participate with their children in an important activity of their growth and development, by insuring the safety and fairness of that activity. In that spirit, we should also do whatever we can to help our fellow officials. We do this, first, by being available as much as possible. Secondly, when asked by our fellow officials, we should extend ourselves and cover their assignments even if it means doing an extra game. That’s the way it should be - let’s make it the way it is.