We are the official USSoccer affiliated soccer referee organization for the State of Washington and are responsible for the administration of the USSF National Program for Referee development, including Administration, Registration, Instruction, Assessment and Assignors within the State of Washington.

Amateur Sports Officials Assault Protection Bill

On Dec 30, 2022, the Washington State House of Representatives has added to their docket for the upcoming “2023 Regular Session” a bill requesting to add amateur sports officials to the assault protection that many other public serving professions already receive. Should this bill pass, Washington State will be only the 23rd state in the U.S. with any type of codified protection for amateur sports officials.

By adding amateur sports officials to the existing protected groups within RCW 9A.36.031, it would make assaults against amateur sports officials a class C felony. This protection is already afforded to bus drivers, police officers, health care workers, firefighters, judges, court workers.

The passage of this bill would continue to send a message to all that Washington State values the protection of amateur sports officials. The crisis we face with unsporting behavior across our state, and country, continues to drive officials away from our avocation, and without officials there would be no games.

Please spread the word about this bill. Ask everyone to contact their State Representatives and request that they sign onto this bill. Let’s get HB 1096-2023-24 passed. The more our legislators know how much this means to officials, the more likely we will be to ensure it gets made into law.

Find your State Representative: https://leg.wa.gov/house/Pages/default.aspx

Direct link to HB-1096-2023-24 information: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1096&Initiative=false&Year=2023

Direct Link to HB-1096-2023-24: https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1096.pdf?q=20221230104402

RCW 9A.36.031: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9a.36.031

Washington State 2022 Youth Referees of the Year

Ingrid and Nicholas, congratulations on being selected the Washington State 2022 Youth Referees of the Year.

Ingrid found her passion for the game of soccer at just 5 years old. For Ingrid, being a referee is more than a way to make money. Being a referee is a way to connect with the soccer community and give back to players much like herself.

Over the years, Ingrid has built lasting relationships with teammates, coaches, and fellow referees. Lessons learned on the field have proved to be invaluable off of the field, as well. These connections have supported her throughout her soccer journey, and she looks to support others in any way she can.

Ingrid is also already looking at moving up to Grassroots advanced. On top of being active in every state cup ranging from recreational soccer to the female presidents and championship cup, she has recently been a part of the Seattle Referees Development Program. She attends the ECNL open houses and the summer prep sessions the pro referee’s host.

Ingrid has also played in a variety of levels of play such as NPSL, RCL, and ECNL levels. Over covid, she and a group of friends taught soccer drills to kids online through zoom from her garage. Ingrid has also volunteered for the Crossfire Futures program where she ran sessions for U7 and U8 boys and girls over the summer.

Nicholas first started getting involved in soccer when his parents signed him up to play at 3 years old. He continued playing and then began refereeing when he turned 12. Refereeing and soccer have had a strong impact on Nicholas as a person. It has helped him to grow and look outside himself to be a good teammate.

Nicholas is a great presence and influence within the referee community in Quadco and the State of Washington. Nicholas spends many of his weekends out on the fields mentoring our new youth referees. Being someone for them to both look up to and learn from. On top of this he has made efforts to come and assist with new Referee Clinics, most recently assisting with a new referee clinic in Olympia.

Finally, Nicholas has been continuously focused on learning and growing as a referee. In the Quadco association he has been involved with refereeing at all levels. He continued to referee at State Cups starting at the age of 14 then continuing on to work High School games at 15. He also being recognized by others was brought in to work college spring assignments for the GNAC.

Managing Referee Abuse & Assault

Soccer referee abuse and assault are very serious crimes against the sport and they continue to happen to our members. Misconduct against referees may occur before, during, and after a match — including travel to and from a match. It is critical that referees correctly identify and make a report of these incidents. Your SRC has developed two pages to assist you in recognizing and dealing with Referee Abuse and Assault. The first page provides information on recognizing abuse and assualt and how and when to report it. It may be viewed on the page Refereee Abuse & Assault. Guidance for how you should conduct yourself when you experience Abuse or Assault is provided on this Supplemental page. A link is also provided in the sidebar and the right of this page.

It is requested and recommended that all recertifying and new referees complete the new lesson providing online instruction on recognizing and dealing with Referee Abuse and Assault.

If you have not already completed it, the lesson may be taken by clicking Here.

Concussion Protocol Player Development Initiatives
For Washington Youth Soccer

Washington Youth Soccer has instituted the US Soccer Concussion Protocol and Player Development Initiatives Rules of Competition for all Youth Small Sided Games (SSG-U6-U12) with modifications. These initiatives are effective immediately. To assist in the education of Washington State Referees, an online course has been created. This course has been included in the Annual Recertification lessons. However, some referees have already recertified for 2017-2018 and we encourage you to take the online course at the following link: Small Sided Games (WA)."

NOTE: These changes apply to all US Youth Soccer and US Club Soccer Small Sided Games with the following exceptions: US Club Soccer games for U11 do NOT use the Build Out Line for Offside. Offside for US Club Soccer games for both U11 and U12 are in effect from the Halfway Line.

Referees are encouraged to work with coaches before each game to determine everyone's understanding of the new rules for Small Sided Games (U6 - U12).