Referee Recertification

Annual Renew Requirements
Grade 9	Four hours in-service training Pass grade-9 refresher exam (75% or better)
Grade 8	Five hours in-service training Pass grade-8 refresher exam (75% or better)
Grade 7	Attend Intermediate Clinic Pass grade-7/8 refresher exam (85% or better) Pass one assessment as referee on a U17 youth match or higher Pass the physical fitness test
Grade 6	Attend Advanced Clinic Pass grade-5/6 refresher exam (75% or better) Pass one assessment as referee on a D-2 adult match or higher Officiate at the TSSA Boys D-1 State Championship Pass the physical fitness test
Grade 5	Attend the Advanced Clinic Pass grade-5/6 refresher exam (85% or better) Pass one assessment as referee on a D-1 adult match or higher Officiate at the TSSA Boys D-1 State Championship Pass the physical fitness test

All Tennessee referees (grades 5 through 9) are required to register for a recertification class online using SoccerOfficialsTN.org.

Attendance at an out of state clinic must be approved by the SDI/SRA if you are to receive credit for in-service training. Referees transferring from another State to Tennessee are exempt from this requirement.

Failing one or more of the annual requirements will result in a downgrade of at least one grade until the failed portion has been resolved successfully.

TSSA does not establish criteria for the various levels of play within its amateur program. Instead, the classification of the various levels is left to local leagues. Clearly, what is the 'Top', 'Premier', or 'D-1' in Memphis does not exist in Clarksville. And so, how does one know whether a particular match is 'D-1' or 'D-2' as specified in the above table? It is left to the Assistant State Directors of Assessment (ASDAs) to make that determination. Note that this implies the following: If you need an assessment on a D-1 or D-2 amateur match and, in the opinion of your ASDA, that level match is not available in your area, then you must travel to obtain your assessment.

Failing the refresher exam

If a referee fails the refresher exam, SOTN requires that he/she wait 30 days before retaking it.

Failing a maintenance assessment

If a referee fails a maintenance assessment, SOTN requires no waiting period to retake.

The first failure will require only one additional passing assessment (one for one).
For the second and any additional failures, the 'two for one' rule will apply. That is, two passing assessments are required to offset each failing assessment (other than the first one). For example: If someone were to fail three maintenance assessments, he/she would have to pass five to offsett the ones failed.

Failing to officiate at the Boys D-1 State Championship

Grade-5 or grade-6 referees who fail to officiate at the Boys D-1 State Championship will be downgraded at least one grade for the remainder of the year.

Failing the physical fitness test

If a referee fails the physical fitness test, SOTN requires no waiting period to retake.

Recertification after not being certified for one or more years

Grade-8 referees who miss 1-2 consecutive years of registration can be reregistered as a grade 8 after completing a referee recertification clinic.

Grade-8 referees who miss 3-4 consecutive years of registration can be reregistered after taking the Bridge class or the entire grade-8 entry-level class.

Grade-8 referees who miss 5 or more consecutive years must retake the entire grade-8 entry-level class.

Grade-7 referees and higher who have missed one or more consecutive years will be downgraded a minimum of one grade. Once they have taken the appropriate class as listed above for grade-8 referees and have completed all requirements for their previously held grade, they may be reinstated.

Grade-9 referees who miss one or two years of registration may be reregistered after fulfilling all requirements for that grade. A grade-9 referee who misses two years of registration can be eligible to take the Bridge class after he or she has met the requirements to be recertified as grade 9.

Guidelines and Proceedures for Referee Maintenance/Upgrade

The following proceedure is effective 11/15/2011.

The referee contacts his or her DRA to request an assessment.
DRA contacts one of three Assessor Coordinators.
Assessor Coordinator selects the assessor for the requested assessment. (Only TN assessors are to be selected.)
Assessor and referee arrange a match for maintenance/upgrade assessment.
The after-match debriefing is NOT to include confirmation of “acceptable” or “not acceptable” performance.
The assessor contacts SRA to discuss the match/referee’s performance to determine if the referee's match performance is “acceptable” or “not acceptable."
SRA notifies referee of the results of assessment.