Welcome to the world of refereeing. This may be your first encounter with refereeing and this may also be the first occasion in which your teenaged (or younger) son or daughter will be treated as an adult. Therefore, we sincerely hope we may gain your support in making this refereeing experience a good experience for your child.
 
One thing to keep in mind – this is a responsibility which should be taken as seriously as going to school or showing up for work. PWSRA is mindful that a high percentage of our officials are still youth but on the field of play there are only referees –  not youth and adult.
 
Many good youth referees have failed in this endeavor simply because they have not had the support from their parents. Any assignment that they accept must be with your knowledge and consent because, for the most part, you must provide for or arrange transportation. The referee’s assignment begins 30 minutes before the match at which time they are expected to be at the field.
   
PWSRA is a leader in using technology for assigning using the web-based program, theArbiter.net. For our referees who don’t yet drive, we prefer a parent’s email address to be the primary email address for the referee’s account. However, if a young ref wants to use their own address the parent should also supply a secondary address to receive our weekly broadcast messages. A parent should also know and access the referee’s schedule using the referee’s logon ID (email address) and password.

To help both PWSRA and our youth officials, please keep the following in mind:

• Help to organize your child’s referee paperwork and schedules. Please read what we disseminate by email.
• Schedules are important! If your child cannot make an assigned match, it is his/her responsibility to get a replacement, and not at the last minute.
• If he/she cannot find a replacement, they must notify the referee assignor so that the match may get coverage. Keep in mind that referees who fail to take a scheduled assignment may be disciplined or removed from PWSRA.
• To be paid, game report forms must be online within 24 hours (unless prior exceptions are granted)
• The Laws of the Game change annually. However, direction from FIFA and USSF on how to enforce certain provisions often change in mid-season. It is important that each official attend clinics, meetings and feedback sessions. While we stop short of using the word "Mandatory," we give priority assigning to referees who seek to improve by attending meetings.
• Each official must recertify every year.
• If you have questions, please ask. PWSRA is designed to help our referees and we can only help if we are aware that assistance is needed.

Above all, now that your son or daughter is refereeing, you may find that your view of the game may change. As one referee parent stated, "my whole attitude towards referees changed once my son became the person in the middle. It’s a whole different perspective." It certainly is.
 
Thank you in advance for your support and understanding.