Sep 14 Assignments, Change 1

Sept 7 Assignments, Change 3

Why did I not get a game assignment? 

There are many factors to assigning games at the NYSA but I will attempt to outline the process.

Every week I send out an email asking for availability for the upcoming weekend. So the first thing I consider is if I receive a response from you. If I do not get a response, then you may or may not be assigned a game. Basically if you do not respond, you go into a standby pool and will only be assigned a game if I run out of officials.  Be sure you are on the Officials GroupMe chat and have your contact information on file.  [email protected]

I compile a list of all those that respond that they are available. This list is in order of response. So in other words those that respond quicker have a higher likelihood of getting an assignment. 

I use this list of available officials and start at the top of that list to start assigning games. I may get to the end of the games before I get to the end of the list. Simply put I may run out of games before I run out of officials. 

Another factor considered is who worked games the previous week. I will prioritize those that did not get to work a game the previous week over those who did work a game the previous week. Simply put you may be bumped from a game by someone who did not work a game the week prior.

Some weeks there will be more games than available officials and all available officials will probably get multiple games.

Other factors that I consider are skill level, age, experience, and training participation. I am much more likely to give you a game if you participate in the training event(s). These events include any USA Soccer Referee certification or our NYSA classroom, tests, and FTE.

Performance will also become a factor after the first couple of weeks. The better you perform the more games you will be assigned. 

Some weeks there are just more available officials than there are games. It doesn’t happen very often but there will be weeks that there are simply not enough games to go around. I have to fill 30 slots every week. If there are 34 available officials, four of you won’t get a game. Using all the factors above I will assign games. I will generally try to rotate officials each week. So if you didn’t get a game one week, your priority level goes to the top of the list the following week and you will be among the first to get a game.

So there can be many answers as to why you didn’t get a game.
Did you respond to the availability request?
Did you attend the training event(s) and take the tests?
Did you wait until late in the week to respond to the availability request?
Did you work a game the previous week?
Are you showing up to assigned games on time?
Performance – are you reviewing, studying and preparing (it WILL show)?
Are you USSF certified? (certified refs go to the top of the priority list and get paid more)

Pay Chart: