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ADVANCED GRADE REQUIREMENTS

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Here you can find all the requirements that need to be met in order to be upgraded to a higher grade.

Upgrade to Grade 7 (from Grade 8)

Minimum Age:

17

Game Experience:

75 as Referee
25 as Assistant Referee

Game level to be counted for
advancement:

US Soccer Federation Games

Time in present Grade:

12 months as a Referee

Training course requirements:

5 hours of USSF Intermediate Level Training

Physical Fitness Test:

Pass Grade 7 Physical Fitness Test

Written Test:

Minimum score of 85 on Entry Level Test

Assessments:

1 as Referee (U17 or higher)


Upgrade to Grade 6 (from Grade 7)

Minimum Age:

18

Game Experience:

100 as Referee
25 as Assistant Referee

Game level to be counted for
advancement:

U19 Competitive Leagues or higher

Time in present Grade:

12 months as Grade 7 Referee

Training course requirements:

19 hours of State Referee Training

Physical Fitness Test:

Pass Grade 6 Physical Fitness Test

Written Test:

Minimum score of 75 on State Referee Test

Assessments:

2 as Referee, minimum score of 70 (U19 or higher, 1 as Adult D2)
1 as AR, minimum score of 70 (U19 or higher)


Upgrade to Grade 5 (from Grade 6)

Minimum Age:

19

Game Experience:

150 as Referee
50 as Assistant Referee

Game level to be counted for
Advancement:

Of the 150 games a minimum of 50 must be on adult Division 1 league games

Time in present Grade:

12 Months as Grade 6 Referee prior to application

Training course requirements:

7 hours of In-Service State Referee Training

Physical Fitness Test:

Pass Grade 5 Physical Fitness Test

Written Test:

Minimum score of 85 on State Referee Test

Assessments:

2 as Referee, minimum score 75 (Top amateur or higher)
1 as AR, minimum score 75 (Top amateur or higher)


Upgrade to Grade 4 (from Grade 5)

Minimum Age:

23

Game Experience:

150 as Referee (50 must be Division 1 adult or higher; 5 must be professional games)
50 as Assistant Referee (5 must be professional games)

Game level to be counted for
advancement:

Adult League or higher

Time in present Grade:

24 Months as Grade 5 Referee prior to application

Training course requirements:

Required to attend and successfully complete the National Referee Certification Session

Physical Fitness Test:

FIFA Physical Fitness Test (Cooper Test)

Written Test:

Must pass National Referee Examination

Assessments:

Must be done by National Assessor; special circumstances apply; contact SRA


The Massachusetts State Referee Committee, with the approval of the Massachusetts adult and youth soccer associations, has published the Requirements for Advanced Grades. Some of these requirements are already contained in the USSF Referee Administrative Manual, while others are specific to Massachusetts. In publishing the Requirements for Advanced Grades, we hope to consolidate and clarify certain minimum standards for referees who seek to achieve or maintain an advanced referee grade. These requirements are intended to be supplementary to established USSF guidelines. Contained in this document are specific elements for each grade. This paper is provided to give referees guidance and an explanation as to the essential components.



GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE GRADE REQUIREMENTS

Grade:

The grade to which the referee aspires, or wishes to maintain. (e.g. A grade 7 referee who seeks upgrade should consult the standards for the grade 6 official.)

Assessments required for
upgrade:

The number of successful assessments required to successfully upgrade to that level.

Level of match to be evaluated:

The level of match that will be required to complete the upgrade.

Essential criteria to determine
pass or fail:

The qualities for which an assessor will be looking when evaluating an official's performance. In some cases it may be possible for a referee to be deficient on one or two areas by compensating with superior skills in others.

Minimum annual games refereed
for renewal:

The number and level of games a referee must officiate annually in order to maintain the advanced grade. (*) In the case of U-19, U-17 and U-18 may be considered as equivalent.

Recommended assignment level:

The level of matches for which the referee will be judged qualified. Although it is likely that any referee will occasionally encounter a match, regardless of the level of play, which proves difficult to handle, this is the level for which the referee is expected to comfortably perform in most cases.

Maintenance assessment
required:

The number and level of assessments required annually in order to maintain the advanced grade.


MASSACHUSETTS STATE GRADE REQUIREMENTS

Topic/Grade

Grade 7

Grade 6

Grade 5

Assessments in DSC required for upgrade:

1 Referee

2 Referee, 1 AR

2 Referee, 1 AR

Level of match to be evaluated:

U-17 or higher

U-19 or higher (at least one game as referee must be Adult 2nd division or higher)

Adult 1st division or higher

Minimum annual games refereed for
renewal:

10 at the U-19* or higher level

10 at the adult level

15 at the adult or professional level

Recommended assignment level:

All youth matches

All adult matches through the 2nd division

All adult matches through the 1st division and selected pro assignments with MSRC approval

Maintenance assessment required:

None

One annually at the adult level

One annually at the adult first division


ESSENTIAL CRITERIA TO DETERMINE PASS/FAIL

Criteria/Grade

Grade 7

Grade 6

Grade 5

Control of the match:

YES

YES

YES

Man-management skills commensurate with:

YOUTH

ADULT

ADULT AND PROFESSIONAL

Fitness:

MINIMUM

ADEQUATE

SUPERIOR

Understanding and application of the three man
system:

---

BASIC

SUPERIOR

Ability to recognize and deal with fouls and
misconduct, retaliation and gamesmanship:

---

ADEQUATE

SUPERIOR

Application of advantage:

---

---

SUPERIOR

Understanding of team tactics:

---

---

SUPERIOR

Identify Key Players:

---

---

SUPERIOR

Relate a sequence of events in a match to overall
game management:

---

---

SUPERIOR


NOTES

NOTE: Assessments for upgrade must be approved by the State Director of Assessment.

NOTE: The determination for passing or failing a maintenance assessment is no different than that for upgrading to that grade.