Referee Information
Welcome to the soccer referee community! It can be overwhelming to get involved with something new and when you add in that so many people are watching you do your job in the case it can be a daunting task. On the bright side, you have many people that are available to help you. In Kelowna we are blessed with some very knowledgeable and experienced referees that love to help.
Our certified mentors are:
Fil DeCarvalho Anderson Peters Rene Hantelmann
Mike Hrzic Al Ryder John Savoie
Megan Sekella Matt Smith Nigel Steffen
Ryan Thurnheer Kevin Wildfong Stuart Wright
If one of these people show up to mentor at a game, they are there to support you and help you to become a better referee. The goal for all of us is to help all the referees to be better as it makes everyone’s roles much easier. We all love to have good, qualified officials as part of our game team.
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Where to start
There are a few things you must look after immediately. Attached is a checklist to help you ensure you have what you need to be successful to start.
First you need your equipment. Black shorts, a black jersey, black soccer socks, a whistle, caution cards, notepad, pen/pencil, watch, flags, a bag to carry it all.
Your kit – That is your uniform. You must wear your uniform for all games you are working. First year COYSA small sided referees will be provided a starter kit from Teamkits.
There are 5 colors of shirt but you must have at least a black shirt. The order to purchase after that, if you wish, is yellow, red, green, purple (blue). If you purchase just the black then I suggest you have a yellow and red t-shirt in your bag in case one of the teams is wearing black. Your shorts and socks must be black and you want pockets in your shorts to hold your cards. Brands – we typically wear the kit of the most recent World Cup (Adidas 22). TeamKits has a special offer for our local refs for a Ref18 kit that closely resembles the Adidas 18 version. Go to https://teamkits.net/club-code/ and use KSRA2022 as the code to get special pricing.
Whistles – There are many whistles out there to choose from. The most recommended is the Fox 40 pealess whistle (whistles provided to 1st year officials). You want a whistle that is loud and pealess. The typical Fox 40 is about $10 and is available at nearly any sports store, even Canadian Tire! Other whistles can range to $80 for a Valkeen. Get the Fox 40 to start.
Watches – There are tons of options. You can use the standard timex from Walmart, a sport specific watch like Sprintso, a smart watch, basically anything with a stopwatch and/or a countdown function. I use my iWatch with the RefSix app (also works with Samsung, Google OS – available at https://refsix.com/ by subscription). It allows you to keep scores, cautions, time and will track your running in the game. On my other wrist I have a Sprintso.
You can purchase items online at:
https://teamkits.net/club-code/- local store that offers an Adi18 look alike kit – great price! They have a starter package with pretty much all you will need. Login is KRSA2022. If password needed it is the same as Login.
https://heyref.ca/store/ - Edmonton based store – good service
https://www.refereeworld.com/ - based in Germany – good service but can take time to get due to shipping.
Eurosport – On Cooper Road in Kelowna – limited selection.
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How do I get games?
Now that you have your equipment, you need a reason to wear it! Start by entering your availability into HorizonWebRef. This is the program we use to schedule the officials for games. If you do not have an account yet, go to horizonwebref.com and set one up. Our association number is 206086. You must enter your personal profile information into this program, including your contact info and address. The address helps us to schedule you for the fields closer to where you live. See the handout about HorizonWebRef for more information.
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Checklists
There are checklists for each league. These are accessible in HorizonWebRef in the Documents portion.
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What if someone yells at me?
This is going to happen… guaranteed! Very few people actually know the Laws of the Game (LOTG). Fewer have attended a referee clinic to learn the laws and how to interpret them, fewer still have actually put that learning into practice. Every call or non call we make will cause one of the teams to disagree. Some lack the common sense or maturity to control themselves and they lash out at us. Remember, it isn’t personal when someone disagrees or even yells at you. It is truly more of a reflection of them, not you. You control what gets into you.
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How do I get paid?
You must complete a EFT form for Kelownaref.com/KWSL/COYSA and return it to Al at kelownaref@gmail.com. This allows us to pay you for your games by EFT.
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Who pays for each League?
COYSA / TOYSL / TOYDA – all ages – paid by by EFT COYSA
KMSL – All divisions including O45 - paid by EFT by KMSL
KWSL – Paid by EFT by KWSL
BCSPL – Paid by EFT monthly by OUFC
High School A and AAA – Paid by Al by EFT. Girls Paid in June, Boys Paid in November.
O55 / 60 – Paid by Al by EFT monthly
Scheduling
HorizonWebRef
We are using an online scheduling program for all games in Kelowna and area this year. You
must be a registered BC Soccer referee and have a valid account on Horizonwebref in order to
be assigned games. Horizonwebref is the online scheduling program we are using. Below are
the instructions for creating your Horizonwebref account.
1 - Open http://my.horizonwebref.com in a web browser (Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome
recommended)
2 - Click the New Users Registration link
3 - Complete the form and select the appropriate user type & user positions. Note – you must
enter a birthdate that makes you at least 13 in order to create an account. This is a US based
program and that is their regulation. If you are 12 years old simply enter your year of birth as
2012. Next year you can readjust!
Email Al Ryder at kelownaref@gmail.com if you are unclear of which selections to make.
4 - Use the association # provided to you by your local organization's scheduler. Association
#206086
5 - Wait for approval. Your local organization must approve your account.
Once approved, you will receive an email with your new username and password.
You may now login with your username and password provided.
6 - You can get help with any topics to do with the program at - Help for Officials
How do I Accept or Decline games on my schedule?
Accepting or declining games is done on your Personal Game Schedule page. You'll use the
icons in the right-hand Action column to take action (accept or decline) on a particular game.
Do I have unaccepted games?
The first step is to determine if you even have any unaccepted games that need your
attention. If you have unaccepted games, they will be displayed in the Reminders box on your
Members Home page. Check there first to see if there is anything you need to do.
How do I find my games?
Your Personal Game Schedule page is organized and controlled by the Schedule Filters. See this
support article for instructions and details on how to edit the filters. If necessary, you may
need to change your Schedule Filters, particularly the date range, to locate your unaccepted
games. Alternatively, you can also just click on the reminder displayed in the Reminders box on
your Members Home page to be taken directly to the unaccepted game.
Accepting or Declining
Taking action on your game (accepting or declining) will be done via the Action column on the
right hand side of your Game Schedule page. You can simply click on the desired action to
proceed. Alternatively, you can use the Accept All option in the top toolbar to accept all the
visible unaccepted games.
Note: some officiating organizations do not permit officials to decline games, in which case,
only the Accept icon would be shown.
After I have accepted a game how do I give it back?
Once you have accepted a game there is no automated process to remove it from your
schedule. The reason being, is that once you have accepted the game, your scheduler is now
planning on you taking that game and is no longer planning on scheduling officials for this
particular game. You may make a REQUEST to your scheduler that you be removed from the
game. You may do this by using the Turn Back Request feature. To use the turn back request
feature, open your game details, and click the "REQUEST TURN BACK" link that is listed below
your name on the game details page. This will send a request to the scheduler for you to be
removed from the game. This is only a request, though. Many schedulers use the "Accept
Game" as a mutual agreement that you will appear for that game. So unless your scheduler is
willing to remove you from the game, the assignment will remain on your schedule as your
responsibility.
There are 2 different game/event reporting systems:
The Game Reports System
This system is a system that is turned ON or OFF by your system's assignor /
administrator. When turned ON, the assignor can specify certain positions that are required to
complete a game report after the game has been completed. This report asks for information
such as home score, away score, evaluations of each team's sportsmanship, facility conditions,
spectator behavior, etc. There is also a place for general comments. When turned ON, if you
need to complete a game report, a reminder will be displayed in your Reminders Box that is on
your Members Home page. If you have a reminder, finding the place to complete the report is
the same as accepting / declining a game. You would go to your schedule, find the game on
your schedule using the schedule filters, and then click the icon in the "Action Column" to
complete the game/event report. This system, if turned ON, is a system that will REQUIRE the
report to be completed before your schedule details can be viewed. THIS IS TURNED ON.
The Incident Reports System
The incident reporting system is an ON DEMAND system that is used for reporting misconducts,
ejections, disqualifications, match penalties, technicals, etc, etc and is turned ON or OFF by
your system's assignor / administrator. When we say that the system is ON DEMAND we mean
that, you fill out the report whenever you need to report something, and the system will not
generate any reminders or requirements to complete the form. You do not need to submit an
incident report unless and incident has occurred. To submit a new incident report, click the
icon in the Action Column on your Game Schedule page next to any game in the past. This
will bring you to the form to submit a new incident report for that game.
Incident Report
Go to Administrative Forms -> Incident / DQ / Game Misconduct Reports -> submit new
incident report -> select a game by clicking on incident report beside the game -> enter half and
time of incident -> add the offender -> write summary of events -> submit report.
Anytime you are the referee for a game you must complete a Game Report on Horizonwebref.
You also must submit the league specific reports. Look in the Documents directory on the right
side of the page of Howrizonwebref for the link to checklists for each league.
What you need to know for 2025
Al Ryder is the Head Referee and Referee Scheduler for COYSA, KMSL, KWSL, Oldtimers Men’s Leagues.
Al also serves as the Referee Scheduler for High School boys and girls, BCSPL, and TOYSL. If you need to
contact Al, please email kelownaref@gmail.com. If your contact is urgent then call or text him.
1 – Online Schedule - We will be scheduling all leagues with Horizonwebref.com so you must have an
account. All registered referees will be invited to create an account. You are responsible to have your
availability entered into the program a minimum of 4 weeks in advance as scheduling will be an ongoing
and constant process. We will aim to have schedules done 3-4 weeks in advance at all times. If you do
not have availability entered you will not be assigned to games. You will have 5 days to accept your
games or the system will remove you from the game and it will be offered through the TBA system. The
TBA system emails openings that you can request to be assigned to.
When entering availability make sure you block any fields you are not willing to do games at. You also
need to block any leagues you are not interested in as well as teams you may have relatives playing for
or divisions which you are playing in. This is done on the Availability page.
You must complete a game report for every small sided game you do. Minimum on the
report is simply the score. If you do not submit the report you will not be paid.
2 – Scheduling - COYSA has 2 schedulers. Irelyn Irvine schedules for COYSA U7-U12 games. Small sided
referees will be scheduled for all U7, U8, U9, U10 and U11/12 AR positions. Youth/Entry referees will be
scheduled for U11/12 middles and AR for other games. Al schedules COYSA U14-U18 and all other
leagues. District and higher will be scheduled as their abilities will allow.
3 – Forms - All forms you will need will be available on Horizonwebref in the Documents folder. This
includes checklists for all levels. Checklists outline what you need to do for each level/league. Fees by
league and age are also posted there.
4 - Payroll - You must complete a payroll information form. All leagues pay by Direct Deposit this year.
Please provide a bank printout for your DD form completion if possible. Payroll is processed and provided to the leagues by the 4th of each month for the previous month. This allows leagues to have their accounting done and process payment by the 15th of the month. You do not get paid after each game, it is a monthly payment. If you submitted a DD form for 2024 and your information has not changed, you will not have to submit another form this year.
Horizonwebref tracks your payroll so you can see how much you have earned. If there is a discrepancy
on Horizonwebref to what you believe you have worked, contact Al, not the leagues. Please ensure you
are checking Horizonwebref and the date filter in the program before you email questions.
5 – Mentoring – Mentoring is a great way to improve your skills. We all have areas to improve upon and
mentors are trained to help you with those items. Mentors for all levels will be assigned by Al. Goal is
that every club in COYSA has a mentor at the small sided fields a minimum of 2 times per month. You
can request a mentor to help you by emailing Al. Note the shortage of referees has limited the
availability of mentors right now.
6 – Communications – We will communicate by email. Please ensure you make the following email as
safe or not spam. We send so many emails that some programs will mark us as spam.
kelownaref@gmail.com
Player Statistics
3Exceptional Achievement
Our player statistics section allows you to delve deeper into the game and connect with the players through their on-field performance.