Question:
I’m a Grade 8 ref and I have made my services available to a local high school Christian academy. My children’s rec club shares the same field and I had contacted the head coach concerning field usage and that’s when he told me that he was looking for refs. He had previously had refs assigned by the PA Interscholastic Athletic Assoc.,PIAA. He said that the fees were stretching his budget and he thought he was getting the less experienced refs, so he was hoping to get refs at a lower cost, and those that possibly called a better game. I thought this would be a good test for me, as I haven’t done many games at this level, and I’m considering the HS level when my kids our done playing at the rec level. I spoke with a fellow coach and PIAA/NJAIA ref and he recommended that I check in to whether I would be covered with liability insurance. I reviewed the Ref Admin. Handbook and under Unaffilliated games there wasn’t a clear definition.Would I be covered if I officiated these games?
Answer (August 30, 2007):
Referees are covered only if they are registered and the teams are affiliated with U.S. Soccer, which high school is not (might be in SD as they just have a club program). You may want to check with the school and see if sports officials are covered on their policy.
