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Local Sports

January 18, 2004

Officials’ association keeps it organized

By CHRISTINA TELLER
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

Her inbox flooded with e-mail, Suzanne Romswinckel had a long night ahead of her.

As the licensed assigner for the Santa Cruz County Soccer Referee Association, Romswinckel is responsible for staffing seven to eight Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League high school games a day during the winter season. She also coordinates officiating for many of the Class I and III games in the county during the club season.

Six years ago, Romswinckel, along with her husband, Art, and Greg Hill were some of the major players who formed the SCCSRA. The assignment of referees is just one of the responsibilities of the association.

Not only does it serve as a protection for all of its members (there are 56 refs in the SCCSRA this year), in terms of dealing with any abusive situations, but because it is so well-organized, the training and preparation requirements for referees are stricter, which in theory at least leads to better overall officiating.

When making assignments, Suzanne considers such aspects as the competitiveness of the game, the level of soccer, and how experienced an official is.

"The only way to maintain the order of a game is to be consistent (throughout) our membership," she said. "(The association) started in the first place because referees prior to six years ago did their own thing. It was not exactly organized and consistent. There were a lot of problems with the games themselves. The level of play and expertise of kids has jumped by quantum leaps. By the time you get to high school they’re really good players, and officiating has to keep up with the level of play."

Many people don’t realize the kind of preparation that goes into becoming a soccer referee. Not only must officials be physically fit (i.e. be able to run 4-5 miles that is required in many games), they attend clinics as well as video sessions where they are tested on making calls.

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"The reason consistency is so important is that if someone gets nailed and nothing happens, and then a shirt tug gets called, the person who got nailed is going to go after someone," Hill said. "Training is a big part of it. The quality of games has improved, and I think players feel protected more now than did before we started the association. They know what to expect from officials."

Making officiating more fun is also a goal of the association. With 40 percent of officials leaving each year, there is always a need for more. And by training referees not only for calling the game but for dealing with any possible conflict, Romswinckel hopes to retain more members.

"We bring you along very carefully," she said. "With a lot of meetings and on-field training and that kind of stuff. We try to make reffing a lot more enjoyable."

Contact Christina Teller at