Colton Wenszell, La Porte City, and Sophie Vandesee, Waterloo, have received the inaugural Cedar Valley Soccer Club Phil Watson Youth Referee Of The Year award. The award was presented by Cedar Valley Soccer Officials Association Youth Director Tyler Strickler at the June CVSOA Monthly Meeting.

Colton has been refereeing since 2022 and has refereed over 250 games in that time. He has enjoyed meeting new people, working hard and improving as a referee.

Sophie passed the USSF First Time Referee Clinic in the spring of 2024 and has refereed more than 40 games. She appreciates the involvement in soccer and the community that refereeing has brought and says that it has built her confidence and growth as a person and as a referee.

Both Colton and Sophie thank Tyler and the Cedar Valley Soccer Club and the CVSOA for their recognition.

Phil Watson commented, “I’m very honored to have the YROTY named after me. I was on the original board of the Cedar Valley Soccer Club in 1992 and I got the CVSOA started in 1994. Since then, we have produced hundreds of referees for Cedar Valley soccer. Many began working youth recreational games and have climbed the ladder to be referees at the high school, college, state and regional levels.

Being a quick learner and a hard worker is the winning combination and Sophie and Colton have exhibited those values on and off the soccer field. We couldn’t have picked finer examples of successful youth referees.

👏 Congratulations Colton and Sophie!

 The Iowa Referee Committee (IRC) is proud to recognize the Iowa Delegation of referees who represented our state at the US Youth Soccer Midwest Presidents Cup in St. Louis, MO.

These officials showed professionalism, integrity, and a strong commitment to the game throughout the event. Thank you ALL for your leadership on the field and for representing Iowa with pride:

National Referee Coach: Hido Tica

Mentors: Lou Agocs and Nikki Schuppan

Referees: Jeremy Allen, Joseph Barnes, Ethan Bellendier, Aaron Blanchard, Beaux Blanchard, Jeff Blanchard, Rentse DeJong, Brandon Joly, Seayea Joseph, William Kemp, Morgan Link, Sawyer Loger, Alex, McLeland, and Anna Tuuri

👏 Aaron Blanchard, Beaux Blanchard, Jeff Blanchard, Brandon Jolly, and Nikki Schuppan were also assigned finals matches.

The Iowa Referee Committee and the Greater Iowa Chapter of the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association are hosting a Referee Academy Day in remembrance of Iowa FIFA Referee Terry Vaughn.

• Date: Saturday, August 16, 2025

• Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Location: Coe College Peterson Hall in the Cherry Auditorium, 1220 First Ave., NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

Terry was a FIFA Referee from Mount Vernon, IA who sadly passed away from Huntington’s Disease in 2023. Terry is a testament that referees in Iowa can reach the highest level.

Featured Instructors are former FIFA World Cup Referee and FIFA Referee Instructor, Esse Baharmast, and NISOA Region 8 Representative and National USSF Referee Coach, Khalaf Al-latayfeh. 

This event is for ALL referees at every level. If you are working youth recreational, youth competitive, high school or higher level games, this event is for YOU!

Come listen and learn – BECOME A BETTER REFEREE! We don’t often get an opportunity to hear from the top speakers in the country here in Iowa.

Agenda to be announced soon!  Click here to register.

The updated Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP) Policy is designed to make youth and amateur matches more safe and more fun. 531-9 now includes stronger sanctions for any form of abuse towards referees. US Soccer encourages every player and coach to learn what behaviors cross the line so they can avoid penalties and help create a better culture for the game. Read more…

Major tournaments confirmed to date for 2025 are listed here. If you are interested in working any of these events, please fill out the Google Form. As they are added into Arbiter, you will be sent a placeholder for the event. By accepting the placeholder, you confirm your availability. You are not confirmed for an event until the placeholder has been sent via Arbiter.

If you have any questions about a specific venue re: pay, mileage or hotels, please contact Alec Clark (Assignor).

The IHSAA and IGHSAU have approved changes for the Spring ‘25 Season in the following areas:

• Overtime and ties

• Continuous clock

• Weather delays

• Yellow cards

Read more…

Want to become a referee? Check the IRC Event Calendar for a First-Time Referee Course scheduled near you.

Starting with the Fall '24 Soccer Season, Iowa Soccer will use Stack Officials as its official referee assigning provider. To learn more, read Iowa Soccer's Getting Started Flyer.

Attention: Assignors, Mentors, and Referee Coaches

If you would like to nominate a promising young Iowa referee to be considered for the 2023-24 US Youth Soccer Young Referee of the Year Award, download the Nomination Form and follow the instructions provided at the bottom of the form.

IMPORTANT: A completed form and the required letters of recommendation for each nominee must be e-Mailed to the State Youth Referee Administrator (SYRA), Kevin Stapleford, by Saturday, August 17.

The Iowa Referee Committee (IRC) has OPENED the 2025 Recertification and Registration window with US Soccer for all Iowa Referees. US Soccer's 2025 registration year began on July 1, 2024 and will close June 30, 2025.