Assigning platforms

You need RefTown. Most Oregon assignors run their leagues through it, and it is where nearly every referee in the state gets their games. If you only register on one site, make it this one.

Inside RefTown you’ll join NorthWest Soccer Central (NWSC) — a single RefTown organization that bundles together most of Oregon’s leagues and clubs, including OYSA and a long list of recreational leagues. Joining NWSC once gets you in front of all of them, rather than registering separately with each. Register as an official with RefTown to get started.

A few tournament assignors run their events on other systems — StackOfficials or RefInsight are the ones that come up most. If an assignor tells you to sign up somewhere other than RefTown, that’s normal: follow their link and register there too. You don’t need to hunt these down yourself — your assignor will tell you which one applies to their games.

One more name you’ll see that is not an assigning platform: the U.S. Soccer Digital Learning Center. That’s where you take your certification coursework and where your license lives, not where you get games. See Certification Requirements for that side of things.

Once you’re registered on RefTown, the rest of this page covers what to do there: finding your games, updating your availability, your profile and qualifications, and payments and game history.

Most Oregon referees work through RefTown. If you’re not sure that’s your platform, check Which platform do I need? first — the click paths below are RefTown’s.

Games you’ve already been given show up two ways. The RefTown home page lists your next few games as soon as you log in. If any of them need a response from you, there’s an “Unaccepted Games” link on the home page too — click it to see anything awaiting your answer.

You can also get the full list anytime: Schedules → Games. From there, use the “QuickLinks” menu and choose “My Games” to filter by future, unaccepted, or past games.

Any game waiting on you will show an “Accept?” prompt next to it. Click Yes to take it or No to decline. Declining usually asks for a short reason — some organizations require one. When you’re done, click “Submit Responses” at the bottom of the page. You’ll get an email confirming what you submitted.

Open games work differently — nobody has assigned them yet, and any qualified official can claim one. Two ways to find them:

• On the home page, a notice box tells you when open games exist and links straight to the list.
• Or go to Schedules → Games, then QuickLinks → “with Open Self-Assignments.”

Next to an open position you’ll see either Claim or Request. Claim puts your name on the game immediately. Request adds you to a list the assignor reviews before deciding — your name doesn’t lock in until they act.

You’ll only see games your organization has marked you qualified for. If a game you expected to see is missing, or your account says you’re missing something, that’s usually a certification, registration, or qualifications issue — see Your profile and qualifications. If nothing there explains it, ask your assignor (see Working with your assignor).

Your availability calendar lives under Schedules → Availability in RefTown. It has two layers: a standing weekly pattern, and specific dates that override it. A specific date always wins over the weekly pattern for that day.

To set your normal week:

Go to Schedules → Availability. Click Edit Availability, top right. Choose Day-of-Week Availability for your organization. Mark the days and times you can start a game. Click Save Changes.

To block out a single date — a trip, an exam, anything that breaks your normal week for one day:

Go to Schedules → Availability and navigate to the month. Click Edit Availability, top right. Choose Specific Dates for your organization. Mark that date not available, or available only for part of it. Click Save Changes.

Edits take effect immediately, but they don’t reach backwards — a game you already hold doesn’t fall off your schedule because you later blocked that date. For what the calendar’s colors mean, what a blank day defaults to, and what to do about a game you already hold, see Setting your availability.

The full RefTown documentation, including scratches (excluding whole schools or leagues from your assignments) and settings for referees who work in more than one organization, is on RefTown’s knowledge base.

If your account shows Inactive, this is the page for it. Inactive means you can still log in, but you cannot be assigned to a game until it clears.

Finish or renew your certification through the US Soccer Learning Center. The assigning platform checks your certification against the US Soccer/Arbiter system automatically, but the two don’t sync instantly — allow a few hours for a change on one side to appear on the other before you assume something is wrong.

Still inactive after that? The two accounts likely don’t match each other. Matching runs on your email address, last name, and either your first name or date of birth being identical in both places. Register with the same email address everywhere, and keep your legal name and birthdate consistent between your platform account and your Learning Center account.

Exactly how the match works

Some organizations require all four fields — email, last name, first name or nickname, and date of birth — to line up. Others accept a looser “three-point” match: email, last name, and either the name or the birthdate. It doesn’t matter which system you correct; the fix will pick up on the next sync.

Once your status is right, your certification status, league memberships, and zones all live in the same place:

Click your name, top right My Profile My Qualifications

My Qualifications shows your current certification and license status, and is where you request to join leagues. A league request is a request, not a membership — someone on that league’s side has to accept it before its games show up for you.

Below your leagues you’ll find your Zone — the geographic area you’re claiming as your working area. Check the zone or zones that actually cover where you’re willing to drive; assignors and self-assign lists both use it to decide whether a game is even shown to you.

This describes RefTown, which is what most Oregon assignors use. If you’re on a different platform, see Which platform do I need? — and if your status still won’t clear after all of the above, ask your assignor. This page can tell you where to look; it can’t fix an account it doesn’t have access to.

Your list of past games is under Schedules → Games. Open the “QuickLinks” menu, click “My Games,” and choose the past option instead of future. If you need a specific date range instead, use “Game Search,” change the date filter from “From Today” to “Between,” and enter the range you want.

Payment itself works one of a few ways depending on your organization — direct deposit, PayPal, Venmo, or a check — and how yours is set up lives in your RefTown profile, not on the games page.

• Direct deposit: click your name (top right) → My Profile → Direct Deposit Account Info, then add your account. RefTown never redisplays your full account number back to you once it’s saved — that’s deliberate, not a bug.
• PayPal or Venmo: click your name → Profile → PayPal / Venmo Payouts, then choose which of your on-file emails or phone numbers to pay out to. A game paid this way shows a small symbol in the comments column on your schedule, and your name shows “Not signed up,” “Signed up with Venmo,” or “Signed up with PayPal” next to it.
• 1099 (tax form): if your organization issues these through RefTown, go to Pay → My Invoices and 1099s in January and download the year you need. You’ll open the file with your Social Security number or Tax ID as the password.

Whether you’re set up correctly for direct deposit or PayPal/Venmo shows on your RefTown home page as a reminder if something’s missing. If a payment looks wrong or hasn’t arrived, that’s a question for your assignor (see Working with your assignor) — RefTown just carries out what your organization has configured, it doesn’t set your rate.

Pay rates vary by league, age group, and competition level, and this page doesn’t have a number that’s true across all of them. Ask your assignor what a given game pays before you take it if you’re not sure.