USRowing Referees are tasked with ensuring the safety and fairness of regattas around the country. This means that Referees oversee making sure athletes are warming up and racing safely as well as paying attention to the weather. Too make sure that racing is fair, Referees apply the rules of rowing to the events they are working to make sure that all participants can compete to their potential. 

Yes, there are three ranks for Referees; Candidates, are people interested in becoming a Referee. Assistant Referees, are licensed referees, they can be part of a Jury and officiate at any station, but cannot act as a depuity or chief Referee. Referees are fully qualified, like an Assistant Referee, but can also act as a Chief or Deputy Chief for a regatta.  

There are also Clinicians required to be full Referees and voted on by the Committee. 

First, please fill out the Referee Application HERE

Once that’s done, you’ll need to make sure that you have a USRowing membership, be up-to-date with your SafeSport training, and complete a background check. From there, you’ll need to be enrolled in the College for the Candidate training modules. You’ll also have to complete 6 observations. Once you’ve completed the online training and observations, you’ll be ready to sit for your Assistant Referee exam.  

You’ll need to observe 6 positions: Start Marshall, Chief Judge, Starter, Aligner/Judge at the Start, Chief Judge, Referee, and Control Commission.

Once you’ve passed your Assistant Referee exam, you’ll still have to work a specific number of times for each position.

• Marshal twice
• Starter 5 times
• Judge at the Start, 5 times
• Referee 10 times
• Chief Judge 5 times
• Control Commission twice

After completing the work requirements as an Assistant, you are eligible to sit for your full license exam. The exam is two parts, the first is a written section which is open book, but in essay form. Once passing the written section of the exam you’ll also have to sit for an in-person practical exam that will be administered by clinicians in your region.

The Julian Wolf School for Referees, is the educational arm for the Referee Corps. They are in charge of developing all the educational content for Candidates, as well as develop the annual clinic.

Yes, which USRowing will provide. Notify USRowing HERE of your current referee status (candidate, assistant, full referee) and the amount of time you've been in this status for them to process your complimentary membership.

Every USRowing licensed must have a current SafeSport certification, that needs to be updated every year. For information on how to complete SafeSport training, click HERE.

Yes, you’ll need to pass a background check to begin your process, and to maintain a license, a background check is required every two years. To request your background check, email hugh.mcadam@usrowing.org. This will be issued via email. From the time of receiving the background check link, you will have 14 days to complete your background check before the link expires.

A Referee will need to work a minimum of 4 regatta days a year, attend the Annual Clinic, maintain a current SafeSport certification annually, and have a background check every two years.

RefCorps is the platform that all Referees use to track all regattas worked, attendance to the annual clinic. It’s also where Referees can see which regattas are available, and express interest in which regattas they would like to work.

Candidates can upload regattas worked and which position they worked. Assistant and full Referees can also track which regattas they worked, positions worked, the dates for SafeSport Certifications and background checks.

Data Call happens at the end of the year, where all Referees need to have all information added to stay certified.

You must have both an active USRowing membership and electronically signed membership agreement to be covered under USRowing’s insurance program for general liability coverage.

There are 6 regions for Referees. They are the: Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington D.C, West Virginia, and Verginia)

• Midwest (Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dekota, South Dekota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee),
• Northeast (New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut)
• Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
• Southeast (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas)
• Southwest (Arizona, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada).

The Regional Coordinator is the point person for their region, in charge of naming clinicians, helping recruit candidates and administering full license exams.