HOW TO BECOME CERTIFIED AS A PIT REFEREE

FOR THE PLAYERS ... ... BY THE PLAYERS

Background Information:

The PIT football league is Manitoba's largest touch football organization and the largest year-round touch football league in Canada with nearly 400 participating teams. To keep such a large league running smoothly, the PIT is always looking for new officials. The PIT boasts the largest and most competent officiating crew in Manitoba, largely because we are the only league to certify and train our referees. To better prepare new officials for each upcoming season the PIT provides both on field training and certification clinics.
The PIT is the first and only four-season touch football league in Manitoba. Officials in the PIT can therefore earn an income all-year round.
The PIT offers three seasons of indoor football (Fall, Winter, Spring) and an expanded schedule of outdoor games during the summer months. Referees should familiarize themselves with the nuisances of both the indoor and outdoor games. Indoor is refereed with a two-person crew (Head Referee and Back Judge) played on a 30 X 70 yard field with five players on a side, whereas outdoor is a three-person crew (Head Referee, Back Judge, and Linesman) played on a 65 x 150 yard field with seven players a side.

Season Dates:

Summer Season: May to September (outdoor)
Fall Season: October to December (indoor)
Winter Season: January to March (indoor)
Spring Season: March to May (indoor)

Characteristics of a Referee:

To qualify to become a PIT official some of the following characteristics are desirable, but not required:

Having previously officiated a sport (regardless of type or skill level)
A basic knowledge of football
Having played touch football
Handled people in sports
A good disposition
Decent physical health and condition
Some means of transportation

Pay Information:

Pay Scale Indoor (1 hour games):

Head Official: $25/game
Back Judge: $21/game

Bonus System:

$2/game bonus for the 51st to 75th games officiated ($27 Head Official/$23 Back Judge)
$3/game bonus for the 76th to 100th games officiated ($28 Head Official/$24 Back Judge)
$4/game bonus for the 101st to 125th games officiated ($29 Head Official/$25 Back Judge)
$5/game bonus for the 126th on onward games officiated ($30 Head Official/$26 Back Judge)

Pay Scale Outdoor (1.5 hour games):

Head Official: $34/game
Back Judge: $29/game
Linesperson: $24/game
Outdoor 5v5 pay scale is the same as indoor

Bonus System:

$2/game bonus for the 51st to 75th games officiated ($35 Head Official/$30 Back Judge/$24 Linesperson)
$3/game bonus for the 76th to 100th games officiated ($36 Head Official/$31 Back Judge/$25 Linesperson)
$5/game bonus for the 101+ games officiated ($38 Head Official/$33 Back Judge/$27 Linesperson)

Pay Periods:

Referees are paid out on the last day of each month (or season end, depending on the date). There are therefore twelve (12) pay days per year.
Payment is provided via cheque after the referee pay sheet has been submitted to registration@pitfootball.com.
Referee pay sheets can be found by clicking on the Forms & Files on the navigation toolbar,
Referees are required to keep track of the days they officiated, the number of games, position (head official, back judge, head linesman), bonuses, and pay during the pay period and submit that information on their pay sheet. Paysheets will be cross-referenced with the official master sheet for the season.

Scheduling:

The PIT offers the most flexible scheduling in all of touch football. Work full-time, part-time, or casual! We have referees that work every day of the season, some that work weekdays, others weekends, others once a week, others simply pick up open shifts as they arise. We can work around your school, work, family commitments, teams, vacations, whatever. All you need to do is let us know when you want to work and we will make it happen for you.
At the beginning of each season we ask our referees their availability and schedule them accordingly. An electronic schedule is made available to all of our referees via Google docs that is updated daily. Any open spots can be picked up by anyone on our officials list on a first-come-first-served basis. The electronic schedule will identify the dates, position required (head referee, back judge, or head linesman), location, times, as well as the teams playing.
For the indoor seasons (Fall, Winter, Spring) there are usually 3-4 games per night. During the summer season there are usually 2 games per night on weekdays, which drop down to one game a night in the fall due to darkness. On weekends there are up to 5-6 games each day. During the indoor season and on weeknights during the outdoor season we request that referees take all games during the evening. It becomes difficult to find a referee for only part of a night as most of our referees prefer to officiate all the games. On the weekends referees can chose any number of games to officiate but preference is given to officials who want to ref the entire day.

Requirements of Becoming a PIT Referee:

Experience:

Attendance at a certification clinic. Certification clinics are offered a minimum of once a year. Certification clinics are usually held in the Spring prior to our outdoor season. The certification clinics provide in-class and on-field training for prospective officials. The clinics will cover Levels I, II, and III officiating (linesman, back judge, and head official). Certification clinics are offered by the most experienced head referees in the province and are provided free of charge to those interested in officiating.
If you are unable to attend a clinic or wish to referee after a clinic has been offered you can train to become an official with "on the job training". Such training would have you learn on the field from an official for a minimum of three games and then have a minimum of 1 game of refereeing in which you will be supervised by an experienced official. This type of training is beneficial as you will have someone at each of your 4 training games helping you learn the rules while providing mentorship and rules interpretation. Note: If you miss a certification clinic you will NOT be paid for training.
Previous experience officiating in other touch football leagues or in the tackle/flag programs can be used to reduce the number of training games required.
Officials are required to have a good working knowledge of the rules for the touch game, therefore an understanding of the touch football rulebook is essential. The PIT will provide all new referees with the official touch football handbook at no cost, training is not paid other than head referee.
- Officials can familiarize themselves with the rule book here: Touch Football Rule Book.
- Officials should also familiarize themselves with league policies and some of the nuances of game play for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. A brief summary of game play for both indoor and outdoor can be viewed here: League Rules and Policies

Equipment:

Referees are required to "look the part", thus the following equipment is essential for officiating a game in the PIT.

Referee Jersey
Whistle
Flag
Bean Bags (two red and one yellow) for marking the line of scrimmage (red), rush bag (red), and first downs (yellow).
Stop Watch (head referee)
Pen and coin (head referee) for marking statistics and coin toss

Note:

Benefits of Becoming a PIT Referee:

Officiating is a job that has many rewards, such as:

Refereeing allows you to stay involved in the game longer
Refereeing allows you to obtain a good working knowledge of the rules, which will provide a more enjoyable playing experience and also give you an edge over your opponents!
Refereeing offers a meaningful form of exercise
Refereeing provides an interactive pastime
Refereeing allows you to be part of a team
Refereeing helps to provide a safe and even playing field for participants
Refereeing is a great way to earn extra money (up to $37/game for outdoor and $28/game for indoor!)
In addition to the pay scale being quite good, officiating provides rewards commensurate for those interested in bettering themselves. Becoming a certified referee allows you to work tournaments outside of Winnipeg (such as the Labour Day Tournament in Regina, or the National Tournament of Champions) which often cover expenses for out-of-town referees. As a player, learning to referee will also provide a different perspective of the game and a good working knowledge of the rules will make you a better player and provide a more positive playing experience for all those involved.

Contact Information:

If you have an interest in officiating or would like more information please contact the league at registration@pitfootball.com and consider registering yourself as an official for the upcoming season. Each of full-time, part-time, and casual officials are welcome.

FOR THE PLAYERS ... ... BY THE PLAYERS

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All-Time Games Officiated List (Top 20)
Rank	Official	Number of Games	Brad Kelm Award for Most Officiated Games in a Season
#1	Brad Kelm	3631	17x
#2	Brent Silwany	3278	14x
#3	Donny Desaulniers	2691	11x
#4	Chris Silva	1971	4x
#5	Chris Beattie	1865	4x
#6	Melissa Haluik	1743
#7	Martial Desrosiers	1626	5x
#8	Owen Nagy	1138	2x
#9	Dallas Muir	1029
#10	Darrell Mazur	992
#11	Damian Bialkowski	959
#12	Kurtis Lizon	938
#13	David Kives	929
#14	Mike Hillman	911
#15	Al Desaulniers	836
#16	Joey Fryza	818
#17	Grant Wuckert	818
#18	Raza Butt	778	2x
#19	Tony Carvalho	719
#20	Dion Knol	709

PIT TOUCH and FLAG FOOTBALL in WINNIPEG MANITOBA - FOOTBALL!

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HOW TO BECOME CERTIFIED AS A PIT REFEREE

All-Time Games Officiated List (Top 20)