To join the EmergencyRefs on-call roster, you need active certification for your sport (USSF, IAABO, US Lacrosse, USA Hockey, or the relevant body), a Long Island location, and a stated availability window. We route last-minute offers by sport, distance, and availability, you accept or decline each one individually, and same-day games pay the base rate plus the standard 25-50% short-notice premium. It sits alongside a regular assignor relationship, not in place of one.
Who This Page Is For
Most of what we publish is written for coaches, league coordinators, and parents trying to book a referee. This page flips that: it's for the official on the other end of that request. If a text about a Saturday morning cancellation has ever gone to someone else because you weren't on the list, or if you're newly certified and want a faster way to start picking up games than waiting on a single assignor's schedule, this is what joining our roster actually involves.
It's worth being clear about what this isn't. If you haven't started the certification process yet, this page assumes ground you haven't covered — see our guide to becoming a referee on Long Island for how to get credentialed first. This page picks up after that step, for officials who already have a card and want more assignments. If you're a league coordinator instead of an official — weighing whether to keep using parent volunteers or bring on people from this roster — our referee vs. parent volunteer comparison covers that decision from your side.
What You Need Before You Can Join
- Active sport certification — USSF for soccer, IAABO for basketball, US Lacrosse, USA Hockey, or the equivalent recognized body for your sport, current and not lapsed.
- A completed background check — most certifying bodies require one already; if yours is expired, renew it before requesting placement, since we verify status before assigning any game involving minors.
- A Long Island base location — the roster is built around officials who live and work here, so response times stay fast and travel stays reasonable.
- A realistic availability window — even a narrow one, like Saturday mornings only, is useful. What matters is that it's accurate, since offers get sent against it.
None of this is a second certification process on top of what your sport's governing body already requires. It's a verification step so leagues booking through EmergencyRefs can trust that anyone we send is credentialed, current, and cleared.
How the On-Call Roster Actually Works
When a coordinator submits a request — most often a same-day cancellation, but sometimes a one-off event or a tournament that needs backup coverage — we match it against officials certified for that sport who are within a reasonable travel distance and available in that time window. You get an offer with the sport, location, time, and pay; you accept or decline it directly. There's no penalty for declining an offer that doesn't work, but officials who respond quickly and reliably tend to get offered more games over time, since that reliability is exactly what the leagues booking us are paying for.
This is a genuinely different relationship than a season assignor. An assignor builds you a schedule months in advance. The roster exists for the games that weren't on anyone's schedule an hour ago — which means it's unpredictable by design, but it's also how a lot of officials pick up meaningful extra income around games they already have booked elsewhere.
💡 Sports with thinner local coverage move faster: certified officials in cricket, rugby, wrestling, and other sports with a smaller Long Island bench tend to get more frequent offers relative to how many games exist, simply because there's less competition for each opening. If you're certified in one of those sports, joining the roster is worth it even if you don't referee full-time.
What You Can Expect to Earn
| Situation | Typical Pay |
|---|---|
| Standard same-day soccer or basketball game | $60–$135, including short-notice premium |
| Standard same-day lacrosse or flag football game | $50–$125, including short-notice premium |
| Tournament backup coverage (multi-game day) | Per-game rate, confirmed before the day starts |
| Sport with thinner local bench (cricket, rugby, wrestling) | Base rate plus premium; frequency of offers is the bigger factor than per-game rate |
These figures mirror what coordinators pay on the booking side, covered in our youth sports referee cost guide — same-day and last-minute requests carry a 25-50% premium above standard game fees, and that premium goes to the official, not EmergencyRefs.
Ready to Pick Up More Games?
Tell us your sport certification, location, and availability. We'll confirm you're on the roster and start sending matching offers.
Sign Up to Ref Games at EmergencyRefs.com →Signing Up
- Submit your certification details — sport, certifying body, and current status.
- Confirm your background check is current — or complete it if it's lapsed.
- Set your availability window — as narrow or broad as fits your schedule.
- Start receiving offers — accept the ones that work; there's no obligation on the rest.
Leagues locking in coverage before their season starts read the demand side of this relationship in our referee shortage guide — the roster exists precisely because that gap is real, and every certified official who joins it makes the next Saturday morning scramble a little less likely to end in a cancelled game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — active certification through the appropriate body for your sport. If you're not certified yet, our how-to-become-a-referee guide covers that first step.
By sport certification, travel distance, and stated availability. Fast, reliable responders tend to get more offers over time.
You set your own window, and declining an offer that doesn't fit carries no penalty or removal from future offers.
Per game, at the rate confirmed when you accept — including the standard 25-50% short-notice premium — paid through EmergencyRefs directly.
Yes — most officials do both. An assignor gives you a season's schedule; the roster fills the last-minute gaps around it.