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I've heard cost is an issue with the system—but I have also heard that SC simply doesn't have enough refs to go 3-man—I believe both are credible issues—

And while most of us have done it—No one should be yelling at the refs—The yelling can ONLY creates the worst situations—It never helps—

My understanding (from a referee) is that in the midstate (at least) the three-man system was voted against due to cost issues. I was just wondering how much more it actually costs.

Typcially if you do the three man system...here is how it breaks down for adult league games....

Lines: $24 or so X's 2
Center $45 or so


In high school, we usually got about $70 for a JV and a varsity game, that was 2 referees, so that is $140 for two games....You are going to pay a little more each time if you have 3 referees. Most likely, you won't have people running the lines for less than $25, so you would end up with about a $200 bill for 2 games, maybe a little less. But you figure even $40 more each game is going to cost you 8 home games or $320 for the year, not including tournaments. Not much, but more money for cash strapped school districts.

Question: For schools that use the 2 man system, do both refs receive "center" pay?

If so, then having 2 centers in lieu of a center and 2 assistants isn't saving a whole lot.

And assuming cost is the issue (and not availability), can't schools just charge an extra $1 a head to cover the added ref cost? I think most fans would support a price increase if it was going to pay for a 3 ref crew.

High school pays officials by attendance, not position. Generally $35-$50 a referee per game.

SCHSL Soccer Officials' Fees
$35, Regular Season
$38, State Playoff Games
$44, State Finals
Travel Allowance shall be $0.25 per mile to each official with a minimum of $5.

Page B-46 of the SCHSL Handbook's Rules Section

William Aiken, I never got paid by attendance #'s when I did a game in SC, it was always a flat fee. As you can see, I was pretty close to the numbers that were posted. In Illinois it is the same thing. We get paid per game, no matter what. But what is nice is the conference that I do a lot of the refereeing in uses 3 referees per game, not 2!

I think someone was mistaken on this board. In the Greenville area, a two-man system is used. I coached in the 90's and we used a two-man system and I was at the Hillcrest-Ridge View game today and the only had two refs.
Best line I have heard from a ref happened in last falls adult league. "they pay me to make A call. it doesn't have to be the right one."

The Two man system is used in the Upstate. The parents of some schools choose to get the extra money together when there is a big Game between rivals. ie.. Greenville -vs- JL Mann or Eastside - vs - Greenville and so on.

Why is the obvious "bad throw" and "handball" (whether inadvertent or intentional) largely ignored in high school soccer. Also, when the 3-man system is used, is it so hard to know when a player is offside? It seems that often that they are on, but the AR cannot keep up with the play.