Referee Opportunities and
Referees' Symposium

Referee Opportunities at the SF Cup
Each year, the San Francisco Cup brings together seasoned referees and promising newcomers from all over the U.S. and around the world.

The annual Referee Symposium provides a unique opportunity to learn from the most experienced referees in California North, the United States and the world.

This year the San Francisco Cup and International Youth Festival is proud to present the Inaugural San Francisco Cup Referee Field Clinic. Click for details.

If you are a young referee and have received recognition from your club or district, we want you here. Being one of our referees is a great opportunity for you to hone your skills and gain new insights from working alongside experienced referees. We assign excellent supporting assistants and provide opportunities for friendly feedback from the many assessors in attendance – all you need to do is ask. For more information, contact us.

2003 Referees' Symposium

The 16th Annual San Francisco Cup
in Cooperation with the
California North Referee Administration
proudly present
International Referees Symposium

Friday, May 23
6:30 PM - Registration
7:00 PM - Symposium
Ramada Inn
245 South Airport Blvd
South San Francisco

Featuring FIFA Referee Sonia Denoncourt

Biography:

• 1964: Native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada 38 years old
• 1978: Started to referee at 14 years old (soccer, basketball, volleyball)
• 1975-86: Played soccer for 11 years (along with many other sports)
• 1987: Obtained my degree B. Sc. In Physical Education (Sherbrooke University)
• 1995: Obtained my Master's Degree M.P.E in sports administration (Ottawa University)
• 1987-1992: Worked as a physical education teacher for 5 years
• 1994-2000: Owned and operated a bicycle store in Montreal for 6 years
• 2001-current: Presently working at the Canadian Soccer Association in Ottawa as the Coordinator for Referee Development in Canada

Major competitions in career:

• 2003: World Qualifying Men's Military soccer Championship. Refereed the final in Barbados. USA Vs. Barbados
• 2002: 9 Internationals games and National Club Championships
• 2002: Concacaf Women's Gold Cup in Los Angeles & Seattle
• 2002: USA Nike Cup, North Carolina. USA vs. Italy
• 2002: World Military Women Championship, refereed the final
• 2001: International Francophone Games, Ottawa-Hull. 14-24 July 2001
• 2001: Canada Summer Games in London, Ontario
• 2000: Olympic Games 2000 - Sydney, Australia (5 games - refereed the final)
• 2000: CONCACAF Championship, USA (Gold Cup 2000)
• 1999: Women's World Cup 1999 - USA
• 1998: Women's World Cup qualifying - Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 1997: Kirin Cup in Japan
• 1997: Brazil men's first division professional game - Sao Paolo
• 1996: Men's first division game in Salvador
• 1996: Olympic Games 1996 - Atlanta, USA (5 games - 4th on the final)
• 1995: Skydome International men's 1st division Cup, Toronto in 1995
• 1995: Women's World Cup 1995 - Sweden
• 1994: CONCACAF Championship Qualifying
• 1993: World University games, FISU (Buffalo, USA and Hamilton, Ontario)
• 1993: Canada Summer Games in Kamloops, BC
• 1991-current: APSL (American Professional soccer league): highest level Canada
• CPSL (Canadian Professional Soccer League)

2002 Concacaf Gold Cup in Los Angeles & Seattle (Oct 25 - Nov 10)

4 games (semifinal USA-Costa Rica, 4th on 3rd bronze medal game)

2001 Francophone Games, Ottawa-Hull 14-24 July. Men's U-23 International.

July 13, 2001: Cameroun (1) vs. Mali (0), Ottawa
First women ever to referee a men's professional game in the Francophone games

2001 & 1993 Canada Summer Games (7-14 August 1993 in Kamloops) and (11-18 August, London 2001).

Refereed the final in both tournaments

2000 Sydney Olympic games: All women's games

September 16th: Sydney Football Stadium: Australia (1) - Sweden (1): 42,000 spect.
September 19th: Sydney Football Stadium: Australia (1) - Brazil (2): 29,400 spect.
September 20th: Bruce Stadium in Canberra: Norway (2) - China (1): 12,000 spect.
September 28th: Olympic final game: USA 2 vs. Norway 3 (a.e.t.), Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney before 29 000 spectators

2000 & 1994 CONCACAF Championship; International FIFA qualifying Competition

Gold cup USA 2000
Concacaf Montreal 1994

1999 Women's World Cup USA

19 June: Opening game USA (3) - Denmark (0): 80,000 spectators
24 June: Chicago, 4th official: Brazil (2) - Italy (0)
26 June: Chicago: Guyana (0) - Sweden (2)
1 July: Washington DC, 4th official: Brazil (4) - Nigeria (3) a.e.t.
4 July: semi-final in Boston: Norway (0) - China (5)

1998 Women's World Cup qualifying game, Buenos Aires, Argentina, December.

Mexico vs. Argentina.

1997 Brazil men's first division professional game

8 February, in Sao Paolo. Opening match Paulista Championship: S.E. Palmeiras (1) vs. Sao Jose E.C. (1). First women ever to referee a men's professional game in Brazil. Stadium: Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil (sold out)

1996 Atlanta Olympic games: All women's games

21 July : Opening game: Germany: (3) - Japan (2), 44,211 spectators. Birmingham stadium. First ever women's football match in Olympic competition.
23 July: Brazil (2) - Japan (0), 26,111 spectators. Birmingham stadium
25 July. Quarter final: Birmingham stadium. Brazil (1) - Germany (1). 28,319 spectators
28 July: Semi-final: USA (2) - Norway (1).: 64,196 spectators. Athens, GA
August 1st: final (4th official): USA (2) - China (1). Athens. 76,489 spectators

1996 Men's first division game in Salvador

16 September. 35 000 spectators. First women ever to referee a men's professional game in Salvador

1995 Women's World Cup Sweden as referee

5 June: Opening game: in Helsingborg. Sweden (0) - Brazil (1)
13 June: Quarter final: in Helsingborg. Sweden (3) - China (4) a.e.t.
17 June: match for 3rd place: in Gavle. China (0) - USA (2)

1995 Skydome International men's 1st division A, Toronto.

29 January.: AR. Teams: Portugal (1) - Denmark (0)

1993, 5-18 July: World University Games (Buffalo-USA and Hamilton-Ontario)

Refereed the women's final as Assistant Referee

1991-current: APSL (American Professional Soccer League)

Highest men's level game in Canada. Referee.

CPSL (Canadian Professional Soccer League)

Inaugural San Francisco Cup
Referee Field Clinic

The San Francisco Cup and International Youth Festival is proud to present the Inaugural San Francisco Cup Referee Field Clinic, to be held Saturday, May 24, 2003, 9:00 AM, at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

The clinic will feature FIFA Referees Sonia Denoncourt, Sharon Wheeler and Brian Hall. Ms. Denoncourt refereed the Women's World Cup Final as well as the Olympic Final. Ms. Wheeler worked the final of the Algarve Cup in Portugal with Sandra Hunt. Mr. Hall refereed in the 2002 World Cup Finals.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn from the referees who have reached the highest level.

Referees should be dressed in yellow referee uniforms and bring all their gear to participate in the field clinic, ready to referee.

The clinic will be entirely on-field, focusing on field positioning and referee/assistant referee teamwork and communication.

Check-in will start at 8:45 am, Polo Field #7. Arrive early to be in the group photo.

What: San Francisco Cup Referee Field Clinic
When: Saturday, May 24, 2003, 9:00 AM
Where: Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Agenda:

For directions to the Polo Fields, visit Fields and Driving.

Sponsored by Official Sports. Presented in cooperation with California North Referee Administration.

For more information, please contact: eventdirector@sfcup.com

Sharon Wheeler

Sharon was born and raised in Upstate New York where she played soccer up through college and took her first USSF course in 1991. Sharon's refereeing career excelled after moving to Orlando, Florida in 1995. She had the opportunity to referee the women's national team, MLS teams and many International friendlies.

Sharon worked in the MLS for five years including some playoff games. She had the honor of refereeing in the opening and final of WUSA's inaugural season. Sharon was named to the International panel of assistant referees in 2000. Since that time, she has been invited to two Gold cups and worked the final of the Algarve Cup in Portugal with Sandra Hunt. In addition to her refereeing duties, Sharon is also a State Level Assessor.

Sharon has a B.S. in Music Therapy from Slippery Rock University and a Masters in Health Education from Penn State. She has over fifteen years experience in the Mental Health field working mainly on inpatient psychiatric units.