2010 Recertification

That time of year has rolled around once again.  I attended the 2010 recertification this weekend.
I don't look at recertification as a hassle or something I just have to get through.  I see it as an opportunity to see friends, off the field and to spend some time talking about something we all enjoy:  the beautiful game.  I'm always interested in what the instructors have to say at recertification.  It gives one an indication of the kinds of things we, as referees, aren't doing well.
This year's certification was formatted a little different than previous years.  First, we went through the procedures for handling infractions on penalty kicks.  Apparently, this is a really big problem as we went through this last year as well.  It seems that referees don't understand the indirect free kick result when the attacking team breaks the rules.  Here is a table that I found in the "Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game":

Consequences of an Infringement of Law 14

Who Infringed?	Ball goes into goal	Ball does not go into goal
Attacker	Retake	Indirect Free Kick at Spot of Infringement
Defender	Goal	Retake
Both Attacker and Defender	Retake	Retake

I think the key "take away" from this is the indirect kick results when the attacking team infringes and the ball does not go into the goal. What happens to the ball otherwise is irrelevant. For example, if the goalkeeper makes a save, it's still an indirect kick for the defenders. If the ball goes over the goal, out of play, it's still an indirect kick.
After this quick review, we took our test.  The test is funny.  I'm happy to say I always score very high...but I never get 100%.  It drives me crazy.  There is always 1 or 2 questions I don't read carefully, or that are worded strangely enough to cause me to get them wrong.
It appears there isn't much that has changed with the LOTG this year.  I found a few very minor things that probably won't affect anyone doing youth games.  There is a change regarding the certification of youth fields.  There is a change to the procedures for kicks from the mark as it relates to excluded players.  It seems they cannot participate once they are excluded.  I suppose this refers to them possibly getting back on the list due to a goalkeeper injury.  There's also a change to the Technical Area section.  I couldn't figure out what changed here but I found another web site that says a section was deleted that specified the person has to sit down when they are done with their tactical instructions.  Again, nothing of real concern to the youth referee.
(Not Really) New Assistant Referee Mechanics
We reviewed the new "flag across the hips" mechanic again. Apparently, referees in my state didn't get it last year when we reviewed it.  Are you familiar with this new mechanic?  It is used in 3 situations:

1. When an Assistant Referee indicates a foul, the mechanic is used to tell the referee the foul occurred in the penalty area.
2. When the referee calls a foul, the assistant referee uses the mechanic to tell the referee the foul occurred in the penalty area.
3. During a penalty kick, the assistant referee uses the mechanic to indicate the goalkeeper came off the goal line.

The flag is held horizontally across the thighs.  AskASoccerReferee.com has a good explanation here.
So there you have it.  I'm certified for another year.