referee shortage

[mkottke]

I ref in southern california and I have noticed due to recent problems that there are not enough available referees. So we have a shortage of warm bodies with a whistle on the pitch.

Part of the problem is that our union decides that all the club matches be played on Sat afternoon, so you have 15-20 matches that require referees. And it is sad to say that we can't properly cover all the matches.
I know one quick fix would be to spread out the matches throughout the week, but that becomes problematic when you have teams that require 2-4 hour travel times. Although, teams within a similar geographic area, IMHO should have their matches on a different day.

So my question, are there other referee societies having similar issues. Have you guys resolved a similar issues and what measures did you take? I fear that if nothing is done the problem may spiral out of control and become a huge cluster F.

In short, we need to recruit refs, properly train these new boots, and retain them over time. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Deeps]

Mark,

Are Sundays out of the question? Sundays in UK are generally reserved for junior (U19) and women's rugby although some mens' competitions have to be played on Sundays due to the lack of available Saturdays in the season. If you are a glutton for punishment you can organise yourself a midweek game, a men's game on a Saturday and two games on a Sunday.

I am only too aware that teams in the USA have to travel much greater distances but what are the objections to playing on Sundays and being able to split the load between Saturdays and Sundays?

 

[Chris Picard]

Mark,

This is a common problem in the US. In New England we have around 90-100 matches on any given weekend and around 50 referees with a group of people who will cover couple of matches a season. And then most of the active referees cover multiple matches on a weekend. Kind of tough to operate this way sometimes with the higher level matches, but must be done to keep the game growing.

Picard

 

[beckett50]

It is a common problem amongst the larger societies in the UK. I know, from conversations with my Regional Manager, that there are some weeks where 1st team fixtures may not have a 'Society' referee.

The problem is especially worse in the months before Xmas, since that is when the schools play rugby. Then it often boils down to whether you appoint to the school, or a Club.

Post Christmas isn't too bad, but then you can get sickness, injury etc. I think Clubs realise that referees are a finite resource, although they do sometimes need reminding of this. Perhaps more clubs could be encouraged to put their own people through the referee course so that the 2s down can at least have a trained ref in the middle?

Failing that I think I could be persuaded to emigrate

 

[Jaycee]

How about telling clubs if you don't provide refs for the society on a Saturday then when there is a shortage of refs your 1st team is the first to suffer. I presume the system in the USA is that refs nominate a club they are affilated to. A nice side effect is as a Scotsman in London with no club affilations I find I get free membership at my local rugby club.

 

[ex-lucy]

a shortage in London, eh? interesting ...

 

[Jaycee]

We manage to cover all the 1st XVs some teams lower sides however don't always get a ref usually only before Xmas when there is the School games to cover that there is a problem on some busy Saturdays.

 

[Robert Burns]

a shortage in London, eh? interesting ...

I think he was refering to Berkshire. I have never kown of a 1st team not having a society ref in London, unless it's a last minute problem which can't be avoided.

 

[Big J]

As appointments manager for West London (L7+1 downwards) we cover all games at first team level as Robert says before Xmas it is slightly more difficult as we have school games.

The difficulty arises (for whatever reason) where referees cry off the night before fixtures etc. or clubs arrange fixture exchange games during the week and then remember on friday night they forgot to arrange a ref!!! But we will cover all league games whatever. Obviously you cannot legislate for accidents when travelling to the matches (which has happened several times this season).

We also may refuse to appoint referees to lower league sides if the club has not provided a sufficient number of referees to the society or if a club does provide referees they get preferential treatment.

 

[oxped]

Just out of interest does anyone know how many refs there are in the country? and how this compares to the number of clubs?

 

[PaulDG]

Just out of interest does anyone know how many refs there are in the country?

I don't think anyone knows the exact number of referees - until the RFU get "RugbyFirst" finally sorted out, there's no functioning central register of referees or coaches. (Though they probably are further along the route of getting one than any other sport.)

And even that's not the full story. While it's true that anyone can be appointed to referee a rugby match, for teams to get the game they deserve they need to have properly experienced and graded referees.

So it's quite likely that there are many mismatches of referees and games - senior referees who wont do lower level matches because they simply wouldn't enjoy it and the players would probably find their own lack of skills show up too much and junior referees who might like the idea of doing a 1st XV match but probably lack the management experience and fitness to deliver a proper game. As a result, I wouldn't be surprised if 1st XV games get postponed occasionally while 3rd XVs have a ref.

(FWIW, we were told at our last meeting that East Midlands currently has 106 registered referees.)

 

[Pablo]

senior referees who wont do lower level matches because they simply wouldn't enjoy it

I detest this selfish attitude, and it must make life hellish for appointments secretaries everywhere. There won't always be sufficient games at level 6 to go round, and the prima donna who refuses to do a level 12 game on the rare occasion he is asked to do so is doing 30 blokes out of an afternoon's enjoyment and himself out of the opportunity to experiment in point of weakness at a pace slow enough for him to control without difficulty. /rant

 

[Bungle]

I agree with Pablo. Although not at the giddy heights of Level 6 or 7, I love doing a range of matches within my range. I have found Level 9 games which can be foul, ground-out static rugby and Level 12 matches which are pacy, skillful and enjoyable so if I am asked to do a low level game I will. I certainly use such games to quietly experiment on a point of development while they often throw up their own challenges.

 

[QE2wgc]

Pablo
As you know we do have a few primas in our patch, one with grey hair and an irish accent wont do 3rd team games (1st team are in nat3), me I like doing some of those games - mainly sundays and midweek with good games on saturdays, weekend just gone first senior game since before xmas I could have done 1st vs 2nd level 7 game, but took a level 7s second team = lvl10, got me back in the swing mentally without too much effort physically and injury held up ok.

 

[mkottke]

From the recent posts, this referee shortage is not isolated to my society or my side of the pond. Although, I think we are missing the point of this discussion and maybe I should rephrase the question.

Are there any clubs/societies that have a successful recruit program? And second, what steps can we take to recruit and retain referees?

I think a seperate thread should be started to talk about the retention of referees and what is scaring away potential referees.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Dixie]

My club is a mid-size club with a level 7 1st XV. It has 21 qualified referees, of whom 3 are members of the local Society. It reached this significant level of refereeing expertise almost entirely through its extensive commitment to its youth section, which is by far the largest part of the club. Each age group is encouraged (almost required) to provide at least one referee, so that games can be competently officiated. generally, the coaches step up to the plate, but some parents do too. As their children move beyond youth rugby, these people are cuddled by the club to keep their interest up. Some are lost, but most remain available to be called on by the club in times of need, such as tournaments, occasions when the Society can't resource a lower team game, etc.

Because of the numbers the club provides, it is often possible to hold referee courses at our premises.

 

[PaulDG]

My club is a mid-size club with a level 7 1st XV. It has 21 qualified referees, of whom 3 are members of the local Society. It reached this significant level of refereeing expertise almost entirely through its extensive commitment to its youth section, which is by far the largest part of the club. Each age group is encouraged (almost required) to provide at least one referee, so that games can be competently officiated. generally, the coaches step up to the plate, but some parents do too. As their children move beyond youth rugby, these people are cuddled by the club to keep their interest up. Some are lost, but most remain available to be called on by the club in times of need, such as tournaments, occasions when the Society can't resource a lower team game, etc.

I suspect this will be difficult to maintain now the mini/midis & Foundation referee courses have been replaced by the ELRA.

It requires rather more commitment from the potential ref to complete the ELRA and minis extension than before and I think this will prove an entry barrier unless there's a rethink.

I'd like to be wrong about this.

 

[Bryan]

What steps can we take to recruit and retain referees?

Got this from an old IRB Report so just copied it below.

Recruitment
The specific areas of recruitment and retention have been addressed in umerous publications and will also be the focus of a paper soon to be made available by the IRB entitled "Referee Recruitment and Retention". These recruitment and retention strategies should be developed in conjunction with ll those involved with Rugby as applicable, and then implemented by states, provinces and regional referee associations. Reward This could be through ayment for officiating, uniform supply and career prospects. There is now suggestions from many Unions, that a policy be developed that would allow processes to be put in place for the development of criteria for payment of officials at all levels of the game.

Promotion
The area of officiating should be promoted as a viable and rewarding alternative to other aspects of the game. The major target area should be schools and juniors, with a culture to be developed of continue playing but still referee. This will allow for the development of game knowledge. The targeting of ex-players is still not a growth area of referee recruitment for reasons of player burn out, family and business etc.

Linkage
There should be enhancement of the linkages between the Rugby coaching development officer area and the referee development officers. This applies across the broad spectrum of the game from the community Rugby level to elite.

Retention
In general terms, the following process can be targeted.
• Offering suitable appointments with regards to the ability of the official.
• Setting individual multi-stranded pathways for officials, as they do not all develop in parallel.
• Systems process should be in place early in the career of the official.
• The Union should launch a scheme to educate spectators about the area of refereeing, dealing in part with referee abuse.
• Officials should be equipped with management skills to enable them to handle situations that arise with supporters of the game.
• Awareness that officials are part of the Rugby "family" and as such should act and be treated as a family member.

Training and Education
• Career pathways (full-time, part-time, volunteer) should be made evident, not only in refereeing, but also referee coaching, touch judging, assessing, selecting and administration.
• Accreditation courses should continue to be regularly evaluated, reviewed and developed.
• Course trainers should be trained and offered on-going education to provide a pool of quality course accreditation training specialists.
• Programs for the professional development of officials should be in place.
• All participants involved in the game at any level should be aware of and offered on-going education in the game as it evolves.

 

[Deeps]

It has 21 qualified referees, of whom 3 are members of the local Society.

Why only 3?

Don't the others realise what value they could get from their Society in terms of team training, mentoring, currency with law and other referee matters, proper on job training pitch side, subsidised kit, the opportunity to improve instead of remaining the best U10s referee in the world?

 

[Dixie]

None of them do U.10's. These are all NFC/ELRA qualifications working with youth rugby, not Continuum. As to why only 3, I suspect that Her Indoors may have other plans for Saturday afternoons, bearing in mind that Sundays are taken up with youth rugby.