Securing your gear

[Chickref]

A lot of the club/ground buildings here are old, or non-existent. Meaning you have to store your gear somewhere not secure.
Last week a fellow referee went back to the refs room to find his wallet had been taken from his bag. He had locked the zips together, so the thief broke the zip.
I've had my gear thoroughly tossed over (fortunately they didn't find my wallet or phone, which I'd hidden) and I've had my boot bag which contained my drink bottle, spare whistle, scorecards, pens, and my house keys in it, nicked from the sideline.

If you don't have a car to store your stuff in, how do people tend to keep it safe?

 

[Robert Burns]

In bag, on halfway line on the side of the pitch away from most people.

If both sides have lots of people, put it next to the home team bench and ask them to look after it.

 

[Dickie E]

All grounds here have clubrooms with a functioning canteen. The ladies (or chaps) are always quite happy to look after wallet, keys, etc.

Otherwise I leave my kit on halfway line. Many games I do are videoed so I leave my gear near to them.

 

[stuart3826]

Most clubs here have lockable changing rooms. If not, valuables in car and keys behind the bar

 

[Jacko]

We had a weird one on Saturday. Came back to our changing room to find that nothing had ben stolen, but a big hole had been ripped in the ends of all of our socks! Someone explain that...

 

[Chickref]

I'm jealous of the facilities you guys have! Grandstand on saturday was by a field half a k from the clubrooms, and half the changingrooms had no lights. I commandeered one with a light and stuck a sign saying "referees" on it myself.

This is only slightly worse than a lot of grounds.

 

[ckuxmann]

I have yet to go to a club with a changing facility. Mostly just set my bag by the home team and leave things in my car and keys in my bag.

 

[Drift]

Some clubs I find are more than happy to put important stuff (keys, wallet, phone) behind to bar but generally if I have a ref coach there I will give it to them to look after. Otherwise happy to leave it with our camera guys or with the home team.

 

[Enrique]

Same protocol as Robert Burns'.

 

[DrSTU]

Some clubs I find are more than happy to put important stuff (keys, wallet, phone) behind to bar but generally if I have a ref coach there I will give it to them to look after. Otherwise happy to leave it with our camera guys or with the home team.

I had my car stolen after the thieve had broken into the changing room and stolen my car keys (damn you remote locking). The changing room was locked but they broke in, left my wallet, cards... so obviously not very good thieves!

Since then I have always us left all valuables in the car and taken the remote off the keys and left that in the car. I wear the car key on a lanyard around my neck.

As for leaving stuff behind the bar. The same club had someone walk into the bar at the final whistle and say that they were here to collect valuables bag for the away team. Staff gave it to them and they walked off with it. First that anyone knew was when the players went to get the bag and it had already gone.

Personally I would lock all stuff away if possible and if not, leave it with someone that doesn't move (cameraman...)

 

[Taff]

If I'm worried, my car has an alarm.

 

[Chickref]

I wish I had a car.

 

[Chris Picard]

leave important stuff at home, but who is really going to mess with my gear when I pull up to the match on a Harley!:biggrin:

 

[DrSTU]

If I'm worried, my car has an alarm.

Great, at least you'll be able to hear your car being driven away!

 

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

I had my car stolen after the thieve had broken into the changing room and stolen my car keys (damn you remote locking). The changing room was locked but they broke in, left my wallet, cards... so obviously not very good thieves!

Since then I have always us left all valuables in the car and taken the remote off the keys and left that in the car. I wear the car key on a lanyard around my neck.

In the US?

 

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

If I'm worried, my car has an alarm.

If YOU'RE worried YOUR CAR has an alarm?

Is your car the love child of Herbie and Christine?

 

[Simon Thomas]

We have some on lockable refs room door in clubhouse, locker with key inside refs room, or if not I give my boot bag with my valuabes to bar person.

Or in some "urban areas" where there is a deprived community / poor clubhouse, I lock my whole bag in car boot, and give car keys to a well-known trustworthy home Committee person or Team Manager / Coach / Physio.

I never take anything valuable and only old watches, cash (never credit cards), etc to a match.

But we still have stuff stolen. Tracksuits, shorts, trainers etc as well as money, wallets, mobiles that our refs are silly enough to leave in unlocked rooms.
One guy had his car stolen a few years ago - he left all his stuff in the boot and put car keys in his shoes under bench in changing room.

There have also been a couple of thieves a few years ago, who would blazer and tie up, scout out the club, find out who was playing and at half time or most often as the final whistle went be at the clubhouse and collect away teams valuables bag (plastic shop one usually) left behind the bar.

RFU sent warnings out and whole valuables process was introduced with only named collectors, token etc.

One really weird event was a referee who had a car crash match left his bag in entrance hall to clubhouse post match, he fronted up in bar with cloaches, and when leaving found his bag had been taken - accidentally he assumed, but neither club could trace it.

We do not have any bags with logos, Society name in them anymore. Also old days of car bumper / window stickers promoting our Society are gone - we have had reports elsewhere in UK of identified referee cars having tyres slashed, paint scraped, windows smashed, etc.

 

[OB..]

We had a visiting team take a bag of our team kit once. Fortunately our club is a multisports one that long ago installed CCTV, so we were able to prove it (they denied it). They then recovered the kit but said they could not identify the actual perpetrator. So-called joke gone wrong, we think, as they could scarcely have used our easily identifiable shirts.

 

[DrSTU]

In the US?

No, a Yorkshire club based in Hipperholme

 

[Lee Lifeson-Peart]

No, a Yorkshire club based in Hipperholme

Ah yes I bet OB.. knows them. :wink: