What age a touch judge?

Taffy


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I've got three girls. The smallest (11 years old at present) has chatted about rugby a lot and has read and re read the law book in the loo. She would like to run touch for me one afternoon. She is very confident and I thought that the best thing to do would be to offer at my local club (and speak to the referee before hand) to run touch with her one Saturday afternoon. Goodness knows some of the quality of touch judges I end up with, my daughter would be a real find.......at least she wants to be there!

That way, we would mirror each other on the field, meet up at the kicks for goal and swap sides. I am keen to get there involved, she checked studs with me a year ago and found it enthralling......"That big man had VERY dirty boots Daddy"........

Grass roots are desperate for officials.

Any thoughts?

Or would anyone go about it a different way?

(I would not suggest being wired up as she will talk someone to death)

:smile:
 

crossref


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She is 11? So do it on a Sunday morning for the u11s before thinking about anything else...
Stay on her side of the pitch , with her.
 

menace


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Taffy

IMO - don't do it. Wait till she is at least 13. I'm not questioning her ability or capability, I'm questioning the crowds perception of her ability and their inability to give novices a fair go! I'm not suggesting this because she's a girl, but because of the age. I would suggest the same if it was a boy.

Why don't you do it the reverse way, that is, why don't you AR/TJ a junior game and let her shadow you for a while? That way she can sponge up what you do first such that when the day comes she's well versed in what to do.
 

leaguerefaus


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I'd suggest checking with your society, they should have a minimum age set, I'd think. The Qld Rugby League sets the minimum age to referee or touch judge at 14.

Menace's comment about perception is spot on.
 

FlipFlop


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Taffy - not wanting to be rude, but currently you have a lot to work on in your own game (Evidenced by postings on here). You don't need the added burden of looking after your kid at a game, or having to help them/teach them etc.

So leave them at home, until they are old enough to help another ref!
 

Lee Lifeson-Peart


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Tomorrow is the 7th anniversary of Mr Bisto of this parish passing his ELRA which would have made him nearly 14 when he passed.

He tended to confine his refereeing to school - where he regularly refereed teams lower down the school whilst still playing for his year group - until he joined his local Society last year after retiring from playing due to injury.

I think 11 is too young to be involved in Senior Rugby for the reasons mentioned above however I would encourage her to get involved at school -Tag Tournaments etc initially - and at a club (see Crossref's comments). Is she not interested in playing? It would help her officiating if she had a feel for the game.

In my early refereeing days I did a game with a child TJ whose father was playing. One of Junior's decisions caused one of the opposition forwards to take exception to the call at which Junior's bottom lip started to wobble and Junior's father sought to exact retribution. LLP's diplomacy skills quelled the potential disagreement but it can be a can of worms.

There is/was a referee in Yorkshire whose younger brother used to act as peripatetic TJ for him and from feedback from other forums it was apparent some people focussed in on his (apparent) youth as a an issue (his stature meant he was often thought to be younger than he actually was) - that was the perception. Another can of worms - potentially.

Not having had daughters and not having been a female myself I'm not sure if an interest in Rugby officiaing will persist once the One Direction posters etc. start to engulf the house. It's wonderful that she loves being involved with what you do but I suspect it may not last.

Enjoy it while you can. I would go with crossref's advice and see where that takes you.
 
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crossref


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another factor is when full size players are on the pitch (and I mean really from say u15 upwards) 11 year olds should be well away from touchline, behind the rope, for safety reasons.
 

Phil E


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Tomorrow is the 7th anniversary of Mr Bisto of this parish passing his ELRA which would have made him nearly 14 when he passed.

So he was below the minimum age when he took his ELRA......so his Referee Award is invalid..........meaning he can't be a legal member of a Society.........meaning...........oh lawks!...................there's only one proper referee in your family!!
 

SimonSmith


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So he was below the minimum age when he took his ELRA......so his Referee Award is invalid..........meaning he can't be a legal member of a Society.........meaning...........oh lawks!...................there's only one proper referee in your family!!

Who's that? After OWB and LLP who is there? Does MrsLLP referee?
 

Taffy


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Thanks for all very helpful suggestions. I'm going to put her on ice for a while..........
 

yssirk

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Good for you. I'm a female referee and I started when I was 15. This was 17 years ago but even so, it wasn't an easy road. Waiting a couple of years will be a good thing.
 

Dixie


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Good for you. I'm a female referee and I started when I was 15. This was 17 years ago but even so, it wasn't an easy road. Waiting a couple of years will be a good thing.

And how good it is to see you on the forum. We've had a few ladies over the years, but some are so successful they have little time to post, others have moved on. You're very welcome - a female perspective is always valued.
 

rugbyslave

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We have a girl in our society who started as a candidate at 15, was given an U16 boys match to referee after 4 weeks which was not a disaster but was a bridge to far.Then started running touch for all school games and reffed U11 - U13 clubs on Saturdays. She was a ball girl for a year and then became referee assistant(water boy) at international games and Super rugby. One week before her 19th Birthday was appointed to the national panel. She is still a very nervous before any game but once on the field she is the referee, most of her refereeing was of boys her own age or older, 99% of her games are school boy rugby but the society is very cautious of sending her anywhere. I would give your daughter some time let her be ball boy for a year at least.
 
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