ERURS

Updated January 29, 2010. kg

Becoming a rugby union match official is a life-long learning process: first step is iRB certification, then follows regular education sessions, one-on-one referee coaching sessions, and reflective practice – which all to help improve on-field performance and game management.

Every ERURS Match Official has taken at least an iRB Level 1 Officials Course (10 hours) to certify, and most have also taken the iRB Level 2 Officials course – which is an additional 16 hours of classroom time. Almost every ERURS Match Official has been coached or mentored during actual games, and has assisted other referees in the role of Assistant Referee, and even in the roles of 4th, 5th and 6th official when possible. Match Officials continue their education and knowledge of the game by watching international games, reading and studying the rugby laws, and taking advantage of peer sharing opportunities. For those match officials who referee at the highest caliber of game, Provincially, Nationally and Internationally, there are other more specific development opportunities as well.

Becoming a Match Official:
1. Certify with an iRB Certification Course
2. Join the ERU Referee Society
3. Register with Rugby Canada
4. Attend a Safe Rugby session for the current season
5. Ask questions for the Refereeing FAQ

To continue improving your Match Official performance:
1. Re-Certify every 4 years
2. Learn more at Education Seminars
3. Participate in Referee Coaching Sessions
4. Watch International Games on TV
5. Study the Rugby Union Laws
6. Read Documents for Reference

Certify with an iRB Certification Course

There are actually four (4) steps to certify as a rugby union Match Official: attend a course, write a short law exam, get practical experience with guidance, and keep a game journal.

To complete the first step of certification with the iRB Refereeing Course, you will attend the 10 hours of the course over a Friday night-Saturday day, or possibly 4 or 5 weeknights.

After attending the course, you will have a short written exam to complete and return. To complete this second step of certification, you must achieve a mark of at least 80%. You will simply read the Rugby Union Laws and answer the questions assigned. You will return your completed exam responses to the ERURS VP Development Officer. They will mark the exam within one (1) week and let you know of your results. If you do not pass the first time, you will need to review the Laws and correct your incorrect responses.

For the third step, you will referee a game with a coach for support and feedback.

For the fourth step, you will keep a game journal which you will, hopefully, fill out before and after each game where you either observe, assist, or officiate. This step is to encourage reflective practice and is incredibly useful for improving and making consistent your officiating and game management.

The course will cost about $100-$150 depending on the number of attendees. With the Rugby Alberta (RA) and the RA Match Officials Association (RAMOA) budgets being slashed due to various reasons, it is in everyone’s interest to get more people in their clubs involved in officiating. RAMOA has the following courses coming up:

• Level 1: Edmonton – Sat, March 20, 2010, at the J.Percy Page centre, 8:30am-4:30pm. $100
• Level 2: Edmonton – Sat & Sun, March 13-14, at the J.Percy Page centre, 8:30am-4:30pm both days. $150

For any club outside of the Edmonton area, such as the northern clubs of Cold Lake, Edson, Fort Mac, and Grande Prairie; as well the southern areas of Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat – please email the RAMOA President Paul Cassidy now to set up a Match Official certification course in your area.

Join the ERU Referee Society

To join the ERURS, you can contact any of the ERURS Executive Board members and pay the membership fee of $25 for the 2010 season. You can pay with either a cheque to the ERURS for $25, or pay cash to the ERURS Secretary or Treasurer in person and get a receipt. As of 2006, newly certified referees get the first year of ERURS membership for free!

 

Register with Rugby Canada

To register with Rugby Canada as a Match official, you will complete the form provided by the ERURS Secretary. You will return your completed form to the ERURS Secretary, and the ERURS Secretary will register you with Rugby Canada.

 

Attend a Safe Rugby session for the current season

Safe Rugby is a program prepared by Rugby Canada in order to help all rugby coaches, administrators and referees to make the game of rugby safer for players. All individuals in these positions of responsibility must attend a 2.5 hour Safe Rugby session every year. For more information, use this direct link to the actual RC Safe Rugby resources. The Safe Rugby sessions in the Edmonton area are:

1. Currently being planned by Rugby Alberta for 2010.

The Safe Rugby sessions are FREE.

 

Ask questions for the Refereeing FAQ

…as we discover what your questions are, we will add them to the Answers page. Need any answers? Or, send a suggestion through the Suggestion Blog in the menu to the upper right.

 

Re-Certify every 4 years

Certified Match Officials must re-certify every four (4) years. This means that if an individual certified in 2006, she or he must re-certify in 2010.

In the past, the re-certifying Referee would have to sit through the 16 hour iRB Level 2 course again where they would essentially learn the same thing as they did four years before. Now, the re-certification procedure is more efficient and relevant. Now, during the referee’s re-certification year he or she must complete five components of:

1. Activity component: the official is actively refereeing within the last year.
2. Education component: the official participates in at least 4 hours of Society education seminars.
3. Law component: the official successfully completes an extensive law exam with a min mark of 80%.
4. Fitness component: the official completes a timed 2400m run and a 40m sprint.
5. Evaluation component: the official receives satisfactory coaching reports.

 

Learn more at Education Seminars

To take advantage of the knowledge of the members of the ERURS, and to support all Match Officials in development, we organize regular education seminars. This year the seminars will be every second Tuesday of the month (not in December and January as everyone is too busy!!). We also have professionals present on special occasions!

Participate in Referee Coaching Sessions

The ERURS has 9 Referee Coaches and currently 32 active referees. We endeavor to have every referee have at least one coaching session per season, and as many as three coaching sessions when possible. You may see a second Match Official wandering around during the game making notes and keeping statistics, this is most likely the Referee’s Coach.

Watch International Games

Watch International rugby on Setanta!

We are currently investigating where and when the games will be playing in the Edmonton area. Stay tuned!

 

Study the Rugby Union Laws

Please follow this direct link to the complete iRB Laws of Rugby Union page.

Read the Reference Documents

There are so many documents available, we will sort them by Education Seminar completed.