The Derek Poole Referee of the Year Award is given to the ERURS Referee who had a stellar year in regards to on-field performance. This award is presented to the successful referee at the ERU AGM in the end of November.
A nominee for this award:
- is a member in good standing; has consistently excellent game performance; has refereed a majority of the teams in the ERU; has refereed the majority of the season.
- Before October 10 : The referee coaches are asked for nominations.
- Before October 25 : The list of the five (5) most mentioned referees is passed on through the ERURS President to the ERU Board through their VP Administration and she or he will pass the list on to club administrators who pass it on to the players and coaches to collect their votes by November 10.
- Before November 10 : The list is passed to all ERURS Members for peer input.
- By November 20 : The Referee on the list of five who receives the most votes is determined to be the Referee of the Year. Their name is engraved on the silver plate for presentation at the ERU AGM. The Derek Poole Award silver plate will remain in the ERP trophy case during the rugby season to honour the recipients publicly.
- The winning referee will be presented with an engraved mug from the ERU to keep for themselves.