People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. TR
Recruiting officials is a difficult for 90% of sports organizations in Canada, and for rugby it is especially challenging because playing and coaching is so fulfilling. After asking 16 ERU members and 4 Edmonton high school team coaches the direct question: “Why are you not a referee yet?”, we have determined that many individuals seem to consider refereeing as a “last option”, when they have “done” everything else or retired from playing.
Why wait? You can referee and play, you can referee and coach. And, may I add, one team last year had five of their men certify as referees and their team ended up winning their ERU division final!! Could it be that refereeing high school games during the season made them better players through better communication and game understanding?
So what can we do to recruit you? We have made a plan:
- prepare an awareness campaign,
- keep an open call for recruitment,
- train the new officials well,
- provide support and education opportunities,
- offer financial incentives, and last but not least,
- create a group identity – a club of officials – of which people will want to be a part.
1) Did you know that we always need more referees? In 2008 the ERURS had over 550 games to officiate. In 2009, we had more than 620. That is an increase of 70 games over one year. This year we already are planning for another increase of at least 60 more games with the addition of another high school tournament this April, and a record number of teams in E3 division. We need more referees. If we do not attract and keep more referees, that means more games for each current referee, which can in turn lead to injury and worse yet, burn out.
Referees become most comfortable in games after two or three years of experience. If Alberta loses a referee to injury, retirement, life re-prioritizing, and so on, we cannot simply replace them. Who will referee games if there are not enough referees to go around? Think about contributing as an official.
We have 31 active referees who referee all divisions of games, 6 more who officiate minis, juniors, and high school and assistant referee at the senior games. There are lots of options for divisions to referee. And we always need more referees for minis on Saturday mornings!
You can play AND referee, especially if you focus on juniors and minis – and what a great warm up before a game! Come try it out!
2) Did you know that you could be a referee? Sure, it is not for everyone – but how do you know you don’t like it until you try it? By refereeing, you will learn more about the game, have leadership opportunities, improve your decision making, diplomacy and assertiveness. We encourage people to officiate games that they want to, and would provide support to you when you referee a new division of game. You can even focus on assistant refereeing until you are comfortable with signals and game management. Come try it out!
It will take an initial 8 hours of your time, and costs about $100 – which you would make up after officiating three games. We will provide you assistants and a coach, if you want, for your games. We offer continuing education through coaching sessions and reports, education seminars, one-on-one feedback, and now we can even offer to record your game so that you can watch it yourself for self-reflection. And we are open to other suggestions all the time.
3) Did you know that referee certification courses are held every March? Certification is necessary to referee in Alberta, and these courses promote and contribute to a more consistent, continuous, unbiased, fair and safe rugby contest on the field.
Before the season starts, we prepare certification courses in the quiet spring training weeks of early March. We will always have a Level 1 Officiating course – good for two years of officiating juniors, minis, and high school games; and, a Level 2 Officiating course – good for four years of refereeing every division. Come try it out!
4) Did you know that we get together monthly for an education seminar? The second Tuesday of every month we meet to learn more on a specific topic, such as Scrum checklist, Obstruction in the line-out, or Getting the most from your captains. We share experiences and socialize after each of these seminars. Check out our Education Seminars page for more information. Come check it out! It’s free, and did I mention that there will be food?
5) Did you know that you are offered a modest amount for games you officiate to cover costs of refereeing? Refereeing a high school game is $20, and refereeing an ERU senior game is worth $40, and there are all sorts of other games and roles in between. This money covers your expenses that you pay out for kit, boots, whistles, watches, gym membership, transportation costs, and insurance costs.
If you are a qualified Assistant Referee, or in the roles of #4 and #5 (team substitution managers) or #6 (game summary manager), there is also a modest thank-you.
6) Did you know that we have people of all ages who referee? The ERURS has officials with an average age of 50 years, in a range of between 17 to 73 years. We have currently 7 women in our society, and 30 men. Represent!
We have at least four social activities a year with partners where we can enjoy watching a game, or having a good conversation on anything. Come check it out! You know how to contact us? Send VP Development an email now for more information.