Do we have any regular referees on this forum?

[Sports Prophet]

Past or present, I was prompted by @Damien’s recent post to consider how many TRL forum members have actually blown a whistle for more than say four games other than because their son’s or daughter’s team needed a referee volunteer in their ranks.

Keen to hear the reasons why you decided to become a referee and if you best and worst experiences.

[The Blues Ox]

@Phil Your up. 

[Phil]

5 hours ago, The Blues Ox said:

@Phil Your up. 

I quit playing when I was 34 and was just spectating at various games in the old Pennine League.

One night Mrs Phil is reading the Halifax Courier and says “there’s a referee’s course here, you’re always slagging them off, why not give it a go?”

 I enrolled, purely for interest, never intending to actually do it, but at the end of the course Henry Mason said “Well you may as well give it a go”

The rest as they say is history 

Edited June 28 by Phil

[Phil]

11 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Past or present, I was prompted by @Damien’s recent post to consider how many TRL forum members have actually blown a whistle for more than say four games other than because their son’s or daughter’s team needed a referee volunteer in their ranks.

Keen to hear the reasons why you decided to become a referee and if you best and worst experiences.

Best experience, being invited to referee Holland v Germany in 2004

Worst being sucker punched from behind walking off the pitch after a junior game

[Expatknight]

Did the course many years ago when I was involved at a local amateur club because they were struggling for officials, for the most part I enjoyed it, maybe not the cold frosty days turning up and finding the pitch was frozen solid and having to call the game off, or getting the abuse, bbut then again, if it was a player theere was only one place they were going and that was off the field. Spectators were a bit mor of a problem but you just got on with it. In the end other commitments took over and looking back some of the comments made were quite funny!!

[sam4731]

1 hour ago, Phil said:

Best experience, being invited to referee Holland v Germany in 2004

Worst being sucker punched from behind walking off the pitch after a junior game

Must look pretty impressive on the CV to have former international referee.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

I did the match officials course back in 2002 as a 15 year old. Wanted to learn more about the rules of the game to help with the playing and I was doing GCSE PE and sports leaders courses at the time so it helped. 

I refereed several junior games as a teenager before ultimately choosing to just play rather than do both as it was getting a bit much. I reffed the odd friendly whilst at uni and tried going back to junior reffing when I finished uni, but won't lie I struggled with a hangover most mornings at that age

Hard to say the best experiences because any that didn't involve abuse was considered a good experience! I reffed a women's 9s game in Malta between Leeds Akkies & Malta which was cool. 

Worst experience was unfortunately  reffing many junior games from a particular Hull-based club for a period of time. The coaches and parents were vile towards me at times, leading to the players being vile also (and thus getting penalised for it) creating a destructive cycle. One particularly bad game involved a coach literally telling his players behind the posts that they were losing because of if the ref, right next to me. I told him in front of his players that they were losing because they were breaking the rules and blaming the ref is not going to help them, and if the abuse from the side line continued either they'd have to leave or I would. At least the comments like "you're only refereeing because you're a failed player" stopped for a bit (I mean seriously, it's a junior league game FFS and I was only early 20s). Suffice to say that game ended with that U14 team losing and one of their players being so wrong up he attacked another player at the full time whistle. Marked it down as a red card and reported it. 

Only reffed friendlies to help out friends after that. Couldn't be bothered with the hassle.

[langpark]

Have been reffing for the last 12 years.  Fell into it purely by accident as I was the only one in the area that knew the rules well enough.  I surprisingly enjoyed it though and took it more seriously as the years went on.  If you don't have thick skin already, you either quickly develop it as a ref, or you quit.

[The Partisan]

Refereed in Toowoomba Qld as an 18 / 19 year old.  Can't recall exactly I took it up to be honest. Probably because I enjoyed my school football days more than my club football and they were now over but wanted to stay in the game. No interest in coaching. 

Really enjoyed it. Mostly juniors but 18's and C Grade,  Reserve Grade also. 

Few years break when living in NQ aged 20-23. Reffed a couple of games before weekends away and other enjoyable activities took over.  

Returned to the whistle 1990 when living in Brisbane and think I called it quits in 1993 due to some ongoing leg injury issues. Once again really enjoyed it and it took me all over Greater Brisbane.   Got to chat with the likes of international referees  Eddie Ward and David Manson. The latter being a great help. 

Best Experience .... Mmmmm...Maybe reffing 3 games in a row (13s, 14s and 15s) after the refs scheduled had car troubles and couldn't make it. Both clubs very appreciative of the effort. No ref, no game.

Worst Experience..... Having to leave a ground without a shower, pretty much in my game gear due to some irate and imbibed supporters threatening to take their frustration on me. 

Overall I enjoyed the experience.

Close to retirement age now and thinking about running a sideline or two at local midweek schoolboy games if able to do so. 

Think young refs today have great opportunities to ref internationally with the growth of the game in places never dreamed of in my day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30 by The Partisan

[Bondi Cannon]

Regular lurker than poster but.. refereed over 20 years... got to grade 2 in the UK, then emigrated to NZ. had to basically start at the bottom again but got up to refereeing Auckland premier, then in the national provincial comp, then doing NSW Cup and Holden Cup lines then a couple of NSW Cup middles.. reserve TJ for one test match, did one NRL pre-season line, but that was where I peaked and I quit in my late 30s due to kids etc and went to play over-35s football with my mates instead. The time commitment was one factor towards the end, always being the bridesmaid and never the bride another, and ultimately i got sick of the from the crowds and the coaches - the players were all fine, I got on really well with most of them. 

[Anita Bath]

A bit of an aside but I was at the Souths v Easts game in Brisbane (QRL) and got talking to a youngish fellow there with two young kiddies. He was an american from New England who now lives in Melbourne up in Queensland for school holidays. He referees in Melbourne and got in touch with Gold Coast league to say he would be up at Gold Coast and so ran the line at the Tugun game in Saturday. An extremely keen and knowlegable bloke who has reffed in North America, UK and Down Under, both his kids play league in Melbourne.

He went up in my estimation when he was able to have a conversation about Rochdale Hornets. He also had some informed views on the Toronto Wolfpack episode.