NSW referees had a busy weekend of learning on the 22-23 January, with referees from around the state coming together for the NSW Referee State Conference.
The weekend kicked off with fourteen prospective World Rugby Educators from the Central West, Central Coast, Illawarra and Sydney attending the newly built Erin Tweedale Stadium at Merrylands and had the opportunity to learn from the best in the business.
The referees were one of the first groups to have access to the new facility, and under the direction of three World Rugby Trainers (Alex Richards – NSWRU Referee Manager, Jarrod Simpson – NSWRU Central West Development Officer, and Frank Meiklejohn – World Rugby Oceania Master Trainer) were put their paces delivering modules from the Referee Ready course and giving feedback to each other.
NSWRU Referee Manager Alex Richards said it was a fantastic weekend for all involved.
“It was a massive weekend of learning, strategising and networking at the new Eric Tweedale Stadium,” Richards said.
“The prospective World Rugby Educators were put through their paces by three World Rugby Trainers.
“This was the end of a journey begun on Zoom during lockdown last September and I’m looking forward to them presenting a Referee Ready course soon,” he said.
The following day, representatives from 11 of the 13 associations in NSW attended the NSWRU Referee State Conference.
The Conference was a great opportunity to share learning from the past year, plans for 2022 and to align strategies for improving the experience of match officials from across the state.
“This was the first time our referee community was able to meet face-to-face as a group since 2019,” Richards said.
“It was great to be able to meet again, and the facilities at Eric Tweedale were great,” he said.
To start your referee journey, check the current list of Referee Ready courses at https://australia.rugby/participate/rugby-courses and click on a session to enrol (some via Zoom, and some face-to-face). More sessions will added in March-May so you can enrol and start the online modules while you wait for a local session to be scheduled.
