Forty young referees in Sydney took part in the inaugural year of NSWRU’s new youth match official development programme, the Sydney Youth Referee Academy.
The Academy is a multi-year programme open to boys and girls in Years 10 – 12.
It is designed to keep more young referees involved in the game for longer and further develop their understanding of the game with more challenging education, presentations from Super Rugby and Shute Shield referees, and opportunities to attend tournaments such as the NSWJRU Junior State Championships.
Tane Dolan said that being part of the Academy has encouraged him to continue refereeing after school,
“I have had many opportunities and experiences as an Academy referee this year. Not only the opportunity to referee at State Championships, but learn from Angus Gardner, watching a Super Rugby Pacific match live then meeting the referees post-game, and even get my first experience refereeing Colts rugby. I can’t wait to get involved in more refereeing after I finish school.”
Sam Kable, Academy referee said,
“It’s not just refereeing school or club footy or even getting the opportunity to referee at State Championships. We’ve had seminars with Super Rugby and Shute Shield referees learning about scrums, player management, assistant refereeing, communication skills.
I think the highlight for me was the opportunity to be an assistant referee in a 2nd grade Premier Rugby game. I’ve already applied to be part of the Year 12 squad in 2025 and can’t wait to keep refereeing in the future.”
Academy manager Tom Chadwick said,
“2024 was all about setting the Academy up for success for the long term. We are very pleased with the progress made so far and look forward to seeing our Academy referees transition into senior rugby over the next few years.
We couldn’t make this first year happen without the support of The Rugby Club Foundation, NSW Rugby Referees Association (NSWRRA), Sydney West Rugby Referees Association (SWRRA), Sydney North Rugby Referees (SNRR) and the Sydney Junior Rugby Union (SJRU). We can’t wait for 2025!”
NSWRU congratulates all the referees who were involved in 2024. Nominations for 2025 close on 1 November (ask your school or association for the link, or contact tom.chadwick@nsw.rugby).
