Whilst our week-to-week refereeing at our venues is the bread and butter of refereeing, as we move towards summertime and one-day events, here’s 12 tips on how to make your day as good as it can be, both for you and for the players.
- Make sure you have:
- Your key ref gear & spares
- Big water bottle
- Snacks
- A small kit bag to carry around with you even if, like me, you prefer to leave your main bag in the ref tent
- Sunscreen, regardless of the weather forecast
- Base layer and rain gear (also regardless of the weather forecast)
- Hat/sunglasses
- A power bank, because phone batteries don’t last any more
- Pre-reading – give the law book another read-through. And make sure you’re familiar with the rules and times of the event, and any law variations that have been sent out to you.
- Be early – venues can take a while to get around. Security checks should let referees in general open time so make sure you ask to be let through. Be on time for the referee briefing. You don’t need to have changed into your ref kit, but it’s really important that you’re there.
- Equipment checks – at these events, you will find a lot of players newer to the game or who have fallen into bad habits. Watch out in your first few games particularly for wrong shorts, metal studs, wristbands, watches, fitness trackers, peaked caps, and metal sunglasses. If these get missed early on, when they do get called out by a referee later on it creates the “but the last ref allowed it” problem.
- Stay on time – it’s a long day, and it will get even longer still if there are any delays. Matches are centrally timed with an air horn to end every game, but you should still carry and use your own watch: occasionally some pitches need to run on their own time, and you may need to time a sin-bin. Your match must finish on the hooter without exception, even if you start late or there are injuries or delays. You can usually start early if everyone is ready. If you’re not refereeing back to back games, you should be starting your pre-game process before the previous game on the pitch ends.
- Know your pitches – at larger venues, there can be 10 or more pitches and numbering isn’t always obvious. Maps are usually available on the event website, but it’s best to memorise the key locations where you’ll be refereeing. Normally you will be on the same two or three pitches all day. The last thing you want is to be dashing somewhere with 3 minutes before your match and not being sure where you’re headed.
- Reporting scores to the central tent is essential to ensure the tournament keeps running smoothly. Usually, a score runner will come to you every match or two to collect your latest scores. Make sure you communicate clearly, for example “Turtles 7 Chargers 8, so Chargers win, player of the match is Caroline Henzell”. It’s a bit redundant, but it helps a lot with avoiding errors. Hand in your scorecards when they’re full so they can be referred back to if there’s a dispute.
- Watch other refs – one-day events are a key opportunity to learn from others as you’ll have gaps between games. You should try to find some new ideas, skills, or styles. You should never stop learning!
- Pace yourself – it’s a long day. It’s important that players have just as good an experience in game 5 as game 1, so make sure you don’t completely wreck yourself early in the day. Take opportunities to eat and drink whenever possible,
- Tags and balls – these belong to the pitches and should always stay where they are. Certain pitches may have some games with 8-player teams, so occasionally there could be extra tags. Check with TTR staff about whether you need to bring the tags and balls back before breaks – as this works differently at different events.
- Expect a very wide range of abilities at the event, regardless of which division you’re in. Be prepared to be a teacher and explain your calls more clearly, throughout the day.
- Touch judging – a small number of referees will be asked to touch judge the main finals at the end of the day. If this is you, make sure you communicate clearly before and during the game with the referee. You’ll mainly be watching for players and ball in touch. You’ll also need to confirm tries by giving the ref a thumbs-up, and before the game you’ll agree what else they want you to indicate.
Thanks for reading! If you think I missed anything or want to add to the debate, post in the comments on the TTR Facebook group!