Merv Picton, Referees Appointments Secretary for rugby in North/Mid Wales, expresses his future concerns with referee shortage
Speaking after the Junior AGM, Merv Picton, Referees Appointments Secretary for North/Mid Wales, wanted to make clubs aware of the difficult situation that he is likely to find himself in due to a referee shortage at senior level in coming seasons.
Merv stated: 'During season 2010-11 I had approximately 35 referees I could call on, but for various reasons, about a dozen of these are unavailable for season 2011-12 and I have no immediate replacements. It is imperative that clubs in our region start looking for potential referees and put them forward for the upcoming referees courses'.
Merv stressed that whilst there are always a good number of applicants on the Level 1 courses, very few of them progress any further than helping their own clubs out by refereeing junior matches on a Sunday morning. What he needs is referees who want to progress to Level 2 and above and are able to referee senior games on Saturdays.
'There are too many clubs in our region who don't have any current referees who have originated from their club yet they expect at least one referee on a Saturday to turn up at their club and usually more if they are a club that runs a couple of senior sides and a youth side', Merv continued.
Even last season with 35 referees to call on Merv had on occasions to ask the Scarlets region for help so it will come as no surprise to see that he is understandably concerned for future seasons. As Merv summed up: 'You can do the maths, losing a dozen or so referees a season with no replacements, how long before games can't go ahead because there's no man in the middle?'.
The next Level 1 Referees Courses will be held on Sunday, 10th July at Llanidloes RFC, followed by a course on 24th July at Colwyn Bay RFC. Please make every effort to put forward as many potential referees as you can from your club.
Further details about the courses and application forms can be obtained from either David Davies at the WRU on 02920 822420 - davidrdavies@wru.co.uk or Marcia Harding at the WRU on 02920 822419 - mharding@wru.co.uk
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