How many times have you shouted \u201cRubbish referee\u201d? How many times have you thought after a match, that referee was terrible, I could do a better job than that?<\/p>\n
Well, now is your chance. The Ulster Branch now provides the opportunity for Schoolboys to become qualified referees and referee matches at an agreed schoolboy level. Refereeing is a great alternative for pupils who may be injured or are not being selected regularly but still want to be involved within rugby.<\/p>\n
One such referee was MCB former pupil, Peter Martin. Peter took up refereeing whilst still at school after completing the IRFU Schoolboy Referee Programme. David Wilkinson, Referee Development Officer, caught up with Peter to have a chat to him about his refereeing.<\/p>\n
DW:\tTell us how and why you started refereeing?<\/p>\n
PM:\tI started refereeing when I was 17 and still at school at MCB. I undertook the \tIRFU Schoolboy Referee Course and with the help of yourself and the MCB PE \tDepartment began refereeing at U12 and U13 Level. I was always \tinterested in \trefereeing and so thought why not give it a go! <\/p>\n
DW:\tHow did things progress from there?<\/p>\n
PM:\tI refereed as many games as Mr. Wells could give me! He was a big help to me \twhen I first started out refereeing. He obviously trusted me as before long I was \trefereeing at Medallion XV and moved onto 1st XV Level. Once I turned 18, I \tjoined the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees (USRFR) and things have \tmoved on rapidly from there. <\/p>\n
DW:\tWhat are the biggest challenges for a young referee?<\/p>\n
PM:\tHaving confidence in your decisions and staying calm under pressure! Refereeing \tis a tough job, but one that gives me great enjoyment. <\/p>\n
DW:\tWould you encourage other pupils to consider taking up refereeing at \tschool?<\/p>\n
PM:\tDefinitely! Refereeing is a great way to be involved in rugby. The opportunities \tthat refereeing can provide are fantastic and there is also great social side to \trefereeing. It provides a pathway to the upper levels of the game, where I was \tnever going to reach as a player. But most importantly… it\u2019s great fun! <\/p>\n
DW:\tAny what about today\u2019s game?
\nPM:\tAs a referee I would like to wish both teams and Richard Kerr all the best for the \tfinal. However as a MCB former pupil let\u2019s hope Rory and the boys can bring the \tschools Cup home! <\/p>\n
Peter is a prime example of what the Schoolboy Referee Programme is all about. It gives pupils an opportunity to be the man in the middle. It gives experience in refereeing and if they enjoy it and want to progress further, a pathway into USRFR and beyond.<\/p>\n
Peter has done remarkably well within refereeing in his first full year as an active member of USRFR. His enthusiasm and hard work have seen him rise up through the leagues in Ulster at great pace. He has moved from refereeing in Junior 6 in September to being appointed to his first Qualifying One game having already refereed his first schools cup game. And it all started with the Schoolboy Referee Course.<\/p>\n
The refereeing structure in Ireland is regarded as one of the best in the world, with three referees currently on the IRB International panel, and a further 2, on the Assistant Referee Panel. With a clear pathway from Schoolboy Referee up to IRFU National Referees Panel and beyond, the world is your oyster! Whether you have ambitions to referee at a Rugby World Cup, or just want to help out your games master, we can provide you with the support and help that you need.<\/p>\n
PM: \tTo be the man in middle is a very challenging but immensely rewarding task, not \tto mention it is the best seat in the house. So if you fancy being in the middle of a \tSchools Cup Final, rather than in the stand, think about taking up the whistle! <\/p>\n
If you are interested in becoming a referee, we would be delighted to hear from you. <\/p>\n
Go on, be part of it!<\/p>\n
David Wilkinson
\nReferee Development Officer
\ndavid.wilkinson@irfu.ie
\n07799 062 813<\/p>\n
Jonny Gibson
\n[youtube IspPqJD-cCM]<\/p>\n
David Brown
\n[youtube cAr-QGY8Os8]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How many times have you shouted \u201cRubbish referee\u201d? How many times have you thought after a match, that referee was terrible, I could do a better job than that? Well, now is your chance. The Ulster Branch now provides the opportunity for Schoolboys to become qualified referees and referee matches at an agreed schoolboy level. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5888,6240,6141,5565,5743,7205,6260],"class_list":["post-24599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ulster-rugby","tag-a","tag-go","tag-have","tag-presents","tag-the","tag-usrfr","tag-you"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24602,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24599\/revisions\/24602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}