Director Of Referees’ Report

Mr. John McCormack

It is with pleasure that I submit the Director of Referees report to the members for season 2007. Another season has flown by and this season Kim Archer and I welcomed Chris Bettiol to the role of Assistant Director of Referees with the retirement of Bob Garwood due to family and work commitments. Chris has settled in well to the role and contributed well to the duties of Monday night meetings and watching referees on the weekend.

As we set out in season 2006 to improve the development of referees we again made some slight changes to the way we approached the development of referees in the District. Kim remained in charge of the Saturday referee ranks by continuously monitoring the young referees’ development. Chris took on the role of liaison with the Advisory Board to encourage greater participation on weekends and I maintained a focus on the development of Sunday referees, though we all provided input and voted on referee rankings each week. In hindsight I feel that we could have done a better job in providing direction and support to the referees to develop their skills on the field. To improve in this area we need to achieve a higher level of commitment from our Advisory Board members to watch and provide coaching tips to our referees. Two ways to accomplish this are; 1. promote a greater commitment to watching referees by all Advisory Board members, 2. to encourage the Advisory Board members to attain their level 1 and 2 coaching certificates.

The referees covered all the district competition games, women's competition and mid-week games without complaint or fanfare. The standard of refereeing in the Canterbury district remains high despite the referee drain to Grade each season and loss of referees through normal attrition. On review, we lost 2 referees to Grade and a further 13 who did not pull on the boots again between 2006 and 2007. On the positive side we welcomed 2 new referees and 2 past members back to the active ranks. It is a credit to you all when you tolerate the many last minute changes to games and venue – normally on a Friday night as I travel home from work on the train.

My thanks go to the Advisory Board members who gave up their valuable private time to watch referees each weekend, sometimes in quite trying conditions. Their efforts have a significant impact on the development of referees and to ensure the correct appointment of referees to finals fixtures. Special mention should be given

to Brian Barker, Tony Crogan, Tod Walker and Wayne Loveday who stepped up and helped out on many occasions, at times at short notice.

One of the new initiatives this season was the introduction of recording onto DVD referee’s performance and having those games evaluated by senior referees to provide useful feedback on various aspects of the game such as positioning, signals and posture etc. Feedback has shown that it has been of great benefit to the referees and we hope to expand on this program further in 2008. My thanks to Michael O’Neill who, after a number of years away from the association rejoined in late 2006 and immediately contributed to the development of referees by recording their games each weekend. Also, integral to the process were those members who reviewed the DVDs and provided feedback. My thanks also to David Abood and Richard Daizli for spending even more time in front of the TV screen.

Following criticism of the finals appointment process in 2006 we reviewed the process at the commencement of 2007. After lengthy discussion by the Board we agreed to essentially split the referees into Saturday and Sunday groups where each group competed for their respective finals. We were aware that some referees would miss out on a final or grand final, which is the nature of competition for limited places. This year was no different and the group of referees who referee on Sunday in the lower grades and who also referee on Saturday were the ones who missed out under the revised appointment system. As the dust settles on 2007 there will be those who thought the system worked well and those who felt slighted by the process. There is no foolproof system, but I feel that further discussion is required to improve the process further in 2008.

Congratulations to all referees who refereed in the finals series, you all performed at your best and a number of referees took the opportunity to achieve higher grades left by the movement of senior referees to Grade or retirement. The feedback from the District Club has also been very positive.

Congratulations also to Graham Hinds and Chris Cafarelli who were nominated and represented the association in the Sunshine Coast and Perth associations respectively. It is a fitting reward to two members showing strong improvement in their careers. They both represented the association with pride. It is a significant goal for all referees to strive for as they develop their careers at Canterbury.

Thanks to my fellow Director of Referees, Kim and Chris. We each had our specific tasks each week and we all contributed to healthy discussion to achieve, in our opinion, the best and fairest result for the active members.

To members of the Executive, thank you for your guidance and support throughout the season. Paul Archer, as always a guiding light of sanity as we dealt with conflicts that invariably arise throughout the season.

Thanks also to Kevin Shanahan and the District Club. The close working relationship has continued and we enjoyed the ear of the Executive who listened to and responded to our issues regarding security and scheduling. I trust it will continue in the seasons ahead.

I would also like to mention and acknowledge the many senior members, a number of whom are still active, who provide unparalleled support, coaching and mentoring to the junior referees both on and off the field. Without them the association would struggle to maintain its high standard that we have come to expect. I’ve said it before, they are the backbone of the association and we cannot do without them. I will not mention names the members know who they are….

Congratulations to all referees and touch judges who officiated in Grand Finals this season. To Brad Zarb, the new holder of the Clubb-Johnson award who has toiled away for a number of years at learning his craft and having a solid knowledge of the rules. Your hard work and dedication led you to claim the highest ranked referee position for 2007. To Mark Zada, a worthy winner of the Farrelly-Dick trophy who has continued to grow and learn what it takes to become a referee.

Finally, a special mention and thanks to my wife Susan who has supported in allowing me to continue to my passion and love of the game. The challenges of balancing family life and work issues and sport can be trying at times but well worth the effort.

JOHN McCORMACK DIRECTOR OF REFEREES