PLYMOUTH RUGBY REFEREES SOCIETY Minutes of meeting held at the OPM Club, Plymouth College on Monday October 1 st 2012 Attending Rob Guy, Chairman; Ken Hamblin, Ken Dobson, John Scott, Andy Bray, Trevor Hunter, Terry Veacock, Lance Doggart, Ken Martin, Reg Cross, Guy Morris, Richard Ronayne, Mike Oliver, Bob Anstis, Dave Trewin, Tom Healy Apologies Trevor McDonnell, Jez Ashford, Steve Harland, Paul Stinchcombe, Grant Mossford, Barrie Gledhill, Sarah Veacock, Howard Coffey, Darren Turner, Ian Darcy, The Chairman, Rob Guy, opened the meeting by saying that he was disappointed by the poor turnout, but thanked those who had attended for their interest. Paul Stinchcombe s Mother had sadly just passed away and so Paul, understandably, was unable to do his training slot, but Bob Anstis had at the very last minute (he only arrived back inb the country fromholiday abroad earlier in the day) stepped into the breach. Thanks Bob. Minutes of the September meeting were accepted. Secretary John Scott International Tickets - must have your wish list for the Six Nations by this evening. Please cough up the money when asked, great probs for the Sec chasing money despite plenty of notice. Late today we received and it was circulated by e mail, IRB GLOBAL TRIAL LAW AMENDMENTS AGE GRADE RUGBY No reply from Devon RFU re our refusal to pay for Handbooks Tom Healy had similarly written on behalf of the DRRS, and he understood that the Devon RFU were not intending to pursue the matter. JS had written to DRFU asking for the money to purchase a new Comms Set. A holding reply had been received saying that it would be discussed at the next DRRS Committee meeting. Treasurer and Discipline Secretary Ken Hamblin There are 3 new Referees shirts left over from last season newer Referees please take a look. There is an opportunity to order Referees kit on line (see DRRS website) shirts in various colours, bags, beeny hats, socks, shorts, and individuals can order themselves. It may well be that we could join this scheme watch this space. There was nothing to report on Discipline matters.
Plymouth Combination Bob Anstis Next meeting is next week. At the last meeting, as the Devon Leagues I and 2 have shrunk, Clubs had been encouraged to play their first round Lockie and other Combination Cup games early, but this proposal had been thwarted by clashes with Devon KO Cup Competitions. There was some difficulty in getting Combination Clubs to mutually agree dates for the Local Cup games. Hopefully this situation is being resolved. An evening at Devonport Services for Combination Clubs would be taking place on October 8 th, when Bob Armstrong, ex Services, Albion, Combined Services and Exmouth no 8 would be giving a talk with his new RFU Coaching hat on. All welcome to attend. Ken Dobson has appealed to the Clubs at Combination meetings to push forward new potential Referees, and John Scott has written to the Secretary of every Combination Club with the same plea, but all to no avail!! It was suggested that JS s letter be cut and pasted on every Club website (Sarah!?). As an aside, Bob noted that despite the RFU paying 45p per mile for travel, the Devon RFU were still paying 40p per mile! Appointments/Re- appointments Secretary Ken Dobson Desperately short of Referees, lots injured. Getting help from DRRS but they charge the Clubs a lot more than we do. Plymoputh Albion Okes have helped out with one of their Club Referees. An untrained Referee is refereeing a youth game this coming weekend (just like the old days!!). Recently at 2 games the Referee didn t turn up could have been because of problems with Ken s telephone! Last weekend the Gloucester exchange was cancelled as we had nobody available to travel. We will however honour this weekend s exchange with Cornwall and then suspend all exchanges until more Referees return from injury. Interchanges Cornwall merit table, Saltash 2nds v Liskeard 2nds - up to 6 replacements allowed but no rolling substitutions. (KD will send the email that he received on this matter, to JS, who will circulate.) Appointments for November doing week by week because of the dire shortage of Regerees. RG - thanks Ken for all your hard work already had one heart attack!!! Other matters Trevor Hunter reported that Richard Harding had received his first Level 4 appointment for this coming Saturday at Dings Crusaders the TJs are Trevor Hunter and Andy Bickle. Good luck Richard.
TRAINING - at very very short notice, Bob Anstis. YES there is a shortage of Referees but also there has been a reduction in the number of Clubs in Plymouth over recent years. - The work that Assessors do in order to put together the report on behalf of the Referee 24 to 48hrs after the game. - There had been a meeting in August (RFU s Paul Renton) re Assessors. How Societies were coaching/mentoring their Refs Refereeing Competences (an old booklet) - Paul Renton is canvassing Society views. Its difficult to reconcile ELRA with the Adviser forms. There had been an exchange of view on this. A NEW REF level10 to 14 games how well are you adapting the ELRA award to what you re doing? Peter Webb (Devon RRS) called it Refereeing Observation and Coaching. It took the form of a tickbox form. - Referees preparation for a game - on time? - Communication and Positioning - smart? - Check the pitch? - post protectors /flags? - in good time so as not to interfere with warm ups etc? - Refs attitude towards match and players - look for feedback from players - whats your (contextural) judgement like? - referee in spirit of the game/ enjoyment for all? - how did you manage the game? - Laws - did you apply them in the spirit of the game? - What was the challenge of the game? Any shortcomings and how could the Referee have improved it? - Adviser - is the Referee appropriate for that level of game? Does he/she need an assessment? Does he/she need further coaching and mentoring? It doesn t really matter if you re level 10 or 14, but how confident and understanding of the game. The Advisers form caters for this.
Now we re really homing in on what we re trying to achieve with Referees. The form is a check list. - Finally looking at the Performance of the Referee. The traditional form is appropriate for most of our Referees eg 3 areas Good or to be Improved. - Scrums, lineouts, ruck, maul, tackle etc etc. Devon s form is more fundamental Challenge of the match - Improve where - Offer advice. - Grade (on the form) SD MD ND G. Did the Referee meet the challenge of the match etc? - Bob s view is that Clubs could fill in the simplified form. - Its vitally important to encourage new entry Referees and therefore use the new form Peter Webb, DRRS - What is important is what the Referee wants from us, the Adviser. Are the Advisers too critical? Advisers should be as positive as possible, and offering encouragement. Trevor Hunter - At our level, Enjoyment is paramount Rob Guy - We re there for them it s a players game! - Referee - 3 good things; 3 bad things; 3 things to work on - all in a short time. - Its OK for the Referee to ring the Adviser in the week after the match, to discuss any aspects noted on the form. - Referee talk to the Players and Coaches after the game can learn a lot from that. - Let the Referee know before the match day that you will be watching him. - Don t discuss (Ref/Adviser) at half time. The Referee shouldn t change the way he s refereeing the game after half time inconsistant. ie as a result of any discussion Ref/Adviser - Adviser to listen in on the pre match brief? After some discussion it was agreed that it was up to the individual ask the Referee if he minds. Thanks Bob for delivering such a comprehensive presentation with virtually no notice to prepare. Date of next meeting Monday 5 th November when the guest speaker will be Nick Tonka Williams. Please try to attend and bring your rugby mad mates!
Tonka - One of the most colourful of Referees with a unique, on and off the field, style.despite appearing to be very laid back, Nick thinks more about the game than the average Referee and is frequently turned to at Panel meetings for the not immediately obvious ramifications of any changes. Nick is 48 years old, has been a part of Yatton RFC since he was 8 years old, and is still heavily involved there as Fixtures Secretary and as a Coach. He was elevated to the national Panel of Referees in 2002. Adviser Report Forms - I sent out to everybody a copy of the Report Forms that Bob Anstis refered to in his presentation. If you need me to send it to you again, please let me know.