Happy New Year to you all and welcome back to an action packed year of rugby ahead in Singapore. In this month’s issue we look at some of the key events coming up in the first half of the year and share some information on referee preparation before their games. Read on for more….
Referee Courses in 2018
The dates have been confirmed for Singapore Rugby’s Training and Education programme in 2018. Last year proved to be highly successful in providing the wider Singapore community with a number of opportunities to learn more about officiating while also ensuring that our current referees had an opportunity to increase their knowledge of the game and refereeing at a higher level.
This year, Singapore Rugby is hoping to continue to attract a diverse range of participants on our Level 1 Referee Courses. Please see below for the course dates or click here to register now. If you would like to know more about the Training and Education programme at Singapore Rugby, please contact Charlie Brown at charliebrown@sru.org.sg.
Referees pre-game planning
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. This month, we take a look at the pre-game preparation plan that each referee completes before their games.
Match and individual thoughts
In this section, the referee will start to formulate their plan based on what they are likely to expect in the game. These will include any previous knowledge of how the teams play; the level of the competition; if it is a key game, etc. Having a sense of how intense the game will be will ensure that the referee is mentally prepared for what lies ahead.
It is also worth the referee noting how they personally are feeling leading up to the game. Whether they have had a busy week at work, excited about the game ahead. Again, this will help insure that the referee puts aside some time to focus on doing a good job in their game.
Key Areas
Once the referee has considered the challenges that they think the game will present, they can then start to formulate strategies on how they will ensure that the game is played in the correct spirit and according to the principles of play. For example, if the referee noted that there have been a number of high tackles in recent games, they may want to highlight their strategy on how they plan to deal with them in this game. The referee may also want to include areas of their own game that they want to improve on such as their signals or communication with the teams.
With the dynamics of the game, there are a great deal of areas in which a referee may highlight, however it is suggested that the referee keeps this to a maximum of five points.
Post Game Review
One of the most important aspects of refereeing is the ability to honestly evaluate one’s own performance, both the good and the not so good. After the game has been completed, referees are expected to reflect on their game plan and whether they achieved their goals. This also presents the referee with a good opportunity identify areas that they may wish to improve on and how they might do so. In short, Awareness, Acceptance, Action!
The Game Plan Document is available for all referees to download from the referee resources section of the Singapore Rugby website.
Mid-Season Referee Panel Review
The Selection Committee have reviewed the current panel standings for our members. These are now available on the Singapore Rugby website and are available to view on the About Us section of the Referee tab.
Coming in 2018…
27th January- Start of JRCS League
10th February- Singapore Womens’ Premiership Final
3rd March- Singapore Mens’ Premiership Final
31st March- Singapore Mens’ Championship Final
28th- 29th April- HSBC Sevens World Series Singapore
