Between travel, rowdy players and a lack of compensation, referees really do have the hardest job in rugby. That’s why the team at Ruck Science is thrilled to announce our first official sponsorship; the Texas Rugby Referees Association (TRRA). Read the full sponsorship press release on the Ruck Science website.
What is Ruck Science?
Ruck Science is a performance nutrition company that provides state-of-the-art nutrition for rugby players (and now, referees!). The company was founded in 2015 by several members of the local Austin, TX rugby community. We’re pleased to be able to call them our first official sponsor and hope they’ll be with us for many years to come.
Sponsorship deal agreed and signed
The agreement, signed at the end of 2015, will give the TRRA a major sponsor for the next 3 rugby seasons. That’s from now, right through until the end of 2018.
You’ll also be seeing the company on the association’s new website and all social media accounts. Finally, the deal makes the TRRA a beneficiary of the company’s universal sponsorship program. When a member of the TRRA makes a purchase on ruckscience.com, the company will donate 10% of the value of the order to the Texas Rugby Referees Association.
“This last clause has the potential to double our total contribution to the association over the next three years and in 2016 especially. With it, the TRRA will be able to get its best young referees access to high-performance coaching and assessment.” said Tim Howard.
Sponsorship for all rugby clubs
Ruck Science is aiming to provide sponsorship $$$ to every rugby club on the planet. They do this by donating 10% of every order to the rugby club of the customer’s choice. The result is that the more promotion of the deal a club does, the better off they will do financially. It’s a win-win for all parties concerned and gives amateur rugby clubs a real incentive to promote good nutrition for their players. You can register your club to receive sponsorship here.
Refereeing in Texas
The TRU and the TRRA have been incredibly successful at driving rugby participation in Texas. Over the past 5 years, the number of registered players in the state has risen by some 30%. This kind of increased participation means many more rugby games at all levels: High-School, College, Women’s and Men’s.
Having a qualified referee on hand is one of the few essentials for every rugby game. Most active players probably don’t realize it, but there is an critical lack of rugby referees in the USA. Because rugby clubs in Texas are so geographically disbursed, the few referees we do have travel extensive distances to games. Referees will often drive 4 hours in each direction to referee a game. Some will do this multiple times during a weekend.
With more games in 2016 than ever before, the rugby community needs to actively promote refereeing as a option for younger, injured and soon-to-be-retiring players. Younger players can dramatically increase their rugby IQ by studying the law book and taking up a whistle. Retiring players who choose to referee can bring a wealth of on-field experience to high-school and college matches.