Women’s Referee Development Opportunity – Atlanta 7s

Atlanta 7sIf you haven’t heard, there is an approved grant to develop women referees in the USA.  Since Texas is its own Geographic Union we can send at least 2 women to Atlanta 7s on April 8-9, 2016 for further development in the world of referees.  I have added the link below to the program.

We are going to hold a L1 referee course in Houston around Jan 16th.  Yes, just around the corner, so we need to move quickly.  The course will be for women only and I am bringing in a National Panel referee to help with the course.  There will actually be high school scrimmages to referee in during the course. That is the first time ever in Texas we have offered a chance to ref during an L1 course.  By the way, the course is FREE, FREE, FREE for any attendee.

I would like to see at least 10 women in this class.  We have 3 possible attendees already. The top two get a paid trip to Atlanta 7s.  How awesome is that?

So please send this out to every women’s club and player you know.  They can contact me or Scott Green sgreen@texasrugbyunion.com to get on the list for the course and ask any questions.

I really appreciate you helping us with this great opportunity.

Cheers, Butch

TRRA Chairman

https://usarugby.org/try-on-rugby#section=grant-programs

World Rugby Playing Charter & Values

The TRU and TRRA adhere to the World Rugby Playing Charter and World Rugby Values.

World Rugby Playing Charter

The Charter covers the basic principles of Rugby as they relate to playing and coaching, and to the creation and application of the Laws. It is hoped that the Charter, which is an important complement to the Laws of the Game, will set the standards for all those who are involved in Rugby, at whatever level.

World Rugby Values

The core values enable participants immediately to understand the character of the Games and what makes it distinctive as a sport which is played by people of all shapes and sizes.

irb-values

Pre-match safety and admin

Greetings and thanks for a great start to the season. I want to discuss something so you hear it from me first and not some out of sorts rumor. Last weekend, we had a referee go above and beyond to make sure a match could happen. He had the home team adjust field setup to make it more safe and also ensured their paperwork was complete. Excellent work Tim O’Gara !!!

This particular match is under protest, NOT for anything Tim did/didn’t do but because one team had a player not CIPP’d and this is where I want to be clear on our duties as referees. It is NOT our duty to make sure every player who steps on the pitch is CIPP’d. Your responsibility is to know a players name when you issue a card. You can look up their CIPP later. A good rule of thumb is when you are about to issue a card, ask the player his/her name then pull the card out.

A few other reminders:

  • If the pitch is not setup according to TRU standards, it is YOUR call on whether the match happens. I recommend getting the two coaches together and see if solutions can be made and if not do both coaches agree to current conditions to play. Make sure you describe everything in your post match report.
  • If the weather creates unsafe conditions (lightning, deep standing water where players could drown if face is shoved into it) we want you to delay the start and even cancel the match if necessary.
  • If you are not contacted by home team by end of day Wednesday, please notify Wendy or Scott. DO NOT GO TO MATCH until contacted by home team. If bad weather is rolling in, Call the home team and try to get a game start decision before you get on the road.

Finally, if at any time you are unsure of what to do, you can call any member of our staff (Me, Scott, Wendy or Randy) Our numbers are on “Who’s the ref”. Please do not hesitate to call. We are here to support you throughout the season.

Cheers, Butch

World Rugby Law Clarifications 2015 – Laws 15, 16, 22

World Rugby has issued another clarification. This addresses kicking the ball out of the hands of another player. That has always been specifically prohibited when a player is attempting to touch the ball down for a try, but it was not addressed for more general situations. This clarification makes it clear – that action is illegal and dangerous.

150911 CL Law Clarification 7 2015 kicking ball from player’s hands [PDF]

Feel free to write me with any questions.

Peter Watson
Chair, Law Committee

Season Reminders!

A few reminders as we have a ton of new referees this year!

How do I get paid?
Submit a Match Report

How much will I get paid?
Match Reimbursement Policy

How do I submit a Disciplinary Report?
Submit a Disciplinary Report

How do I get paid for a tournament?
The referee manager of the tournament will collect your mileage and other information and submit a tournament worksheet. DON’T submit a match fee for tournaments!

What about Kit?
We are working with a new vendor and once we establish that relationship we will let everyone know. In the meantime please wear other TRRA kit or a best effort if you are new. If you’re working a tournament and have kit, please bring extra so we can share!

Sponsorship
Beginning in January, 2016 the TRRA will have a major sponsor for all the rugby referees in Texas. We’re delighted to be partnering with Ruck Science, a nutritional startup based out of Austin and run by one of the Austin Blacks. For all things nutrition and rugby, please contact the Ruck Science team on Twitter @RuckScience or on their website ruckscience.com.

NEW Referee Feedback Form for Teams – How to View

RATO has revamped the referee feedback form for teams. We’ve modeled it after the USA Rugby High Performance Form and the Southern California Rugby Referees Society. You’ll note that it’s much shorter with only three questions, a video link and a general comments field.

View Feedback from Team Coaches

  1. Once feedback from a team coach has been completed you will receive an email notification. Click the link within the email and it will take you directly to the report.

    Screen Shot 2015-09-11 at 8.57.04 AM

  2. Alternatively you can view the report by searching for a fixture. Input the desired date and hit find. Or you can use the the team or competition fields to narrow your search.
  3. Once you’ve located your match, click the icon on the right labeled ‘PR’.
    1. It should be noted that you will NOT be able to access or view forms (except a pre-match plan) until after the fixture has taken place.TRRA_CoachAssessment_1


    2. If you don’t see the ‘PR’ graphic for your team, please email admin@texasrugbyunion.com so we can verify your permissions.’

View the entire TRRA Referee User Guide.

Reminders for upcoming season!

A few reminders as we are moving into the Fall season!

CIPP – It’s time to recipp! Get it done! Make sure to CIPP under Texas Rugby Referee Association. If you need a dual role, use the Multiple Roles Form. Once completed, USA Rugby will then collect your Referee Dues.

Fall Assignments – We are still waiting on the Club schedules but we’ve received the Colleges. Assignments for those will be coming shortly, make sure your calendar is updated ASAP! Need help? See page 2 of the User Guide.

Not Contacted by Home Team – If you are NOT contacted by the home team the week of your match, DO NOT GO TO THE MATCH. Feel free to email the team and CC me if you haven’t heard from them by Wed and I will send them a formal notice.

Match Reports –

  1. Comments under Match Protocol – You can now add comments about their field barriers, etc. Maybe they had rope but they weren’t in-goal to in-goal. Make a note of it there and we will handle talking to the team.
  2. Team Conduct – Per a suggestion from the TRU Disciplinary Committee we added this field. It’s a quick rating of how the team did during the match. Please be honest.

Questions? Let Butch, Scott or Wendy know!

THANKS!

Comments from new TRRA Chairman

1972391_10153361864164892_4450876824426347710_nI am very honored to be your new Chairman and look forward to working with all of you. My personal thank you to those who have gone before us. Traci and Greg volunteered to lead us this past year and we will be forever grateful for all of their help. I want to thank Scott Green for stepping in as Vice Chair, Wendy Young for staying on as admin/scheduler, Randy Campbell for staying on as RDO and Dave McPhail for staying on as Treasurer. We certainly could not continue without them. I want to share with you my immediate concerns, goals and initiatives coming down the road.

Like most of the rugby playing world the TRRA has struggled to recruit referees. With the TRU, Collegiate and Rugby Texas adding more teams and clubs this year, we must make referee recruitment our number one priority. I have reached out to the TRU to help in our recruiting efforts and ask that you please get out into your communities and help find the next ref. High school to senior club level, we will take them all and give them the proper training

Standards and consistency. Over the last few years not only has the volume of matches that the TRRA covers increased, the standard and quality of rugby in Texas has and will continue to increase. We are blessed to have the opportunity to referee some of the top matches in the country week in week out. With this blessing it is our responsibility to ensure that the product we deliver meets and exceeds this standard. It is my goal that the all TRRA referees will continue to use, follow and implement the USAR game management guidelines so we achieve a consistency across all matches. To help get us on the same page throughout the union, we would like to bring back monthly training sessions. There will be one in each region (North, Central, South) where we will discuss a common topic, review law exams and enhance the camaraderie amongst our association. The teams in TRU should be comfortable knowing that week in and week out, no matter who the ref is, the laws will be cited the same. Beep tests are coming in September/October. These are for you to see where you are and what you need to work on. The January Beep test will factor heavily into match assignment and promotions.

I had so many compliments last year about how the referees were showing up early and that teams could tell that the quality of referees was on the rise. Let’s continue that positive trend and give them our best, every match. Remember we are one of the few people in rugby getting paid to perform a service to the absolute best of our abilities. I found last year, by smiling, staying calm and enjoying the match, the players in turn reacted the same.

Kit. There were great reviews about the test kit the C1 referees wore last year. We are going to offer this kit to everyone with a yellow and a green version. We are working hard to help you offset the cost so stay tuned as we finalize a deal and make the kits available.

Sponsorship. Several letters go out this week to businesses asking for sponsorship. We are asking anyone with serious connections to a Texas based business (bank, food, dealerships, etc) to contact us.

Working on our own website. It will be Texasrugbyref.com. Stay tuned and this will be one of our primary communication outlets.

There is much more to come and we are always looking for ideas and help. If you have ideas or want to help coach referees or help out your TRRA staff, please contact us. This is going to take a monumental effort by all of us working together to get our numbers up. I am always available for questions and I can’t wait to start the season! Thank you for all you do!!!

Cheers, Butch

Welcome!

Texas Rugby Referee AssociationWelcome to the Texas Rugby Referee Association (TRRA) Corner.

Here you will find anything and everything about becoming a referee, getting assignments etc.

Thanks for visiting us!

2015 TRRA Chairman and Vice Chairman Results

Texas Rugby Referee AssociationCongratulations to the new TRRA Chairman Butch Neuenschwander and Vice Chairman Scott Green.

Butch has been a referee for five years, is a C1 referee, CMO Certified and is working towards becoming a World Rugby Educator. He takes on the role of Chairman as Traci Young has stepped down to focus on other areas. Traci will continue to give back to the game as a referee and as a referee coach but is looking forward to taking a break from administration. We can’t thank Traci enough for her tireless work, make sure to giveher your thanks as you see her around the pitch.

Scott has been a referee in Texas for five plus years and brings a wealth of experience to the table. He is USA Rugby National Panel referee, CMO certified and is regularly called upon to handle the toughest matches in Texas. He is truly an artist of the game and believes strongly in letting the players play within the laws of the game.

Feel free to reach out to Butch and Scott:

Butch – bneuenschwander@texasrugbyunion.com

Scott – sgreen@texasrugbyunion.com