TRRA Promotion – Wendy Young to L1 Referee

On behalf of the TRRA and the Referee Advancement & Training Organization (RATO), it is my pleasure to announce that referee Wendy Young have been promoted to L1. Wendy is the first female to reach L1 status in Texas.  She has been a great addition to the TRRA team as a referee, mentor and TRRA technical adviser. Her dedication and commitment to improving makes her a leader among TRRA & TRU members. Wendy will be entering the Zone referee program and we are excited to see her move up the ranks.

Please join me in congratulating Wendy.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving the Texas Rugby Union.

Traci Schmidtke
TRRA Vice-Chairman
RATO

TRRA Promotion – Scott Green to L1 Referee

On behalf of the TRRA and the Referee Advancement & Training Organization (RATO), it our my pleasure to announce that referee Scott Green have been promoted to L1. Scott has been a great addition to the TRRA as a referee and administrator taking on tournament scheduling duties. His dedication and commitment to learning is a shining example of what a TRRA referee should be. Scott has become a leader in the Central region and we are excited to see him excel as he enters the Zone program.

Please join me in congratulating Scott.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving the Texas Rugby Union.

Texas Rugby Referee Association – 2011 Promotions

On behalf of the TRRA and the Referee Advancement & Training Organization (RATO), it is my pleasure to announce the following referees have been promoted:

L3 Promotions:
Basheer Benhalim
Stan Cagle
Phil Camm
Doug Corrigan
Jimmy Schreiner
Butch Neunschwander
Geoff Taylor
Kyle Witnbaker

L2 Promotions:
Mike Clough
Sean “Bean” Martin
Meg Pace
Traci Schmidtke
Richard Zdunkewicz

The TRRA is excited to have so many referees working towards the next level. I appreciate everyone’s dedication and hard work to themselves and to the success of the TRRA. With this group of referee leaders, the TRRA will have a great 2011-2012 season.

Please join me in congratulating all the referees.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving the Texas Rugby Union.

Traci Schmidtke
TRRA Vice-Chairman
RATO

TRRA Promotion – Fil Keuppens

On behalf of the TRRA and the Referee Advancement & Training Organization (RATO), it is my pleasure to announce that referee Filip Keuppens has been promoted to L1.

Fil has been a great addition to the TRRA.  His quick transition from player to referee has seemed effortless.  Fil has become a leader in the North region and we are excited to see him excel at the next level.

Please join me in congratulating Fil.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving the Texas Rugby Union.

Traci Schmidtke
TRRA Vice-Chairman
RATO

 

TRRA Promotion – Scott Green

I am pleased to announce, on behalf of the TRRA and the TRU R&L, that referee Scott Green has been promoted to L2. Scott has quickly moved up the ranks in Texas and has a very bright future as a referee.

Greg Varnell

TRRA Announces Promotions

The TRRA has made the following promotions.

The TRU congratulates all of the individuals below and thanks all of the individual referee’s for their service and love for Rugby:

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With the conclusion of the annual 15’s season locally, the Texas Rugby Referees Association executive committee, in conjunction with the Referee Development Officer (RDO) completed an evaluation of our current referee roster. In order to conform to the new grading standards as promulgated by USA Rugby, all referee grades have now been converted to the new format.
The TRRA is proud to announce that effective May 1, 2010 the following members were promoted to the grade of L-1, the highest local grade:

Jonathan Savage
Larry Whysall

On May 16, 2010 the following members earned the grade of L-2:

Wesley Boyd
Andy Cuthbert
Terry Davies
Karl Grassl
Chris Kelly
Jeff Kruss
Mike Monks
Gary O’Bannon
Mitch Pryor
Dan Schmidt
James Summers
Wendy Young

On May 16, 2010 the following members achieved the grade of L-3:

Filip Keuppens
Terrence Morgan
Traci Schmidtke
Mark Strauss
Richard Zdunkewicz

On May 16, 2010 the following members achieved the grade of L-4:

Doug Corrigan
Liz Rutherford
David Trueblood

Should any referees have questions with regard to their current grade or wish to discuss their development pathway further, please do not hesitate to contact Michael Youdin (RDO), Greg Puklicz (Chairman), James Wolfinger (Vice Chairman) or Greg Varnell (North Scheduler). We would be pleased to discuss your personal objectives with you directly and how the TRRA can help you achieve those goals.

Greg Puklicz, Chairman
Michael Youdin, Referee Development Officer

May 16, 2010

TRRA TRAINING FOR NEW AND EXISTING REFEREES

The TRRA is pleased to announce a day of training for both existing and new referees. Two programs will be run concurrently on June 26, 2010 at Texas State University.

Firstly, the TRRA is hosting a Referee Level 1 Officiating Course on June 26th at Texas State University in San Marcos. This is the initial course required in order to become a rugby referee. There are no prerequisites for attending this course and it is the sole training vehicle for the education of entry level referees as certified USA Rugby referees.

The Level One Course covers the referee’s priorities, provides an introduction to the Laws, and examines scrums, ruck/mauls, tackles, lineout’s, offside, and advantage with focus on the critical parts and how to referee them. When a student has completed this course, and the accompanying test which will be administered on the day, they are ready to begin refereeing safely. The objective is to ensure Law knowledge and to assure that the understanding of the course material has been met. This is just the first step in a referee’s education, but it is the necessary beginning.

The course by itself is useful for coaches and players, in addition to the primary goal of starting people as referees. Students who pass the examination and then become active referees will be reimbursed the $50 course fee by the Texas Rugby Referees Association (TRRA) after they have refereed a minimum of five matches. All clubs within the TRU are strongly encouraged to send at least one referee candidate to the session in order to build the ranks of our referees, particularly from within the clubs. Please contact either James Summers or Greg Puklicz with the name of your attendees.

Secondly, in conjunction with the new referee officiating course, the TRRA will also host a conference/skills camp for all currently certified referees.

The goals of the referee conference/skills camp are:

1. To provide Texas rugby referees with a networking opportunity outside a match/tournament environment.

2. To provide a forum for active discussion of rugby law theory and practical application.

3. To promote consistency and higher referee standards among Texas rugby referees.

4. To discuss ideas for the improvement of the referee training structure in Texas.

5. To begin the process of training and promoting 3 new referees to L1 by December 2010.

6. To begin the process of training and promoting 5 new referees to L2 by December 2010.

The TRRA has secured Kevin McCaslin, former USA Rugby National Panel referee, to attend and provide instruction at the event. In addition to training sessions on various aspects of the law and game management, we will hold an open forum to discuss referee questions and concerns over topics ranging from practical law application, to the training/promotion structure within the TRRA.

This conference is intended as an open forum, and discussion of all referee related questions and concerns will be encouraged. ALL referees are strongly urged to make every effort to attend this event.

The agenda for the day is outlined below. The times and topics are subject to change at the request of the group. There is no fee to current TRRA members.

Please confirm you will be attending either this event or the Level 1 course by contacting either James Summers, TRRA Central Scheduler, or myself, by e-mail as noted below.

Greg Puklicz
TRRA Chairman
gpuklicz@madycorp.com

James Summers
TRRA Central Scheduler
summersjw@austin.rr.com