from the USA Rugby Referees and Laws Committee:<\/p>\n
ANNOUNCEMENT<\/strong> RESULT<\/strong> RECENT (August) GRADE > NEW (September) GRADE<\/strong> What follows, for those who are interested, is our rationale and the alternatives that were considered.<\/p>\n RATIONALE<\/strong> Beginning referees often assume that completing the L1 course makes them an L1 ref. Who could blame them? Those contemplating becoming referees are often confused by the whole nomenclature. ALTERNATIVES<\/strong>
\nThe Referees and Laws Committee changed USA Rugby referee grade nomenclature at its AGM in August, 2012.<\/p>\n
\nThe net result is that we will revert to C and B grades, such as existed until four years ago.
\nL3, 2 and 1 will now be C3, 2 and 1. All T referees will now be B referees.<\/p>\n
\nL4 > C4
\nL3 > C3
\nL2 > C2
\nL1 > C1
\nT > B<\/p>\n
\nConfusion has reigned for the past few years because of the following:
\nReferees are graded L3, L2 and L1 (this L stands for Local)
\nReferee courses are L1, L2 and L3 (this L stands for Level)
\nFor assignments and grading purposes, matches are L1 through L7 (this L stands for Level)
\nReports written on referees are L1 and L2 reports (this L stands for Level)
\n[These are formally known as Coaching Reports and Evaluation Reports, but even those who write them often refer to them as \u2018level one\u2019 and \u2018level two\u2019 reports.]<\/p>\n
\nPeople at the national office who have to field these confused phone calls complained. Those of us who deal with the confusion at the local level (that word again) across the country sympathized.
\nIt was accepted that the L designation had to go. What to replace it with?<\/p>\n
\nS was suggested, meaning Society. But the territories are also Societies. S seemed random.
\nL-level referees referee Community Rugby. Why not C referees? It made sense for thirty years to call those working in the first few grades C referees. So this decision was made: the first grade awarded will again be C3, with the first two promotions being to C2 and then C1.
\nNote: criteria for promotion are unaffected by this change. These changes are strictly limited to nomenclature.
\nThat left us with C1 referees who earned promotion joining the T panel. The problem with that is that some Territories have already dissolved and others soon will. The T could be left as a vestigial designation, standing for something that only used to be.
\nHere\u2019s the problem: the rugby playing organizational universe is moving toward having two divisions of administration. Geographical Unions do not belong to Territories. They belong to USA Rugby. Two levels.
\nReferees continue to need three divisions, corresponding to the three divisions of grades. There are those awarded by the local society, now called C, and the various Panels awarded by USA Rugby, with those referees capable of doing matches above the GU but below the national in between. We still need a T-Panel equivalent.
\nHence: C for Community, B to be alphabetical and in line with what used to be, and then the national Panels, Squads and Groups. Plus, C and B are not tied to particular words used to designate organizational levels such as GUs or Zones, which may change in the future.<\/p>\n