Ref rankings revamped

Referee classifications are to be consolidated, in an effort to make more challenging games available to promising officials.

The rankings B3 to B1, indicative of a referee worthy of higher-level matches in any given territory, will be grouped in a single T rating beginning January 1. The purpose is to streamline opportunities for evaluation and promotion.

'The requirements for getting promoted through the B grades were essentially impossible to fulfill at the local and territorial level: the requisite-level games were all national appointments. You almost had to somehow earn national panel status in order to be assigned the games necessary to earn national panel status,' referee and laws committee chair Bruce Carter said in an email.

The national panel, the highest level, comprises roughly two dozen or so officials who referee Super League, national playoff matches, and the like. Some are further singled out as capable of handling international games.

America's referees are typically characterized as technically behind, and a draft of USARFU's high performance plan offers few specifics for improvement. The group's administrative practices are more nimble, however, particularly when compared with, for example, the eligibility committee.

The revised ranking approach could help younger officials advance more quickly, something the IRB has sought to encourage. Like soccer, rugby's governing body believes that men in their 50s are not fit to officiate international athletes predominantly in their 20s.

Locally ranked officials also will be reclassified, with L4 as the beginner's designation and L1 as the notch below the T level. As part of the change, criteria for advancement to the L1 and T levels has been stiffened slightly, Carter said.

Comments

[anon]

The level of refereeing in the USA stifles the growth of our best players.

As soon as a player makes the national pool they have to be re-coached on how to play with an international referee. We are naive at the breakdown and scared to press the rules.

The national office has to do something about this.

It gets less press than the professional argument and the selection argument but this arguably has more impact than either of these issues.

Playing under a different set of rules at your club than you do for you country is not easy. Especially with the limited number of test matches.

Local referee societies need more accountability in recruiting and developing compotent referee's.

[Eagle fan]

Anon: so when are you taking the Level 1 referee exam? Step up or step out of the way.

[good move]

Just throw this in with everything else, another facet of US rugby breaking away from Boulders control.

USAR/Boulder is the shits. Very poor mangers of the game.

The refs are sick of a handful of Boulder appointments controlling the upward mobility of refs. This move puts more control into the hands of the local/regional ref orgs.

By the time Kevin Roberts and Nigel Melville leave office this rugby union will be a bunch of pieces.

[referee observer]

good move, could your name be Chris Draper?

[Michael]

One thing we've been discussing among the NorCal high school coaches is how to increase referee capacity for the games's growing segments.

While the referee community tackles the issue of referee quality what's be-deviling is how the referee competency system doesn't seem to include participation in HS rugby in their internal evaluation.

Adult rugby is shrinking and youth are growing but referees focus is on higher panel peformance.

There's no bad guy here it's just a divergent path that seem odd in American rugby growth

[crashtheline7]

I was present at a recent sub-union AGM and when it came time for the referee's representative to speak he declared that the breakdown would not be handled the same at club level as it is in the pro and test arena. I asked why and he indicated safety. I continued to question this line of thinking and was told that just like in the NBA and NHL there are differences in rules to the college game. To this I said "there are two different rule books in both of those cases, in this case there is one universal set of laws." I was promptly shut down and the meeting moved on to the next issue. What the F%&K?? Are these people for real??

[Eagle fan]

Michael: NorCal High School rugby clubs and teams do not pay referee fees. Their are barely enough referees to cover the paying members' matches.