Some of Northern California's stronger referees will go the spring without a top-level game, because visitors have been assigned many desirable fixtures.
The unusual situation underlines the Northern California Rugby Referee Society's perceived strengths in training and coaching match officials.
Well-regarded officials from East Penn, the Eastern Rockies, Texas, Canada's Victoria, and England's East Midlands union will be responsible for up to 40 percent of the local union's Division 1 matches, according to an NCRRS manager. Minnesota and Ontario (Canada) refs have already been on scene. Virtually all of the visitors are ranked at the same level or higher as the locals they are replacing.
The demand for games speaks in part to NorCal's extensive evaluation services. Incoming refs are typically provided a full video and written assessment of their work along with advice for improving, by panelists who have helped many locals go on to regional and national appointments, or themselves have been highly ranked.
The scheduling crunch also reflects NorCal's large stable of eight A- (national-level) and B-panel (territorial-grade) officials, who need to sharpen up before the spring playoffs. Another six are considered the highest class of C-panel referees.
The problem is mitigated by reciprocal exchange matches, including in Alberta, Ontario, and the East Midlands, home to Northampton. NorCal also features attractive college matches. But then again, NorCal was able to wheel out a former Irish international ref, Tony Redmond, just to handle last week's Cal-UBC game.
The self-funded NCRRS sees its exchange and evaluations services as an extension of an extensive training program. Once-a-month sessions are well attended: some 20 turned out at a recent Tuesday night session held at the Golden Gate club.
Send them down to So Cal...NOW! Heaven knows they need the help there.
Posted by: Whistle Stop | 26 February 2008 at 10:28
What? Top refs are too good to ref the multitude of college and high school games? I second the motion to send them to Socal.
Posted by: Killer | 26 February 2008 at 10:37
Clearly you both have misunderstood the piece.
The article says that the TOP games are going to referees from OUTSIDE the area. The top referees from the NCRRS are getting games, just not the top D1 and college games in the area.
All the referees in Nor Cal referee in the HS ranks as well. It is not uncommon for a dedicated ref to do 2-3 games in a weekend starting with a HS game on Friday or early Saturday morning.
Posted by: Misunderstood | 26 February 2008 at 12:41
Gents, this is all balanced out. In the fall many NorCal refs headed off on exchanges to other parts of the country, at times when NorCal had no matches of their own to officiate.
These refs all then recieved evaluations from some of the excellent evaluators in the NorthEast.
Swings and roundabouts.
Posted by: NorthEast Ref | 26 February 2008 at 13:07
Is this a issue from the standpoint of NorCal refs? I had a visitor from Ontario do our game last week and he did a fine job. NorCal refs seem to get a lot out of the exchanges....so what is the problem?
Posted by: AP | 27 February 2008 at 17:24