Each year, prior to the beginning of a new season, referees will be asked to complete an aspirations form, outlining their aspirations and ambitions for the season and beyond. The aspirations form should be returned to the grading officer. At this point you will also be asked to pay your annual subscription to the society.
Appointments are administrated through the who’s the ref website. When you join the society a new profile will be created for you on the site.
The society aims to appoint matches one month in advance. In order to do this you will be asked to update your availability to be appointed at least one month ahead. Availability is set on your who’s the ref profile.
Log on to your profile on whostheref.com
If your availability changes it is important to update it as soon as possible, if you already have an appointment and become unavailable for any reason please inform the club contact and appointments secretary before changing your availability.
Where possible the society aims to make appointments four weeks in advance, using the most up to date information on availability supplied by the referee following the process detailed above.
In making appointments the appointments secretary has the complex task of matching the needs of the particular game and the ability, development and ambition of the referee. They will consider a number of aspects of the potential referee and the particular challenge of the game as well as the basics of the level of the referee and the game. For example a local derby may merit a more experienced, higher level referee or may be the opportunity for a newer referee with potential to demonstrate their capabilities. They will also try to minimize travel distance to appointments as much as possible, to cut down on travel for the referee and expenses for the society, however the higher your level, the more likely you may be asked to travel further.
If you have issues with an appointment you should contact the appointments secretary in the first instance, using the information provided on the contacts page of the society website.
Each game to which you are appointed will appear on WTR and you will receive an email from WTR informing you of your appointment. The notification will include details of the type of game (league, friendly, etc.). To accept the appointment you can click on the link included in the email or log on to your WTR profile, go to your appointments and accept within the appointment detail screen.
If you do not have an appointment on a day you have indicated as being available you will be considered as being on standby. This means that you may be appointed to a game at shorter notice, to accommodate new fixtures, rearranged games, referee unavailability etc. These appointments can be made up to and including the morning of the game, however most are made by the Thursday morning preceding the fixture.
If you are on standby it is assumed that you are available to be allocated to a game up to 12 noon. If you need to withdraw from standby let the appointments secretary know immediately and update your availability on WTR accordingly, don’t leave it until the last minute or when you are contacted by the club – this just causes unnecessary problems and additional work for all concerned.
Expenses can be claimed for travel to and from matches and society events.
To claim expenses:
If you have any questions about expenses please contact the society treasurer.
We are a forward thinking Society and are actively looking to increase the number of referees available to cover the games throughout the Counties and support new referees to accomplish the highest standard possible at whichever grade they reach.
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Thanks to:
Roger Rhymes
Nick Perry
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