New GAA Referee Recruitment drive for Tipperary
Tipperary County Board is currently seeking applications from interested individuals to participate in the upcoming GAA Referee Recruitment in 2022, to address the future refereeing needs within the Premier County as there is a crisis in relation to the number of qualified active referees.
With the growth in popularity of Gaelic Games, the demand for match officials is increasing. With over four-thousand games being played in the county on an annual basis, the role of the referee is a particularly important cog of the wheel to ensure all games take place.
However, they are seeing a drop in the current crop of officials, due to injury, work life balance and age-related factors.
During the last GAA season in 2021, a number of games had to be cancelled due to no referee available which is very unfair to the clubs affected in these fixtures.
Basic Club Referee Training Courses are provided every two years by trained Referee Tutors in Tipperary. Due to Covid, training course were unable to take place 2020 and 2021, however, the 2022 course will take place in the next few weeks.
The first two modules will be completed online by the student in the comfort of your own home, while the next module will be completed as a group at a venue central within Tipperary, in the near future.
The course is developed in conjunction with Croke Park and supported through the Provincial Munster Referees Administrators.
The Training Course is now open to interested candidates to register.
NEW REFEREES FOUNDATION COURSE
Training as a Club Referee involves the following modules:
Rules of Specification / The Play / Scores/ Powers and Duties of the Referee Technical Fouls / Set Play / Aggressive Fouls / Dissent / Referee’s Report / Rules Test / Fitness Test
Modules are classroom based and involve online participation by the prospective referees. A timed Rules Test is centrally organised by Croke Park, in which the participants complete online, with a pass-mark set which must be achieved for successful progression.
An initial trial Fitness Test, i.e. a “BANGSBO or BEEP Test” will be organised at a later date, in order to familiarise new entrants with the levels required. A standard test will be used later in the year to monitor progression with a view to the achievement of a minimum standard required for qualification.
Following completion of the Training Course the successful candidate is certified as qualified by Coiste Ríaracháin Réiteoirí Contae Tiobrad Árann as a Club Level Referee.
Newly qualified Foundation Referees will be appointed to referee games as allocated by the Referees Administration Committee.
Applications must be submitted through respective Club Secretary’s on the relevant Application Form which is available online on the Tipperary GAA website. All applications must be accompanied by a cheque for €100, from the applicant’s home club, which will be refunded after officiating at ten games.
Completed application forms accompanied by €100 cheque only should be forwarded to John Ryan (B) Tipperary Referees Administration Committee, Lár na Páirce, Thurles.
All clubs who do not currently have a referee in their club are encouraged to trawl their membership for prospective candidates.
For further information, contact any of the recruitment committee if you want to be included in this year’s course: John Ryan (Chairperson 086 2417763); Philip Kelly (Secretary - North Division 0872863683) Michael Kennedy (South Division) 0879907661, Franny Quinn (West Division) 0879973730 Seamus Delaney (Mid Division) 0876396698, or from any member of the Referees Administration Committee; Seamus Walsh (Divisional Administrator South), Ciaran Timmons (Divisional Administrator North), and Martin Bourke (Divisional Administrator Mid).