News

Senior Women (Sirens), Women & Girls Hub | 7th Aug 2024

We are delighted to launch the first of our Women & Girls Hub Pathways. Our pathways are aimed to get more Women & Girls into the club in non playing roles or for current players to broaden their horizons! No experience is required, this is great if you fancy something different, need a change, want to be involved in the club but don’t want to play rugby, are perhaps a parent or guardian looking to help out with the club/further your rugby knowledge, or an injured or retiring player looking for a new pathway.

Working with the SRU Refereeing Society & with support of our pathway lead, you can sign up to join our refereeing pathway free of charge, and with no experience. We will help you develop the skills you need to become a ref at whatever level you aspire to whether that’s the next Hollie Davidson referring international rugby, or helping out your club at minis level on a Sunday to keep yourself active and the game alive!

Our pathway will offer you a supportive group chat for female rugby referees, mentorship, resource booklet pointing you to the latest refereeing resources such as podcasts, books, articles, useful links and news being a single source for all your refereeing needs.

Here is what local D&G ref and ex Sirens player Hannah Stewart had to say about her refereeing journey so far:

What support is there out there for someone wanting to be a referee?

support comes in so many forms as a ref, from your local DOs and coaches to other refs! As a female match official we all stay in contact with each other, we have a group chat where its a non judgemental space to ask questions. We are referred to as FMOs and within the chat we have a dedicated manager who will help set up extra training for us, sort any issues we have, and assist and support us in our development. A new addition this year has been mentoring, a more senior FMO is paired with a new referee to help them in their journey, ask any questions and give them helpful tips & tricks.Your local DO and coaches are a god send, they will assist you in getting friendly games outwith the season to help you get a running start to the season,  Even offering you a  training session or two to practise setting scrums or figuring out what positions on the field suit you best.Pre season fitness can be done at your local club (easier for us  rural lot) or societies put on rugby fit sessions throughout the off season.

What benefits do you get? At the lower levels (community rugby) all travel is paid for and is claimed via your socierty, if its allocated to you you can get train tickets/millege paid for straight into your bank account at the end of the month. Each season the referees are supplied with Kit free of charge from the SRU with socks, shorts and shirts as well as a one off tracks and soft shell zipped jumper. You can buy any additional society specific kit too – shirt, tie, pin, polo, tracking wear etc.

How does progress work? when you first join a socierty they will give you junior rugby to get you some experience. as you progress you will go to older youth rugby (u16/u18s). After you become comfortable with those, the society will allocate you to games suitable for your ability from u18 through to adult rugby. Your coach will assess you whenever they can, giving you constant feedback and tips.

Do you have a referee coach/mentor? Yes, there is  a team of dedicated coaches in every society, you should get one observed game every month but you can request someone to come coach you at any time.

Whats your key message from your experience? Refereeing isn’t as lonely as its perseived to be. The strong referring community in Scottish Rugby allows you to rely on others and build lifelong friendships along the way, not to mention seeing the world! It opens up doors that may not have been available with playing and has given me an opportunity of a lifetime. Even if your still playing (its possible to do both, I promise!) referring has developed my skills as a player and allowed me to understand the game better than before.

Be sure to give Hannah a follow on her socials to keep up to date on her journey and learn more about the world of female refereeing. Hannah would be glad to take any questions via socials if you reach out to her.

To sign up for our female referee pathway or for more information please email: stewartry.sirens.rugby@gmail.com or call/message  Lauren Nicholson on 07415121570.

For more information on Refereeing in Scottish Rugby please see the pages below:

https://scottishrugby.org/introduction-to-match-officiating/

https://scottishrugby.org/clubs-and-schools/training-and-education/match-officials/