All Ireland Refs Receive Medals at National Referee Seminar

The National Referee panel met in Dublin last weekend to undergo a day of testing and pre season meetings in preparation for the 2015 season. All Ireland Medals were also presented to every referee that presided over an All Ireland Final in 2014 including Yvonne Duffy and Mags Doherty who took charge of the 2014 TG4 All Ireland Junior and Intermediate Finals respectively.

The job of refereeing is one that is constantly evolving and changing which necessitates the upskilling of our current referees as well as providing an opportunity to review the season passed and plan for the forthcoming year. As part of this day long seminar the referees were put through their paces at Dublin City University where they took part in a fitness test to ensure they are up to the demands of 60 minutes of football.

Following the fitness test a seminar was held to go through the learnings gleaned from the previous 12 months  as well as refreshing all referees on the rules, knowledge that is essential to their roles. Much like their fitness was tested earlier in the day so too was their knowledge as all referees were required to complete a rules test. In order to be considered for refereeing positions in 2015 both the fitness and rules tests had to be completed by the attendees to ensure they are up to the requirements for 2015.

Referees and match officials are amongst the most important people involved in the game of ladies gaelic football so it is important that they are able to perform to the highest level. However, it is also important that there is a steady stream of competent and qualified referees ready to progress through the ranks onto the national refereeing panel.

With this in mind the Ladies Gaelic Football Association have recently introduced a new ‘Referee Pathway.’ The pathway provides a clear guide of how to progress from the level of being a novice referee at non-competitive Go Games level right through to the National Referee Panel who officiate at senior intercounty level.