Referee Course
Referee Course – Madrid – 2023 – November 18th/19th
The Foundation Level Referee Course (Ladies and Men’s Football) will go ahead on November 18th/19th in the Residence of the Irish Ambassador in Madrid City Centre. He has also offered to provide lunch on the Saturday.
Once again, we urge you to search within your clubs and catchment areas for potential candidates. Please try to include ex-players or other non-players within your club or wider social circle via your social media channels, as current players are rarely available to assist us with match officiating when needed. For the football course, you may have active hurlers in your club who may be available and willing to be a football referee, so please consider them.
If your club does not have a current active referee, then you may need to be pro-active in addressing this gap. This applies more to established clubs than those just trying to get off the ground.
Registering and other important information is at the bottom of this email thread.
Closing date for registration is October 1st and the course fee is €50 (not €75 as stated earlier) which will cover all the kit you need as a referee.
Please advise potential candidates that pre-course work is required and there is also a not overly strenuous fitness test to be passed, which can be done before or after the course. We can hold an online get together with those interested to answer any questions they may have before they commit, or they can contact me or one of the Regional Referee Admins directly.
Referee hosting costs are one of the biggest expenses you have if hosting a tournament. Having your own referee is one of the best investments you can make.
Registration Closes on October 1st.
Important things to note for wannabe refs!
- It is not simply a matter of showing up the weekend of the course and you get certified as a referee! You need to:
- Complete pre-course rules work and pass a pre course rules test which you will have to study for (both ladies and men’s football)
- Pass a fitness test (6km in 36 mins)
- Pass a post course rules test (both ladies and men’s football).
- There will be a course fee of between €50 and €75 which includes all your referee kit. We will confirm exact fee in June.
- Once a referee not always a referee! Referees are required to meet rules and fitness tests every year after qualifying. They can’t referee otherwise. They also need to remain active referees. The RAC draw up an “Approved Referee List” each year. Only referees on this list can referee in GGE.
My apologies if that all sounds like I am trying to put you off becoming a referee but those are usually the things that cause issues when participants find out about them so best to lay them out early.
Accommodation & Travel:
Participants are required to arrange and pay their travel costs which will be refundable*.
Accommodation and food are not covered by GGE.
The RAC, strongly urges Clubs/Regions to cover all these costs upfront along with the course fee on behalf of the participant. It is an investment in your own club/region and will get an immediate return on this investment if you host friendlies or competitive games. One tournament will more than cover the costs! You will also be able to organise friendly games without the need to pay costs for an outside referee.
Some Regional Committees may also want to contribute to these costs and are invited to do so.
*GGE will refund travel costs to those referees who become “active” (as defined by the RAC). It’s important that receipts are kept for the costs to be refunded to the individual or club. Payers may apply for this refund 12 months after the course.
Another email and form, with more details, will be sent to those who register after October 1st.
Please do your best to reach out to your current and past members who may be interested. As our games grow, we will need more and more referees. No Referees, No Games!