Preparations Underway as National Referee Camp Prepares for New Season
Earlier this month saw the annual IRFU National Referee Camp take place at the High Performance Centre ahead of the start of the 2024/24 season. IN addition to fitness testing and law updates it is an opportunity for the referee panel to come together and share experiences.
Day one saw the fitness testing completed with a speed test over 40 metres and the dreaded Bronco test which assesses aerobic endurance over a distance of 1200 metres . Once again, it was evident the amount of work that was put in by the referees with some very impressive results adding to the usual level of competition within the group.
Saturday afternoon saw the focus switch to more technical elements of refereeing with the panel working on some key areas of the game preparing for the new season. Some of the work done looked at the Global Law Changes introduced by World Rugby for the 2024/25 season along with a session on performance improvement conducted by High performance Referee Coach Frank Murphy.
Sunday morning saw the continuation of the camp with sessions on focus and concentration delivered by sport psychologist Kevin McManamon, and a review of the tackle height law trial facilitated by National Referee manager Peter Fitzgibbon.
Follow up Provincial Referee pre-season seminars take place throughout August, with a full programme of education and development sessions for all referees across the country continuing throughout the season.
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