NNSWF hosts referee development camp at Newcastle Permanent Champion of Champions

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Northern NSW Football held its annual Referee Development Camp at the 2026 Newcastle Permanent Champion of Champions.

Twenty-four match officials from across seven member zones participated in the week-long camp with the aim of building and developing their skills.

Referee coaches assessed each match official throughout every day of the competition, evaluating performances across each match. The coaching team then reviewed the day's officiating performances each evening before delivering targeted coaching presentations.

Presentations were given on:

Body language, confidence and concentration
Positioning, movement and anticipation
Severity of fouls and tactical fouls
Assistant referee alignment and movement
Teamwork between match officials
Managing difficulties with players and the technical areas
The NNSWF Referee Development Pathway

NNSWF General Manager Referee Growth and Development Brad Carlin said he was thrilled with the camp's success.

"The aims of our referee camps are to provide consistent, quality coaching to develop young match officials from across our member zones and to identify those referees who have the talent and commitment to potentially be an elite match official of the future," Carlin said.

"There were many outstanding performances during this year's camp but what impressed our referee coaches the most was the clear improvement that every participant showed in responding so well to the coaching we gave them.

"I would like to thank the nine referee coaches who took the time to coach the next generation of match officials and for their hard work throughout the tournament.

"Thank you to all of the member zones for their ongoing support of the referee development camp."

The top performing match officials throughout the tournament were appointed to referee the grand final matches.

Jaime Mills Cove was named Female Referee of the Tournament, while Charlie Rogers was named Male Referee of the Tournament.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Newcastle Football