Northern NSW Football was delighted to welcome 35 aspiring female referees to a Women’s C3 Referee Course in Greta Branxton on Saturday, bringing together participants from across Hunter Valley Football, Newcastle Football and Macquarie Football funded by Play Our Way.
The course was hosted by NNSWF General Manager Referee Growth and Development Brad Carlin, alongside NNSWF Weekend Referee Coordinator Harrison Coleman and Premier Referee Isabella Walshe, with participants taking their first steps toward becoming junior football referees.
The course consisted of six C0 Laws of the Game online modules, four additional online learning modules and an in-person C3 practical session.
The online learning modules covered four key areas:
- Match Control
- Positioning and Movement
- Technical Concepts
- Game Management
The in-person session gave participants the opportunity to connect with fellow aspiring referees, put their online learning into practice and develop their confidence on the field.
Practical activities covered whistle and flag techniques, presenting cards and positioning drills.
Carlin highlighted the importance of providing aspiring referees with the knowledge and practical skills to take their first steps into officiating.
"Providing participants with a strong foundation in the Laws of the Game and practical refereeing skills is an important first step in their development," Carlin said.
"Courses like this allow aspiring referees to put their learning into practice, build confidence and understand what it takes to manage a match.
"We hope the participants take what they've learned into their local competitions and continue developing their skills and experience as referees."
For participant Asha Smith, the course was an opportunity to develop the skills needed to support her club, Stockton Sharks, and get out on the pitch.
"The course was really great. Brad was really informative and with high energy which made me super pumped to be a referee," Smith said.
"I joined the course because I wanted to be available in case my club needed me to referee but today was really inspirational and now I'm super keen to get out on the pitch."
Walshe was delighted to see women of different ages come together to develop their refereeing skills and help shape the future of football.
"The course ran exceptionally well. It was really rewarding to see so many young and older female participants try to get involved with refereeing," Walshe said.
"This is something you don't see often and you don't always have many role models to look up to. But I think seeing more females get involved and think 'I can do it' is really rewarding.
"It's a good thing to look forward to and I'm eager to see them out on the pitch next year."
NNSWF Participant and Women's Football Officer Serena Carter was also thrilled to bring women of all ages together through the initiative and help expand the network of female match officials across northern NSW.
"It was fantastic to see women from across the region come together and take the first steps towards becoming referees," Carter said.
"Creating more opportunities for women to get involved in refereeing is so important. We want to continue building a strong network of female match officials across northern NSW, where participants feel supported, confident and inspired to take their opportunities on the pitch.
"It's exciting to see so many women interested in getting involved and I hope this is just the beginning for many of them."
Interested in becoming a referee? Find out more HERE.