Four up-and-coming referees have spent 3 days in a referee academy at the Super 8 Football Tournament in New Plymouth.

Dave Wehl (27) and Max Fletcher (17) attended as referees, and Lucas Thompson (18) and Max Arntsen (16) were assistant referees. All four are from Hamilton.

All benefited from 3 days of coaching from FIFA referees CK Kawana-Waugh and Anna-Marie Keighley (WaiBOP) and Russell Jones (Central Football Referee Development Officer).

The Super 8 tournament provides an ideal environment for a referee academy, says WaiBOP referee manager, CK Kawana-Waugh. With several games a day in a small area, the tournament provides an opportunity for intensive coaching over a short period of time.

The majority of games had an assigned Referee Coach, who observed the officiating, and gave technical feedback at half time and after the game, as well as the opportunity to debrief and coach at the conclusion of each day. 

 

Officials for the Super 8 Final 2024, Lucas Thompson on the left

 

Max Fletcher found the experience valuable. He said “Being part of the Referee academy in New Plymouth was great. We got to receive feedback from two of the best referees in the country, Campbell Kirk Kawana Waugh and Anna Marie Keighley – getting coaching from them was a highlight. The tournament overall was great quality football, with every game being competitive. Overall the experience was a really positive one. Thanks to Central and Waibop football for making this happen for us all.”

WaiBOP have a variety of pathways for referees to develop their knowledge and skills. The pathway starts for many with youth referee academies in Hamilton and Tauranga. These referees go have their first tournament experiences at the Battle of the Kaimais cross over days, and then the Weir Rose Bowl  tournament. 

The Super 8 academy provides the referees with a taster of what a NZ Football referee academy will be like. Those academies, held at NZ Secondary School’s premier tournaments, are 5 days long.

Super 8 is an association of eight boys' schools from the central North Island of New Zealand, that brings together some of the top sporting schools in New Zealand for contests in a variety of sporting codes.

Lucas Thompson was selected to be one of the assistant referees in the final between two schools from the WaiBOP region: Tauranga Boys' College and Hamilton Boys' High School.

Congratulations to Hamilton Boys’ High School for taking out the honours this year. 

Article added: Friday 05 July 2024