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The reasons people plateau will vary; some may not even realize they never had "it", thought they did, and kept spinning their wheels in L5 forever, only to be finally "dropped" not b/c they've gotten worse, but b/c they're 35 and there's a 25 year old that's as good as them so they get moved aside due to a lack of resources. It probably would have been a lot fairer to tell him that, after 2 years on the squad, they were never going to progress any further, but due to the blazeratti fear of him leaving altogether and throwing his toys from the pram, they kept the illusion of promotion in front of him each year to keep him around so he could referee at L6/L7 as a SPOH. In that case, it's not entirely the referee's fault; part of the blame lies in the fools that toyed with him for so long!
Here's some unsolicited advice for those trying to progress to what I would call a "Phook me, it's gettin' serious now" Level, so feel free to ignore all of it. Also recognize that there are some geographical limitations that exist outside the home unions that arent really dealt with as much in Europe.
Never Burn your Bridges
In the ever-increasing world of global travel, folks are now more mobile with their careers, work, etc. This has caused many folks to move around the world / country with work. The same is true of refereeing, with JPD, Andrew Small, Lyndon Bray, and Steve Walsh at one point in their careers wearing different "blazers" from international societies. Even within the UK folks move up and down the country for work/school.
All that being said, it's important that you make the most of wherever you are, and try to become active ASAP in that local society. At the lower levels, this is especially difficult as you are essentially starting from scratch to "build the brand" of your refereeing again. Once you start moving higher, the transition is smoother and the only thing that changes is the mileage claim (recognizing that even this is cost-prohibitive with the exception of the Top 2 Levels in England). At the lower levels however, there's a whole new batch of clubs (and assessors) who have never seen you before so you've got to play the game again. Same goes for the blazeratti in the room who make grading decisions.
Dont feel that, even if you are only somewhere short term e.g. for school, you can do SFA while you're there and then piss-off somewhere else. The baggage will follow you wherever you go, so maximize your time there and be a good "refereeing ambassador" to create a name for yourself.
Find the Pathway and Stay There
With the above being said, it's important that once you establish yourself somewhere, you do what you can to stay there. More resources will be used to develop someone that is there for the long term than the flash-in-the-pan referee who is there short term. It's simply a matter of maximizing their return on investment of resources. If you are nomadic, either keep the same "hat" on wherever you go and maintain strong ties to your society/union, or you can basically expect your development to get to a stand-still as you keep uprooting every 2-3 years and you have to start the whole process again!
Understand Where Refereeing Fits In and Make Sure Others Know Too!
I have been adamant for a number of years that refereeing development doesnt stop b/c someone becomes a shitty referee overnight. It's b/c of the lack of time able to devote to refereeing due to the rest of their life getting in the way. Wives (husbands), kids, work, etc all play a factor, and you need to understand the sacrifices required, especially when things get serious in any of these areas. The commitment to jump 4 levels from L9 to L5 is nowhere near the same as jumping from L5 to L1. At the top of the pyramid the competition is so fierce that you really need to commit the majority of your time to refereeing (away from work and family, and even that priority is debateable, more on that later), and ensure that the two aforementioned priorities understand your commitment to this "reffin gig" for the long term.
This is a long term gig for you, your work, and your partner. Ensure that everyone understands that this isnt some fleeting, weekend gig but that you could be away for anniversaries, birthdays, and concerts! Oh, and all your vacation time is potentially going towards this refereeing gig when it comes to weeks away for IRB gigs.
Control the Controllables
Luck is simply where opportunity meets preparedness. Some referees are "fast-tracked" in a faster way than others b/c they were simply seen by the right guy who happened to be at this club b/c of such and such a cancellation, and if you're not one of the "anointed holy ones" then you really cant do anything other than try to improve your own refereeing ability. One of the recently-added Australian Rugby Union panel referees is +40, but he has been at this gig for awhile now. His coach is recently-retired referee Stu Dickinson so if you're going to put that kind of a resource behind someone, clearly there has been a potential for growth identified even this "late" in a career. All you can really do is make yourself a better referee, either through fitness, analysis, game reviews, law reviews, and "deliberate practice".
Finally, at one point the rubber is going to meet the road and you are going to have to decide which of the priorities gets "reprioritized". Sometimes it's refereeing, and sometimes it's other things in life, but for most folks it's going to happen. When that happens is the big variable; some will start refereeing at 20, only to walk away at 35 b/c their family situation changes and they can no longer spend every other weekend away from the family. Others will start later at 30 and go for 20 years once that new job requires less time travelling and more time in the office. The shelf-life at the top end of the game is very short even for the full-time gigs, and frankly if you were that smart to get there that quickly there's probably more money for you to be made somewhere else (a la Wayne Barnes)!
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