Refs returning after lockdown

[ctrainor]

Hopefully we can all see light at the end of the tunnel but I wonder how refs will feel about getting back to it?
Generally refs are from an older age group who are more vulnerable.
I'm 60 and relatively healthy but family members have medical conditions which make my decision to get back to it difficult.
I'm hopeful I'll feel safe but not a simple decision.

I also wonder if some will be lost the game forever.

[crossref]

Hopefully we can all see light at the end of the tunnel but I wonder how refs will feel about getting back to it?
Generally refs are from an older age group who are more vulnerable.
I'm 60 and relatively healthy but family members have medical conditions which make my decision to get back to it difficult.
I'm hopeful I'll feel safe but not a simple decision.

I also wonder if some will be lost the game forever.

for me
- not worried about the virus
- am worried about loss of fitness, and loss of 'match sharpness' it feels a long time!

hopefully the players will be equally unfit and rusty :-)

[Decorily]

Personally not worried about the virus. Have refereed 4 games since September and once common sense is applied I don't believe the referee is unduly at risk!!

On a side note, here in IRFUland all referees MUST retire at 60 which leads to the loss of many hugely experienced individuals.
Crazy in my opinion but what would I know! !!!!

[crossref]

On a side note, here in IRFUland all referees MUST retire at 60 which leads to the loss of many hugely experienced individuals.
Crazy in my opinion but what would I know! !!!!

is that even legal ? Seems ripe for a challenge by a group of 59 /60 yr old refs !

(aside: it's a rule that seems to mean 'we're too lazy to assess our refs properly')

[Flish]

A spritely 44 here - and not too worried about fitness and mental sharpness as have been helping with my club adult training sessions (when they were on) which is a mix of L6 - L9 players - I do keep second guessing myself about law knowledge though, feels like some of the oddities are slipping away so will be very glad to get that first game back!

[chbg]

Hopefully we can all see light at the end of the tunnel but I wonder how refs will feel about getting back to it?
Generally refs are from an older age group who are more vulnerable.
I'm 60 and relatively healthy but family members have medical conditions which make my decision to get back to it difficult.
I'm hopeful I'll feel safe but not a simple decision.

I also wonder if some will be lost the game forever.

You will not be alone. Possibly up to 20% drop-out.

Although I wouldn't be refereeing any longer in Ireland (!), I am keen to get back out and get my refereeing fitness back. Had other sports to resume during the autumn, but will be making myself available at every opportunity. Having said that, the one time that I did wonder if I might have caught COVID was after an afternoon of refereeing Touch Rugby, just because of the proximity of the number of players. In reality, nothing arose. I can understand referees being particularly wary in Tier 2 & 3 areas.

[Rich_NL]

I've done a couple of adult/U18 matches here; even since the lockdown came back there are still occasional intra-club youth matches, as these are allowed. I noticed I was slightly rusty on some of the corner cases and unusual situations, I'm not 100% sure I'd get the right scrum decision straight after a kick in open play late in the match :P Given there's no training, I've been working on my fitness myself, and it's probably better than usual.

There's no changing or showering either side of the match, it's a case of turn up in kit and head home to shower. I don't shake hands with anyone, there's no physical contact with players, and since it's outdoors and I'm constantly moving around I'm not personally worried about catching the virus from the match. I'm more worried about how many people will drop out, not return, or not start, once this is over.

[SimonSmith]

Im lucky in that NT has zero community cases, so reffing will be COVID-safe.

But: I haven’t reffed for a year. My only physical exercise recently has been walking and resistance bands. And it’s going to be VF hot, even at night.

This could be interesting.

[Dickie E]

Im lucky in that NT has zero community cases, so reffing will be COVID-safe.

But: I haven’t reffed for a year. My only physical exercise recently has been walking and resistance bands. And it’s going to be VF hot, even at night.

This could be interesting.

what is the condition of the grounds?

[buff]

What is NT?