REFEREES
From humble beginnings of a handful of members, the AGRR now boasts close to 30 active members in its ranks. The growth in our numbers is testament to the growing popularity of the game in the region and the number of games being played.
Our referees officiate in matches throughout the GCC (United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia), which, in terms of geographic area, is roughly the size of Western Europe. This requires dedicated individuals who are required to travel roughly two hours by air in some cases for their assignment. Fortunately for us we are lucky enough to have these individuals. The range of members' nationalities reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the Middle East with officials from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and India all officiating regularly in the region.
A major boost to the AGRR was the announcement in November 2004 of a new sponsorship agreement with Power Developments International ("PDI"). PDI is a part of the Abu Dhabi based Al Masaood Group of companies and provides cost effective power generation solutions ranging from the sale of stocked containerised diesel generating sets to refurbished gas turbines on a full turnkey basis up to 100MW. In addition a full range of power generation services are undertaken. PDI can be seen as the power behind gulf referees.
This agreement has allowed the AGRR to significantly increase the levels of training and development of our referees through the generous financial backing that PDI has provided.
The AGRR's aim is to provide the AGRFU and Asian Rugby Football Union ("ARFU") with the best referees in the region. To achieve this we run regular IRB refereeing and referee coaches courses, training and development sessions using local as well as overseas guest presenters, international exchanges with various societies and provide referees to international matches under the auspices of AGRFU, ARFU and IRB. AGRR referees that have reached the international level in Asia are Steve Scott, Grant Bateman, Alan Whitcombe, Tom Woolf and Scott Herbert. Steve, Grant and Alan are currently members of the ARFU Elite referee Panel.
Many of our members also travel at their own expense to various tournaments around the world simply due to their commitment and enjoyment of what they do. Chances are you have seen our jerseys in places such as UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Lebanon and Jordan as well as the Arabian Gulf countries
The highlight of our season is the provision of officials to the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens. This tournament is one of the largest of its kind in the world and at present features close to 400 matches over three days. The tournament runs during the last weekend of November annually and also includes the opening round of the iRB World Sevens Series As well as our local referees, some 40 visiting referees and officials assist to ensure the highest standards of refereeing are maintained at this truly international tournament.
If you are new to the region or would like to pick up the whistle for the first time please contact the AGRR at referees@agrfu.com We look forward to welcoming you to our ranks.
