Essex County Football Association Development Officer, Terry Thacker, is looking for senior referees or ex-referees ranked at Level Six or above to lend a hand to local match officials of the future at a forthcoming Referee Assessor Training Day on Sunday 3rd October between 9:00am and 5:00pm.
The event, which usually takes place before the start of every season, is viewed as a vitally important exercise for passing on knowledge to referee assessors who can then, in turn, mark the performances of their ambitious counterparts and prepare them for the next level of football. Previous such events have proved popular and the increase in standards of officiating in the County remains a key goal as part of the 2008-12 Strategy.
Participants will meet for an introduction to assessing at the County Office in Chelmsford at 9:00am then discussions will take place on the referee’s performance before completing a mock assessment. Terry, who operates in the Referee Development Department beside James Lisher, hopes the day will lead to further numbers assisting referees to achieve promotion to higher levels as new assessors also put something back into football.
“It’s very important that this day is supported because The FA are using more assessors at all levels of football instead of simply relying on club marks for promotion,” revealed Thacker, who hopes to improve on the figure that attended last year. “The more assessors we have trained the more officials we can arrange to be observed and hopefully we will then be in a better position to help them progress towards a higher level.”
The promotion season commences on the first day of March and ends on the last day of February each year, and referees wishing to be considered for promotion must apply to the Referees Development Officer at the County Office and ask for ‘Form P’ between the inclusive dates of 1st January and 1st June for the following season’s promotions. Applicants are then assessed on several occasions during that season.
If you’re interested in attending, please call Terry on (01245) 393086 as soon as possible or E-Mail terry.thacker@essexfa.com. Terry would also be delighted to take any refereeing queries alongside his colleague, James Lisher, whose contact details are (01245) 393097 or james.lisher@essexfa.com.