THE CROYDON REFEREES' SOCIETY

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ABOUT US 

Whilst we are affiliated to the Surrey County Referees Association and the national Referees Association, there are no restrictions as to which County Football Association a member can be registered. We therefore have officials who affiliated to a number of different County FAs - Amateur Football Alliance, Kent, London but predominantly Surrey as it's our local area.

Our Society meets monthly throughout the football season on the first Thursday of each month from September to April and a week later in May for the Annual General Meeting. There have been various venues over the years, our current one being the Croydon Bowls Club in Nottingham Road, South Croydon. No matter whether you live in the Croydon area or a tad further afield, we would be delighted to welcome you to our meetings.

A number of our members have reached the Football League line and middle over the years and many more have officiated at the various County Cup Finals, including the Saturday Senior Final, Surrey's senior competition.

Many famous names from the football world have spoken to our members over the years - administrators such as Sir Stanley Rous and Graham Kelly, managers such as Steve Coppell and Alec Stock, referees such as David Elleray, Barry Knight and Steve Bennett.

Whilst the training is officially carried out under the umbrella of the Surrey FA, their trainers are members of this Society and as well as carrying out the basic training in the Laws, our members mentor the newly qualified official in the formative months of their refereeing careers.

These trainers will also be at the monthly meetings to discuss match incidents - be these from recent televised matches to those experienced by members in their own games. You can gain advice and guidance on the interpretation of the laws from our training officers, assessors and senior referees. Law amendments will also be discussed early season by FA Licensed Instructors in addition to the fly sheets distributed by the County FAs.

This face to face discussion of the laws and the game itself is far superior to distance learning i.e. just reading information from a web-site and thinking you understand what you are reading and can be a great benefit to all referees of whatever age and experience.

By becoming a full member of this Society, you are automatically insured by the National Referees Association for any injury or loss of kit that you might occur whilst travelling to and from your officiating commitments. Should you be a full member of a different Society, there is no problem in you becoming an associate member.

There is a vast array of experience within the Society in all aspects of the game from those who are also League Officers, Assessors and County FA officers and this can be used for your benefit.

I can use myself as a case in point - when I qualified in May 1981, I did so for club purposes only and whilst as a club secretary I had got to know various referees. Whilst I became a member of this Society, I was not an attendee at meetings. It led to two years in the wilderness before I started attending and the advice from the vast pool of experience that I was able to tap into enabled me to gain two successive promotions and into senior non-League football.

Career wise, I didn't have a clue where to go or which leagues to apply to benefit my refereeing - I learnt by being a member. I officiated on pre-season fixtures in the local area, working with senior referees and learnt from them. So can you!

Knowledge is power. Knowledge of the Laws of the Game and their application can help you control your matches by not letting the smart-arsed player put one over you by sowing seeds of doubt in your mind and destroying your confidence. And should you need to dismiss a player from the field, your report to the County FA will need to be watertight - our members can help you write it to minimise the player's chances of appealing and save you from having to attend a disciplinary commission.

Remember when you passed your driving test, the instructor was no longer sitting at your side like a fairy godmother with dual controls and telling you what to do. That was when you learnt how to drive. It is the same with refereeing but our mentoring scheme is in place to help you overcome your anxieties and nerves in your early games.

To summarise the advantages of belonging, these are:

- meeting fellow officials in an informal environment 

- discussion of match incidents face to face 

- career guidance 

- physical training 

- in-service training 

- the Society's monthly magazine 

- good quality kit and miscellaneous supplies

Now the point you have been waiting for - there is no such thing in life as a free lunch and there is a small charge for membership. For season 2008-09, full membership costs £32 and for those over eighteen and in full-time education £23.50 and £18 for under eighteens.

In an ideal world, every official would belong to their local Society, attend all meetings and apply the Laws the same way for the benefit of the game as a whole. We don't live in Utopia so I implore you to join us - the application form follows.

Les Johnstone, Chairman

Steve Tyler,  Retention Officer