The Ref Stop

Getting Ready for 21/22

sweatth
Fitness test passed today. Was 27 degrees when I check just after I'd finished it. Was tough going, but dug in enough to get through it.

Now I can really look forward to the new season!
Nice work. I'm so heat intolerant. I ran 9.5km in a game yesterday at 1pm and was fairly shagged in the latter stages. Had a tepid shower afterwards and stuck my clothes on without getting dried 😅
Anyway, if you're a handsome chap with an enviable physique, perhaps you could pop down to Herts to pass mine for me. Ta 👍
 
The Ref Stop
Nice work. I'm so heat intolerant. I ran 9.5km in a game yesterday at 1pm and was fairly shagged in the latter stages. Had a tepid shower afterwards and stuck my clothes on without getting dried 😅
Anyway, if you're a handsome chap with an enviable physique, perhaps you could pop down to Herts to pass mine for me. Ta 👍

🤣 no hope! You doing the 5-4 test?
 
🤣 no hope! You doing the 5-4 test?
Training for it. I'm down to 16 stone from 17 over the last 6 weeks following my 6 month injury mare
The bookies have me at two to one on to give it a go and even money to pass
Means I've put in a decent pre-season regardless, so I'm in good stead for the big KO
 
Fitness test passed today. Was 27 degrees when I check just after I'd finished it. Was tough going, but dug in enough to get through it.

Now I can really look forward to the new season!

This is always relative, but for those of us in the American Midwest we'd gladly take 27 C (81 F) with low humidity!!

I refereed a scrimmage/friendly last night (U16 girls vs U14 boys) to knock some of the rust off after not working games for a couple of months. We were at 81 F at 18:30/6:30 PM with humidity in the range of 65-70%. I was drenched! I definitely need to get back to more regular conditioning.
 
Just a quick one for those that have done the fitness test this summer. Getting a blood pressure test prior to it is proving somewhat difficult. Is this mandatory?
 
Just a quick one for those that have done the fitness test this summer. Getting a blood pressure test prior to it is proving somewhat difficult. Is this mandatory?

Yep, no BP test and they won't let you take the fitness test on the day.

Lloyds Pharmacy is a good bet. It's £7.50 and they will sign and stamp your form. You can book it online on their website and choose a location based on your postcode.
 
Just a quick one for those that have done the fitness test this summer. Getting a blood pressure test prior to it is proving somewhat difficult. Is this mandatory?
Yep, no BP test and they won't let you take the fitness test on the day.

Lloyds Pharmacy is a good bet. It's £7.50 and they will sign and stamp your form. You can book it online on their website and choose a location based on your postcode.
See @RustyRef's Post 85
No Blood Pressure Test for 5-to-4 candidates that I'm aware of
Only 4-to-3 and above ??
 
Just a quick one for those that have done the fitness test this summer. Getting a blood pressure test prior to it is proving somewhat difficult. Is this mandatory?
No BP cert. No test I am afraid. They are very strict about that.
Although, you are going 5-4 aren't you? So it's possible your county FA might not be as strict... Maybe give them a call?
I know when we do the practise sessions here we aren't asked to supply one.
When the FA one comes around for you, there is no chance without it.
Find a pharmacy that offer free BP tests, then ask if they can record the result and stamp it. Had no issues in the past that way. Lloyds pharmacy and tesco
 
when i did my county 5-4 test one lad turned up without a BP cert, nipped off to the local supermarket pharmacy who did it, came back and it was miles high and he was still allowed to do it!

for the standard L4 test you'll deffo need one and it is thoroughly checked. i've seen people turned away for not having the practice stamp / doc signature section filled out despite the BP being well within acceptable limits
 
Regardless of whether I can pass the fitness test, attempting to do so has been beneficial
I had the opportunity to Ref Watford U18 v Leyton O U18 on Saturday in the sweltering heat. The game passed off OK but I was jiggered afterwards. If I hadn't been shuttling/scuttling all over the place over recent weeks, the game would've found me out for sure
 
Regardless of whether I can pass the fitness test, attempting to do so has been beneficial
I had the opportunity to Ref Watford U18 v Leyton O U18 on Saturday in the sweltering heat. The game passed off OK but I was jiggered afterwards. If I hadn't been shuttling/scuttling all over the place over recent weeks, the game would've found me out for sure
Games are normally tame but boy can those u18 kids get about the pitch 🤣
Think they play on slightly larger pitches too.
 
Games are normally tame but boy can those u18 kids get about the pitch 🤣
Think they play on slightly larger pitches too.
I could see the bigger pitch. It was extended 6 yards or so behind both goals, but fortunately for me, the lines were faded and not in use! I much prefer reffing in the wind and rain TBH
 
I could see the bigger pitch. It was extended 6 yards or so behind both goals, but fortunately for me, the lines were faded and not in use! I much prefer reffing in the wind and rain TBH
My favourite for pre-season fitness checking was when the Gurkha Regiment were based in Hampshire - delightful guys, most of them around 5 foot 4 inches, on a f. o. p. measuring 130 yards x 100 yards. Last time I was there 4 of their team were just back from playing for Nepal, and still covered every inch of the huge playing area😁
 
No BP cert. No test I am afraid. They are very strict about that.
Although, you are going 5-4 aren't you? So it's possible your county FA might not be as strict... Maybe give them a call?
I know when we do the practise sessions here we aren't asked to supply one.
When the FA one comes around for you, there is no chance without it.
Find a pharmacy that offer free BP tests, then ask if they can record the result and stamp it. Had no issues in the past that way. Lloyds pharmacy and tesco

The email re the fitness test asks you to get a BP test but if you cant then follow the guidance that's attached. Fortunately our bi-annual medicals at work were today so the nurse signed the form for me following the test, although it sounds like a preferred option rather than mandatory.
 
Been a very long process of moving house etc, but finally have started lining up games for the new season! Got a line at my new local club on Saturday (although turns out they're step 5, so not the most gentle introduction!) and am trying to get my head around all the other new local leagues to see where else to sign up to for the rest of the season!
 
Fitness test passed today. Glad that's out of the way.
 

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Did you not do the full 12 minutes?

Yes but stopped the watch at 2.6km as my tactic in training was always to try and get to 2.6km well within the 12 mins and then just jog the rest. I didn't press the button in properly so ended up doing it again at 2.63m.

I'm nearly 38 and have never run on an athletics track so I enjoyed that, its much easier than the parkland I've been running on. Also, running with other people helped hugely and made it much more enjoyable. I have to treat it as a race as I struggle mentally with running against a clock so i just sat a yard behind the 3 young lads at the front and then went past them on the last lap. Ridiculous really as it isn't a race but treating it like one helped me alot. I was concentrating on keeping up with those at the front and not looking at how long I had, just glancing at my watch occasionally to judge the pace we were going at. I was 40 seconds faster than my training runs.

5 passed and 1 failed. The sprints were all done between 6s - 6.5s by everyone.
 
Spartan league fitness test passed this morning despite struggling with the change in weather. Horribly damp after 10 days of dry heat made my asthma flare up terribly. Not a vintage performance because of that, but I got through.

Ultimately that’s what matters today even if I physically feel rubbish now.
 
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