A&H

Drop outs....

B

Ben448844

RefChat Addict
I was commenting on a thread the other day where I remarked on how I was one of only 3 over 30s in a group of 50 of us that attended the referees course 12 months ago. Also, it was very difficult for me to get any of the 5 qualification matches required to pass the course, as the local youth league that my details were passed on to by my RDO never had any games available and it was pretty clear from speaking to others and during the final pass out session that the younger refs were being given plenty of games. I must make it clear at this point that I understand the desire to promote younger refs etc so I am in no way moaning, just presenting what my experiences were. I went off my own back and sorted myself out with OA league's elsewhere to get my matches in eventually after 3 weeks of no appointments.

This was September, come Novermber I was inundated with requests from the youth league every week (I had regular Sat and Sun games in OA football so apart from the odd game I was unavailable), so I can only assume that many of the refs who qualified dropped our early, presumably due to bad experiences or not enjoying the role etc.

I wonder what the drop out rate is for refs? Have any figures ever been released or has anyone senior on here ever been aware of such statistics? I wonder if the experience I had is replicated all over the UK with what I can only presume was a high drop out rate in the first couple of months?
 
The Referee Store
Ben448844 said:
I must make it clear at this point that I understand the desire to promote younger refs etc so I am in no way moaning, just presenting what my experiences were.
Click to expand...

Understandable. I hear a lot of this in passing actually. Some of them get pushed onto development pathways quite nice and early, which is good to see, but does leave a bit of disappointment for those who feel they're missing out or not getting the opportunities. Can't win in all cases though I guess. :)

Ben448844 said:
come Novermber I was inundated with requests from the youth league every week
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound unusual to me. In Wales, where I am and where I was before, youth leagues often went unofficiated and only had club assigned referees. Seems to be that most referees prioritise the adult game, but also they either play 10.30 on a Saturday which is before the adults kick off at 2pm, or they play on Sunday where we have in the rule book that no referee is obliged to commit to any game on those dates. Plus, post-match recovery!

Ben448844 said:
I wonder what the drop out rate is for refs? Have any figures ever been released or has anyone senior on here ever been aware of such statistics? I wonder if the experience I had is replicated all over the UK with what I can only presume was a high drop out rate in the first couple of months?
Click to expand...

Not sure what the drop out rate is...

I wouldn't be surprised if it is high though. I would imagine, fitness would be a major reason people pull out, alongside time commitments and if they get any abuse it can be off-putting. Then there's some who quit after getting a poor assessment...

I'm actually going to look for the statistics in the next few years, because down here they've amended the test so you now pay £80 I think, for the exam and kit etc. So with the high initial fee, I wonder if people will stick it out further?
 
I can't quote numbers but common perception is that the drop out rate is high, probably very high. It's 15 years since I did my course and of 18 delegates I am the only one who still actively referees. I recall only 2-3 of us were active 2 years after the course. I suspect that a fair number never had any intention of actually refereeing in the first place.
 
Ben448844 said:
I was commenting on a thread the other day where I remarked on how I was one of only 3 over 30s in a group of 50 of us that attended the referees course 12 months ago. Also, it was very difficult for me to get any of the 5 qualification matches required to pass the course, as the local youth league that my details were passed on to by my RDO never had any games available and it was pretty clear from speaking to others and during the final pass out session that the younger refs were being given plenty of games. I must make it clear at this point that I understand the desire to promote younger refs etc so I am in no way moaning, just presenting what my experiences were. I went off my own back and sorted myself out with OA league's elsewhere to get my matches in eventually after 3 weeks of no appointments.

This was September, come Novermber I was inundated with requests from the youth league every week (I had regular Sat and Sun games in OA football so apart from the odd game I was unavailable), so I can only assume that many of the refs who qualified dropped our early, presumably due to bad experiences or not enjoying the role etc.

I wonder what the drop out rate is for refs? Have any figures ever been released or has anyone senior on here ever been aware of such statistics? I wonder if the experience I had is replicated all over the UK with what I can only presume was a high drop out rate in the first couple of months?
Click to expand...
My experience of completing the 5 games was equally dismal
I contacted three leagues, none of whom had the decency to even reply to my enquiries
Fortunately, I knew a number of football coaches and they were able to give me games. I travel 15-25 miles to referee OA games, simply because through perseverance, I found an excellent Referee Secretary in another league
I'm sure many trainee referees, must be discouraged by this sort of introduction to the game
 
I was quite lucky. All youth games are appointed by my local FA, although I wasn't on the list but through constant nagging and other contacts got my games. I now turn down at least 2 games a week.I don't know the drop out rate from my exam I might ask my RDO the question when I see him next.
 
one said:
It depends on area, age, years of experience and other factors.
According to this article ACT (Australian Capital Territory) had a 45% drop out of 18-30 year olds in 17/18 season.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/sp...ck-down-on-referee-abuse-20180818-p4zy9q.html
Click to expand...
Yeah....Capitol Football are making sound about coming down hard on abuse. They haven't actually said what they're going to do so, like every other instance of a FA saying this, I expect nothing will happen.

Might also be worth pointing out that you don't have to go hunting or organising your games here, and none of this '5 games' stuff. Your entire region will have one FA/RA (sometimes the RA is separate, but I think they're all merged now). You sign up, and each week you receive your appointments. You turn up and do your job, no contact with the clubs beforehand. None of this 'finding games'. Sometimes a referee may wish to officiate out of area - usually you'd be travelling an hour plus each way to join a different league (for regional referees there can be an advantage in travelling into the cities, at least there used to be). Also means you wouldn't normally be turning down games - it's a great way to tick off the appointments officer. The expectation is you do what you're appointed to.
I used to do the appointments just on Saturday for my old area, some 150 referees and up to 900 matches, every week (although a number of those were U/8 and U/9, so once the new young refs got a few games under their belt I didn't worry about those - U/10 was where full sized started). In that area, you'd often have NAR's at any age group. Not always, but fairly often. IIRC, the dropout rate each year was usually around 20% . Once the number of referees reached that level, the dropouts seemed to roughly match the new recruits.

Of course, sometimes that's 'positive attrition'

My RA at one point surveyed exited referees - the most commonly cited reason was lack of support from the RA, not abuse. Having said that, the level of abuse in that area has increased tenfold since I was first there. For me, abuse is a big part of the reason I stopped - I lost the knack of letting it roll off my back, and decided I didn't need that sort of stress on a weekend. That, and I was no longer willing to put in the time commitment (you need to be considerate of your night before, be out all day, and probably knackered the Sunday - and that's if I'm only refereeing Saturday! It was fine when I was a uni student and I'd be out on fields all weekend and still putting in a big night :p)
 
CapnBloodbeard said:
Yeah....Capitol Football are making sound about coming down hard on abuse. They haven't actually said what they're going to do so, like every other instance of a FA saying this, I expect nothing will happen.
Click to expand...
Funny you say that. First time I saw that article i thought the same. It was when a colleague posted it on a my RA's FB page. This was my response:
"Thanks for sharing... I don't think I need to read it thought. Yet another FA announcing crackdown on referee abuse (most likely not for the first time). Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah Blah Blah. We don't need media announcement, this and that campaign, we need action and follow through on what is supposed to be done."
 
I imagine the churn of referees is very high, especially the further down the ladder you go.

I only see one other person who did the same course as me, he lives in a different area so our paths only cross at promotion events, but he over took me after an injury forced me out of the last promotion scheme.

I wonder how much of the churn comes from those young referees who are gobbled up by academies etc who the. Pack it in when they are dropped and don’t fancy slumming it on the council pitches on division 10 of the dog and duck League.
 
RobOda said:
I'm actually going to look for the statistics in the next few years, because down here they've amended the test so you now pay £80 I think, for the exam and kit etc. So with the high initial fee, I wonder if people will stick it out further?
Click to expand...
£115 for me. Though with the 5 games fee of minimum £25 that was easily made back.

I had no problems getting games, though I am *only* 24.
 
I know in my area they were having issues with kids doing the exam and five games and using it towards the DofE award so then dropping out when that is completed. I did my course in Cambridgeshire paid for by a club I reffed 5 and a half games for free, I got the whole Nike kit, wallet whistles, cards, flags all for I think about 120 pounds. But apparently all the refs who have gone through the course this year have all registered to ref this season so it should be full coverage at youth level, so I shouldn't be getting the texts, emails, whatsapps and phonecalls about covering fixtures.
 
Tino Best said:
I know in my area they were having issues with kids doing the exam and five games and using it towards the DofE award so then dropping out when that is completed. I did my course in Cambridgeshire paid for by a club I reffed 5 and a half games for free, I got the whole Nike kit, wallet whistles, cards, flags all for I think about 120 pounds. But apparently all the refs who have gone through the course this year have all registered to ref this season so it should be full coverage at youth level, so I shouldn't be getting the texts, emails, whatsapps and phonecalls about covering fixtures.
Click to expand...

When I did my course Kent FA were offering a separate course for people who were just doing DofE, presumably to free up places for those who wanted to be referees
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top