Hi all just wanted to ask your opinion how far could I go when I can only referee every other weekend due to work ?
How far could I go when working every other Saturday
- Thread starter Anthony Green
- Start date
Half way to work?
I used to work 1 in 3 and have achieved level 4. Good midweek availability can offset poor weekend availability in the right circumstances. I know of l3 paramedic too whose weekend availability can vary as you can imagine
Yes that sounds good I only want to get to level 5 will 1 in 2 Saturdays allow me to get there ?
To get to level 6 from 7 and then 5 from 6 the requirement is that you must referee 20 games in a marking season (currently 1st March to 28th February) and at least 14 of these must be open age games. From 6 to 5 you also have to do at least 5 games as assistant referee. The playing season at grass roots is typically 8 months long so around 32 weekends. If you are only refereeing 16 of those you will obviously need to be officiating on both Saturdays and Sundays, or midweek.
Beyond L5 demands get greater. The criteria for promotion to L4 states ...
{You must}Be prepared and regularly available to referee Saturday and Midweek matches
Every other weekend is probably fine if you are available midweeks, if you closed every Tuesday and Wednesday I suspect questions would be asked. I had to close all midweek dates for a season as I had a secondment at work and couldn't leave the office before 6pm, but I explained that and because I was available almost every Saturday it was accepted as fine.
I can referee every Sunday it’s just Saturday it’s every other week midweek is ok for Wednesday as I finish at 5 but Tuesday is only till 7pm based on this is level 5 the highest I can get ?
Unfortunately the traditional football days for semi-pro football are Saturday and Tuesday. Beyond L5 you are probably fine with every other Saturday, but probably not combined with not being able to do any Tuesdays. You'd also on occasion need to be able to finish before 5pm, depending where you work, how you travel there, where the game is, etc. I work in the City so couldn't drive to work meaning I had an hour journey just to go home and get the car, but if you can drive to the venue straight from work it is easier.
Thanks yes I have no desire to get to level 4 but would like better matches at park level That’s all I want really . Level 5 would be as far as I would want to go I have been doing this for 10 years and I am now 26 so thought I should test myself
I'd say there's absolutely no reason not to go for it - even experiencing promotion and getting assessed will make you a better referee and the extra costs involved in a promotion season vs a regular season are absolutely minimal. You never know what your work situation will be like in a few years when the option of trying 5-4 comes up and the experience with higher level parks football might have given you the bug to aim even higher!
yes sounds like a good idea I will defiantly ask questions about it do you know if doing u18 games count as open age games ?
No, U18 isn't classed as open age.
There's a certain % of them (around a quarter I think) that can be U18 for the 7-6, but it's strongly discouraged to rely on these games at 6-5 and they don't count once you get beyond that. If you do decide to go for it and you haven't got a regular OA gig, ask your RDO to recommend you a league to ask to join their panel and they should be able to point you towards one of a suitable standard and that is geographically suitable.
yes I had a look and 6 can count and you can only be assessed on 1plus 1 ladies so that just leaves 13 matches for Saturdays should not be a problem
Most CFA also have a requirement for you to act as an assistant for a number of games for your promotion criteria. This would further restrict your Saturday availability.
I’m a level 4 and only officiate every other weekend due to childcare commitments. While not ideal, it seems to be acceptable as long as other parts of your game are good (marks/admin/decent midweek availability). I think I would struggle to be promoted even if I was around the top of the bandings, but some things are more important to me.
It definitely won’t hold you back to get to L5, and who knows, once you get there, your situation and desire to keep developing may well change.
In short, go for it!
It definitely won’t hold you back to get to L5, and who knows, once you get there, your situation and desire to keep developing may well change.
In short, go for it!