Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies

Published by: Sport and Wellbeing Press University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK.

Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies Volume 10, Issue 1, December 2016 Rugby Union referees’ experiences with recruitment and retention

ISSN: ISBN: JQRSS Article No:

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Christopher Baldwin (Australian Catholic University, Sydney, AU)

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Roger Vallance (Australian Catholic University, Sydney, AU)

1754-2375 978-0-9955744-0-3 (318 pages) 10/11-10-1-2016-PG[58]-102

To cite this article: Baldwin, C. and Vallance, R. (2016) Rugby Union referees’ experiences with recruitment and retention. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 10, 1, 255-268.

Self-archived URL link to this article: https://www.academia.edu/30978051/Christopher_Baldwin_and_Roger_Vallance_2016_Rugby_Union_refer ees_experiences_with_recruitment_and_retention._Journal_of_Qualitative_Research_in_Sports_Studies_10 _1_255-268

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Baldwin, C. and Vallance, R. (2016) Rugby Union referees’ experiences with recruitment and retention. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 10, 1, 255-268

Rugby Union referees’ experiences with recruitment and retention Christopher Baldwin and Roger Vallance (Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia) Keywords: Referees, recruitment, retention, Rugby Union, sport, volunteerism

Abstract The retention of sports referees is a critical factor in the ability of local, state and national sporting organisations to deliver community sport to its clients on a weekly basis. Previous studies have been dedicated to investigating the retention rates of coaches and players, however little work has focused upon the sports referee and why referees continue to officiate. Using data from interviews and material sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this research looked at the factors which influenced community based Rugby Union referees to remain involved in officiating. Results indicate that camaraderie amongst referees and level of enjoyment and success experienced were key elements in helping referees decide to remain. Results also suggest that factors such abuse and stress are not contributing factors in determining referees’ decisions to cease officiating.

Introduction This study focused on the experiences of Suburban Rugby Union referees within New South Wales, Australia. Acknowledging the large body of academic literature which already exists that focuses on why sports referees cease officiating, this research focused upon the reasons behind referees joining and staying within sports officiating. The paper examines the important research question in the context of community (New South Wales Suburban) Rugby Union. This setting is appropriate because NSW Suburban Rugby Union is the largest Rugby Union competition and provider of Rugby Union referees in Australia with over 450 accredited referees (Australian Rugby Union, 2010). Following a brief overview of the important literature addressing recruitment and retention of referees, an explanation of the methodology utilised in the study will be provided along with a detailed description of the sustained volunteerism model used. The paper then moves to discuss the research setting and its effect on the design of the research, before reporting on the results of the study. The paper concludes by highlighting further areas for study and reinforcing the importance of supporting referees. 255 ISSN: 1754-2375 [print] ISBN: 978-0-9955744-0-3 JQRSS Article No: 10/11-10-1-2016-PG[58]-102 © Sport and Wellbeing Press, UK. Web: https://uclan.academia.edu/ClivePalmer/Journal-of-Qualitative-Research-in-Sports-Studies

Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies 10, 1

Literature review The importance of the sports official can be lost on many modern-day sports coaches, players and spectators. The referee is an essential part of the game, it could be argued that they are the third dimension of the game along with the players and coaches (MacMahon et al., 2015). Sport cannot exist without the referee and referees would have no game to officiate without the presence of opponents (Parsons and Bairner, 2015). In essence then, the sporting contest, players and officials all interrelate in such a way as to allow competitive sport to function. The retention of sports volunteers from year to year has been a topic of great interest to investigating academics (Dwiggins-Beeler et al., 2011; Einolf, 2009; Schlesinger et al., 2013; Stebbins, 2001; Stebbins, 2005). Comparatively however, there is little research that investigates the motives of sports referees to contribute to community sport or to become sports referees in the first place. Within Australia, sports such as cricket, football (Australian Football League [AFL], Rugby League and Rugby Union), netball, soccer, and swimming rely heavily on volunteers to sustain capacity, achieve growth and importantly, maintain the quality of programmes (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010a, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010b). In the sport of Rugby Union, which is the focus of this study, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) reports that without volunteers, the delivery of community Rugby Union would be severely compromised (Australian Rugby Union, 2010). Statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a decline in the overall number of sports-based referees since 1997, with the total number of sports officials declining from 456,900 in 1997 to 313,000 in 2010 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010b). Numbers since 2010 have been steady with a slight overall rise to 335,000 in 2014. Focusing on Rugby Union referees, the ARU confirms the retention of Rugby Union referees across Australia has been quite difficult. Since 2004, numbers have been declining steadily from just under 5000 in 2004 to 3000 in 2010 (Australian Rugby Union, 2010). Rugby Union referees are a significant category of sport volunteers who make substantial contributions to the development and progression of community Rugby Union (Jennings, 2001). Cuskelly, Smith and Hoye (2009), in their report on the recruitment and retention of Rugby Union referees, acknowledged that the recruiting aspect of younger referees is not the issue, it is the retention of these referees as they grow older that becomes the problem. This study of Rugby Union referees will seek to address this issue by investigating the reasons why referees choose to remain involved in sports officiating. The experiences that these referees tell may address the limitations of the Cuskelly et al., (2009) study. The recruitment, management, and retention of sports referees are issues of concern for all sporting organisations (Kellett and Warner, 2011). For sports 256

Christopher Baldwin and Roger Vallance

officials, retention is of particular interest given the inconsistencies that can exist with high turnover rates and continual need for recruitment. Cuskelly et al. (2009) reveal that the number of sports officials in Australia is declining. Australia has recorded a 31% decline in its overall officials since 1997 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010b); Rugby Union has seen a drop of 40% in its overall community (volunteer referees who are not paid) numbers (ARU, 2010). One of the main purposes of previous research into why sports officials cease to officiate has been identifying the reasons for them leaving, from which actions to minimise the exitrate may be implemented. However, previous research has seemingly neglected the personal reasons of referees to leave the officiating ranks. These personal reasons for leaving are often very difficult for officiating organisations to address (Soares et al., 2010; Koh-Tan, 2011). Moreover, Rundle-Thiele and Auld (2009) acknowledge that this type of approach does not address the positive reasons which keep referees coming back year after year as the focus tends to be on the negative as opposed to the positive aspects. The purpose behind this present study is to focus on the positives that keep Rugby Union referees officiating. By doing this, sports associations may be able to direct attention to areas whereby they have more potential to exert direct influence on their referees (Rundle-Thiele and Auld, 2009). While some attention has been directed towards understanding the factors influencing the recruitment and retention rates of Rugby Union referees (Cuskelly et al., 2009; Cuskelly and Hoye, 2013), such as bias, decision making, physical abuse and stress levels, a complete understanding of these occurrences is still elusive. In response this study will utilise Penner’s (2002) sustained volunteerism model which suggests two areas which can influence the decisions of volunteers to continue or discontinue their involvement: 1) concerns to others (altruistic motives); 2) concerns for themselves (egoistic motives). Penner’s (2002) model also identifies three main attributes of individuals that can influence their volunteering behaviour: 1. Personal beliefs and values; individuals’ own experiences and judgements that impact on their willingness to involve themselves in volunteering behaviour. 2. Pro-social behaviour; individuals’ interactions and associations with friends, colleagues or family which may persuade them to become involved in volunteering activities. 3. Motivation to volunteer; other sources of motivation that are external and separate from beliefs, values and pro-social behaviours but still affect the individual in volunteering.

This research will extend Penner’s (2002) approach by examining the broader sport system of Rugby Union refereeing including personal perspectives and a critique of organisational practices in the Rugby Union referee association’s. This research explores the experiences and thoughts of Rugby Union referees, as well as acknowledging the importance that individual goals, socialisation and rewards can play on the retention of referees. 257


Research design Participants in the research were given an opportunity to express their feelings and attitudes drawing upon their experiences as referees. Of central interest was referees’ perspectives on the officiating experience, the sports organisation context, and the decision to either continue or discontinue refereeing. Participants were invited to the study via an email sent out to all members of the NSW Rugby Union referees association (NSWRURA). Selection criteria was for those who had refereed a minimum of 100 games and had been actively refereeing during the last 12 months over a minimum of 10 games. The email contained an official invitation citing aims, purpose of the study and what would be required – principally a focus group interview. Thirty replied as willing to participate, all male aged 28-45, average age was 35 years and an average of 128 games refereed (New South Wales Rugby Union Referees Association, 2012). All had refereed between 100-350 games in their career. The researcher assumed the role of facilitator due to his knowledge and background within rugby and the NSWRURA. The focus groups were of a selfselecting nature (Olsen, 2008), the participants were all seasoned referees who were happy to discuss their experiences in refereeing Rugby Union. Six focus groups (five participants in each group n=30) were held in the respective NSW Rugby Union headquarters at Moore Park, Sydney. The focus groups lasted between 60 and 75 minutes, were recorded and transcribed. The focus group discussions were designed to explore why people initially volunteered to referee and why people choose to stay involved in officiating. Questions were informed by Penner’s (2002) theory of sustained volunteerism and were designed to encourage discussion on a range of personal, organisational and systemic factors that led to continued involvement with Rugby Union officiating. Figure 1 outlines some sample questions used during the interview process. A semi-structured approach with open-ended questions was employed following Gratton and Jones’ (2004) guidelines allow for greater depth of experience to be explored. Penner (2002) volunteerism model Personal beliefs

Pro-social behavior

Motivation to volunteer

Schedule of interview questions Why did you become a rugby union referee? What keeps you coming back to rugby union refereeing year after year? What could see you cease rugby union refereeing? What benefits do you get from volunteering in rugby union refereeing? What do you contribute to the organisation whilst you volunteer in rugby union refereeing? How did you become involved in rugby union refereeing? What are the positive experiences in rugby union refereeing? What are the tough experiences in rugby union refereeing?

Figure 1: Sample interview questions and their link to Penner’s model

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Analysis The qualitative analysis tool NVivo 10 (QSR International Pty Ltd, 2012) was used to manage data and allow theoretical themes relating to refereeing involvement to emerge (Guillen and Feltz, 2011). Transcripts were open coded to identify concepts relating Rugby Union refereeing until saturation was reached; meaning until no new concepts and ideas could be analysed (Bazeley and Jackson, 2013). Analysis of participant quotes and experiences was to determine consensus and ideas rather than individual lines of thought. The open codes were compared and contrasted to eliminate repetition and ensure the data was reduced to a meaningful number of concepts. Once this reduction was achieved, axial coding was used to identify the key factors contributing towards maintaining involvement in Rugby Union officiating. An audit trail containing the categories and memos in this research has been retained in the [securely stored] NVivo project file. The establishment of an audit trail provides for retrospective assessment of the research process so issues of rigor and trustworthiness to be addressed (Patton, 2002, Mishler, 1990, Guba and Lincoln, 1981). The ABS data consisted of databases sourced from government sports institutions both at a State and National level. The databases contained demographic details of qualifications, weekly, monthly, yearly involvement, gender, for all referees in Australia for the years 1997 to 2010. Penner’s (2002) model proposes some people are more likely to volunteer than others and this may at times be due to direct social pressures such as being asked to volunteer. The model does identify some additional direct and indirect causes for people deciding to volunteer such as demographic characteristics. One of the underlying principles of Penner’s (2002) model and of the way it has been used in this research is that once the decision to become a volunteer is made, the question that arises is why has the individual decided to volunteer or continue to volunteer: this research addresses these questions. Results Positive and negative experiences were reported at matches, social experiences around refereeing, family interactions with training and education to name a few. To best communicate these experiences, the majority of analysis comes from the focus group discussions. Three categories emerged from the analysis of the focus group data attributing their sustained involvement to: 1) Camaraderie and support from fellow referees and referee coaches 2) Individual goals 3) Rewards

While most of the identified factors were present for the referees, it is important to acknowledge that not every referee experienced the same things or to the same degree. Each referee identified at least two of the factors illustrated in Figure 2. This 259


suggests that interdependency exists between the factors that contributed towards a referee’s decision to stay. Understanding the diversity of influences that impact upon a referee’s decision to continue officiating is important as this allows for the development of a variety of strategies to cater to different refereeing types. Each of the three themes will now be discussed. Camaraderie and support - Referees - Referee coaches - Administartion

Individual goals Rewards - Improvement and bettering - Achievements oneself - Promotions - Fitness - Awards - Assist community and - Representative games rugby union - Milestones Figure 2: Emergent categories for continual involvement in Rugby Union officiating

Camaraderie and support from fellow referees and referee coaches The support and feeling of belonging to be a part of a group are important aspects to the overall ‘package’ that team sport provides (Rowe, 1999). Referees and match officials often operate in a lonely profession, especially at the community and grass roots level where they may be the only referees present at an event. It is not surprising then that participants in this study identified camaraderie and support from fellow referees and referee coaches as being instrumental in determining whether a referee would return each year to officiate again. It is a big commitment to become a referee. Training during the week late at night, then committing a whole day on the weekend to referee; if you have a family it’s an even bigger commitment. The referees are like another big family, they are there to support you during training and on game days, provide advice on how to approach a difficult game or improve your officiating skills. The referee coaches who come out to games on a weekly basis are critical in assisting each referee to develop as fully as they can. Each referee coach is a former referee, often with many years experience. They are qualified coaches as well, having completed a formal accreditation course, and like the referees are required to maintain their qualifications, such as law and safety updates, updating every two years. Feedback that referee coaches provide to the officiating referees was cited by many of the referees as being helpful in assisting them improve as an official. For example, one referee commented, Having a referee coach come out and watch your game and provide feedback to you on every facet of your game, from the way you approach a ruck to the way you stand at a lineout, is just awesome. It’s often difficult to do a proper analysis of your game when you are out there refereeing so having an impartial person in the stands watching just your game and how you apply the rules and interact with the players is really helpful.

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Referees emphasised that an increase in the number of referee coaches was needed. This often meant that those officials who needed developmental feedback did not see or receive feedback from a referee coach on a regular basis; unlike higher ranked referees. This was identified by the participants as being an area of concern. It is worrying that not all referees get the attention from the coaches that they deserve and need; if anything I would have thought that it was the referees in the lower grades that should be seeing the coaches on a more frequent basis. That way they can develop the skills that the referees in the higher grades have been perceived as having. Data from the ABS and ARU indicates that from a referee coaching perspective there are less than 10% of referee coaches nationally (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010b). More worrying is that an internal audit of memberships by the NSW Rugby Union Referees Association (NSWRURA) indicated that of retiring active officiating members, less than 5% return to become referee coaches. In a personal email communication with the referee manager of the NSWRUA it was mentioned that this is an area of great concern for the association and an area that over the next two years the association is dedicating a substantial amount of time and resources to rectify. The manager added that: We have identified this in our own internal audits of membership over the past five years and have established a steering committee to address the initial reasons why and this report is due at the beginning of 2016 (Timmins, 2011).

The lack of referee coaches also impacts on the ability of the NSWRURA to attract and promote referees into higher grades because they simply do not have the resources available (referee coaches) to visit all the referees in action and complete a competency assessment on them (of which two are required from different coaches before a referee can be promoted). Individual goals Most of the referees involved in Rugby Union officiating had prior playing and or coaching experience. This, according to many of the participants, was one of the main factors that led them to becoming referees. I used to play rugby competitively for Eastwood, however as the body got a little older it couldn’t handle the bumps and knocks as well as it used to. When I decided to retire from playing I moved into coaching, however after a full season of this I was still missing the excitement and action of being out on the field. During the off season I got my referee’s ticket and took up officiating and here I am now.

The individual goals of the referees for maintaining their involvement with Rugby Union officiating revolved around two main factors; improving their own skills by being involved with the on-field action, and improving their fitness levels. The latter, for those who were former players, appeared to be a major reason behind 261


their involvement as the fitness requirements of Rugby Union referees had some comparable attributes to that of actually playing Rugby Union. You kind of take the fitness you have for granted when you’re playing, it’s not until you stop playing and subsequently stop training that you notice the difference in your fitness. When I began to put on weight I knew then I had to do something; so I took up refereeing as that seemed the most logical thing to do after having played the game for so many years.

The referee participants indicated that part of their individual goals was to feel a sense of improvement in their overall refereeing skill set. For some, this sense of improvement also flowed into their everyday lives as indicated by some of the participant comments below. Rugby gave me so much as a player, having the opportunity to represent my state and my country and travel the globe. Being a referee has taught me so many new aspects of the game of rugby and being involved at the community level I have now had the opportunity to give something back to the sport which has given so much to me over the past decade. The skills of rugby refereeing relate so well to the skills that I use as a teacher. Management and discipline enacted by the blowing of a whistle, it’s just like a PE class. It is great to see improvement. At the start of the season I hadn’t a clue what I was doing or what I was in for, but with practice, my skills and knowledge of the game improved each week and eventually I knew and understood what I was supposed to be doing and what each signal and gesture meant.

Additional motivation to continue Rugby Union refereeing centred on a feeling of helping their local community and the sport of Rugby Union. A number of referees expressed their support in wanting to give back to the sport as seen in some of the comments above. Rewards, awards and milestones The referee participants identified a number of what they called rewards and awards which helped to sustain their involvement in rugby officiating. These rewards included notable achievements, such as refereeing a semi-final or a grandfinal, promotions from a particular grade or division to a higher one; and awards, such as end of year awards, referee of the year or most improved referee of the year, representative games, this involves being appointed to special fixtures such as state, national and international games. Finally milestones included celebrating special events such as a referee’s first ever first grade game, or 100th game and so on. While the referees within this study were quick to assert that these awards were not a definitive reason for them choosing to stay or leave officiating, but that sometimes the little things, such as acknowledging a referee’s 100th game or celebrating the promotion of a referee to first grade, were elements that made the referees feel appreciated and special. For example, some referees reported that:

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It’s always nice to come back to the club house at the end of a game and you [receive special acknowledgement or a round of applause; it makes a nice change from the usual reception that often awaits us back at the club house. As evident in one referee’s comment, the culture of the association, the organisation within the association, and the relationships developed between the referees, referee coaches, referee managers and support staff are factors that influence a referee’s decision to stay because it is not only the individual referee that gets to celebrate, but all of the referee’s colleagues share the celebration with him/her. We try to keep the big celebrations [100 th, 200th game, etc.] until the end of year presentation night, that way everyone has an opportunity to share the celebration with the individual referees including their partners, which is always nice.

One of the interesting features of the refereeing experience appeared to be loyalty to the association that each referee expressed throughout the focus groups. Most of the referees participating in this research demonstrated strong camaraderie with their fellow referees, with some referees actually completing sentences for others during the focus group discussions indicating a very strong bond and understanding of each other. This may be due to the self-selection nature of the sample, however as previously identified the participants were highly experienced both in years and games refereed and genuinely wanted to contribute to the study in order to make a difference for referees in general by assisting with the research. It was evident that within the association, the referees had developed strong relationships with each other. This mate-ship provided referees with a colleague to call on in times of need or simply a person with whom to compare notes. These networks, while not shielding referees from the identified stresses and abuses that exist within officiating circles, did nevertheless give them an individual whom they could confide in should the need arise. This in itself was a reward in many of the officials’ eyes. Discussion Camaraderie and support from fellow referees and referee coaches in this research has been identified as being an important aspect in the stay and leave pattern of community based Rugby Union referees. Given the isolating nature that often occurs in refereeing at a community level, it is not surprising that the participants indicated a strong ‘wanting’ and ‘need’ for support from the fellow colleagues and mentors. Rowe (1999) reinforces the importance of people needing to feel part of a team and the overall effect that this need has on the whole ‘sports package’ and at the community level where people often come and go quite quickly in terms of volunteering, anything that can strengthen the bond in a positive way can often make all the difference to people’s overall experiences.

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Individual goals of referees also assisted in ensuring their continued involvement in refereeing, albeit through their own self-indulgences. Some referees focused upon improving their own skill sets, and Rugby Union refereeing could offer this in terms of its rules and laws, as well as its unique style of play that is very different from other team sports (Chandler and Nauright, 1999, Dunning and Sheard, 2005, Nauright and Chandler, 1996). Other referees opted to focus their individual goals on improving their fitness. The majority of participants in this research had prior knowledge and experiences in Rugby Union either as a coach or a player, becoming a referee allowed them to focus on their fitness given that fitness plays a large part in being a successful referee (D'Ottavio and Castagna, 2001; Weston et al., 2004). Whilst the participants’ own self-interest in wanting to improve their fitness or gain new skills was a factor in retaining their officiating services, it was also noted that the participants also expressed a sense of ‘wanting to give something back’ to their community and the sport of rugby union, a sport which many suggested, had given so much to them over the course of many years. Rewards, whilst acknowledged as being nice and something that referees could look forward to when they arise, no participants identified that these accolades were a necessity or influenced their overall decisions to become a referee or stay a referee. Participants had multiple reasons for choosing to stay, such as support and education, training and mentoring, and remuneration to name a few. These reasons resonate with previous research regarding the benefits of casual leisure and how participants whilst often participating in it because it is what comes naturally, the participants often still benefit from the other associated rewards (Stebbins, 2001; Stebbins, 2005). Similarities occur across the wider scope of employee and volunteer retention in the broader community, as highlighted by Dwiggins-Beeler et al (2011) whose study highlighted the importance of communication amongst volunteers in ensuring their satisfaction and enjoyment. Likewise, Einolf’s (2009) research focused on the need for future volunteer organisations to plan for increased volunteering numbers amongst the baby boomer age group. This will create new challenges for volunteer organisations who will have to create appropriate and suitable opportunities for volunteers to contribute. The current study highlights this in the role of referee coaches, being a viable transition for volunteers who no longer wish to referee, the coaching of referees becomes a possible transition. This research extends Penner’s (2002) approach to sustained volunteerism by considering systemic factors affecting a referee’s decision to remain involved in officiating. Systemic factors include the availability of progression and promotion, training and education. The camaraderie that exists within the refereeing ranks and the interaction that occurs between referees and referee coaches was also seen as being a crucial factor in keeping referees involved in officiating. Although personal 264


dispositions have a role, they appear to be secondary to the camaraderie and mateship in this specific context. Auld (2004) acknowledged, through his research into student volunteers, that the decision to stay involved in volunteering was more likely to occur when the opportunity to socialise was provided. The current research reinforces this viewpoint by the referee participants’ opportunities to build social and mentor relationships. This social aspect was also a feature of Penner’s (2002) sustained volunteerism model especially when volunteers return to organisations where there is a greater sense of social interaction. The findings of this research, focus on issues related to the retention of sports officials which organisations such as refereeing associations, sporting clubs, and leagues have some degree of influence. A limitation of the study is that it focused upon the voices of current active referees who chose to maintain their involvement, it does not address referees who have left officiating, meaning their stories are not featured in this research. Whilst this is a limitation, it is also a possible future study. Further study required Many opportunities for future research have arisen from the insights gained in this study. First, future research might consider both current referees and those no longer involved in the game which may identify key recruitment and retention factors for referee organisations. Also investigating how different associations across Australia carry out their recruitment and retention drives would be a valuable research topic, identifying the various strategies used and cross referencing tactics between competing sports and codes. Areas touched on in this research that lend themselves to further investigation include the emphasis on accreditation and education; the role of the referee coach in the overall development of the official. The importance of maintaining a set of support networks and structures for referees was also highlighted by a small number of referees in this study who had not coached or played Rugby Union. The provision of additional support structures, such as more referee coaches could assist these relatively inexperienced referees to acclimatise more quickly to the nuances of Rugby Union. Future research is encouraged to compare the level of support and communication received within associations with high memberships, compared to those with low memberships, to see whether successful communication is a factor in referee retention. Conclusion The findings from this study indicate that the decision to continue refereeing is influenced by a range of factors that are variously, contolled by the individual or the referee rganisation. The social context and camaraderie that refereeing associations promote, along with the direct and indirect sources of support from associations, are key ingredients in creating an atmosphere that referees reported as being positive. By recognising the complexities of refereeing experiences and the role of the 265


association, officiating organisations can take substantial actions that may influence both the general environment of referees as well as the immediate day-to-day refereeing experience. To ensure the retention of referees, organisations and associations such as NSWRURA need to maintain a strong level of support for their referees, giving them access to other referees and referee coaches with whom they can talk and build strong relationships which in turn can assist in developing better referees. Greater access to training and education needs to be made available as refereeing is changing as technology improves, players are becoming faster and stronger and referees need to ensure they themselves remain in peak condition to officiate the players of the future. Competition for community volunteers is growing, as the number of volunteers required grows. NSWRURA may need to start to consider how it better rewards its referees to ensure their continued involvement either through merchandise, tickets to Rugby Union matches or higher financial incentives as other winter sports offer. Rugby League and Soccer already offer far greater incentives to their core group of volunteers (Schlesinger et al., 2013) which is leaving some Rugby Union volunteers feeling disadvantaged. However, as Rugby Union returned to the Olympic Games in 2016 a possible resurgence in participation and interest may just be what the sport and its volunteers need to experience an improvement in the support and rewards that are provided to volunteer referees of Rugby Union. References Auld, C. (2004) Behavioural characteristics of student volunteers. Australian Journal on Volunteering, 9, 8-18. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010a) Children’s participation in cultural and leisure activities. children's participation in cultural and leisure activities. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Canberra. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010b) Involvement in organised sport and physical activity. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Australian Rugby Union (2010) Australian rugby union annual report. ARU: Australian Rugby Union, Sydney. Bazeley, P. and Jackson, K. (2013) Qualitative data analysis with nvivo, Sage, London. Chandler, T. and Nauright, J. (Eds.) (1999) Making the rugby world: race, gender, commerce. Routledge, London. Cuskelly, G. and Hoye, R. (2013) Sports officials’ intention to continue. Sport Management Review, 16, 451-464. Cuskelly, G., Smith, C. and Hoye, R. (2009) Retaining early career referees in australian rugby. An Arc Research Partnership with the Australian Rugby Union. Griffith University, La Trobe University, Australian Rugby Union. D'ottavio, S. and Castagna, C. (2001) Physiological load imposed on elite soccer referees during actual match play. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 41, 27-32.

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JQRSS Author Profiles Christopher Baldwin1 is an instructor and researcher of the Faculty of Education and Arts of the Australian Catholic University. His research interests are in physical and health education, sport and recreation and sports coaching and officiating practices. Contact: Chris Baldwin [email protected] Roger Vallance2 is an instructor and researcher of the Faculty of Education and Arts of the Australian Catholic University. His research interests are qualitative analysis methods, leadership in executive positions and qualitative research as a way of developing meaning and personal constructs.

Reviewer Comments An interesting discussion presented on the recruitment and support for rugby referees in New South Wales, Australia. There are some valuable pointers within the conceptualisation of this paper which impact upon sport in society more widely. For example, issues of againg and participation in various roles, notions of authority and respect for players, officials and organisations, ethics in games and in life, notions of cultural value of rugby Australian people – identity. There are tantalising snippets of such comments from the referees within the focus group excerpts and perhaps the recommendations for future research might encompass these aspects. This paper offers a fruitful glimpse into a passage of the sporting world that is, as the authors say, set to grow. The baby-boomers will want to keep playing their games in some way, or role, signalling new pressures but also new opportunities for volunterring organisations.

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