TRRA & TRU Members,
On behalf of the TRRA and the Referee Advancement & Training Organization (RATO), it is my pleasure to announce the first round of promotions for 2014. Last fall we rolled out the TRRA Referee Mentoring/Coaching Program. This program matches referees with a referee coach or mentor. As a result we have seen a great increase in the number of referees that are receiving direct feedback. Please note that we have had a large influx of new referees (more on that below) and so new mentors will be assigned soon.
TRRA would like to thank all the referees, mentors, coaches, and teams for their commitment to improving the game of rugby. Please join us in recognizing the hard work of the following referees who have been promoted:
C2 to C1
Traci Schmidtke
Traci is the second female referee in TRRA History to reach C1 in Texas. Her dedication to her fitness and rugby knowledge earned her a spot at a recent USA Rugby Referee Development Camp in Atlanta. Traci then continued her hard work this Spring and capped off her season with an appointment to officiate the TRU Men’s Club Rugby D2 Championship Match. Please join me in congratulating Traci!
C3 to C2:
Doug Corrigan
C4 to C3:
Paul Purcell
Jaden Ray
This Spring RATO hosted two Level 1 Certification Courses in Killeen and Houston, Texas. We’re excited that this last round of attendees included High School, College, Club, Current and Retired Players. We saw a wide spectrum of rugby enthusiasts that all want to give back to the game by picking up the whistle. Please welcome the newest additions to the TRRA team:
Newly Certified:
Joey Swatzell
Erik Miller
Paul Mullen
Kibui Butt
Hal Summers
Gustavo Herrera
Brian Kee
Monique Fosco
Kevin Williams
Travis Bartniski
William Cody White
The TRRA is excited to have so many new referees and current referees working towards the next level. We appreciate everyone’s dedication and hard work to themselves and to the success of the TRRA. RATO will be doing further evaluations over the Summer, with the potential for Summer Promotions. We have numerous referees on the edge of the next level and 2014 looks very bright!
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to improving the Texas Rugby Union.
Jim Wolfinger
TRRA Chairman
RATO