For Immediate Release
October 21, 2010
Teagarden makes ref history
BOULDER, Colo. – USA Rugby is proud to announce that National Panel Referee Dana Teagarden has been appointed by the International Rugby Board (iRB) to referee the upcoming international test match between The Netherlands and Hong Kong on December 18, 2010 in Amsterdam. This makes Teagarden the first woman ever to referee a senior men’s international match.
This appointment comes after several successful performances at the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC). Teagarden refereed the Australia v. France Bronze medal match in front of 13,200 rugby fans at the Twickenham Stoop. She also refereed critical pool matches at the tournament including New Zealand v. Australia and France v. Canada.
As one of USA Rugby’s most internationally experienced referees, Dana is no stranger to the historic occasion. In 2007 she was the first, and so far only, female to referee at an iRB Sevens World Series Tournament. To date, Dana has refereed fifteen international level 15’s matches, including age-grade boys and girls, senior women, and ‘A’ level senior men.
“We are constantly working to establish and implement new and innovative systems and processes to develop all aspects of refereeing,” said National Panel Referee Manager Richard Every. “Dana has been an integral part of these initiatives over the past three years. Her innate talent and her commitment to our approach have enabled her to perform and be successful at the highest levels. This appointment is indeed a huge honor and achievement for both Dana and USA Rugby Referees.”
“USA Rugby is both happy and proud to publicly acknowledge Dana’s achievement,” said Referee Development Director Ed Todd. “I am confident there will be many more opportunities for me to congratulate Dana on a job well done.”
For more information on USA Rugby’s National Panel or to find out how you can become involved with officiating, check out the ‘Officiate the Game’ section at http://www.usarugby.org.
For further information contact:
Jarrod Beckstrom | Communications Manager | jbeckstrom@usarugby.org | 303.539.0300 ext. 124