We encourage clubs or individuals looking to improve their refereeing standard or who are pushing for promotion this season to attend theory courses:
4th November grade 3/4 theory course at Cherwell: 9.30 till 4. £20 inc ref pack £12.50 without.
Contact mark.thomas@canoepolo.org to book on.
A practical assessment is also required, these must be actively set up by the individual by contacting a suitable assessor and matching to a suitable competition. In general practical assessments are performed over the summer, such as the availability advertised at the National Championships. Within the season assessment is possible at suitable standard (for example Div 2 practical assessment at a Div 3 competition).
The following are excerpts from the 2017/18 National League rules (currently being updated to remove playoff references and match the new formats):
Team Refereeing Commitment
Teams will be required to provide the following minimum grade of referee for all tournaments they are required to attend:
Failure to Provide a Referee
If a team is unable to provide a referee of the required grade for a given tournament, the Divisional Organiser must be notified as soon as possible.
Any team failing to provide a referee will be subject to the following sanctions:
If at least 14 days notice is given, a fine of £50;
If less than 14 days notice is given, a fine of £70;
If less than 24 hours notice, or no notice, is given, a fine of £100 – in addition the team will be reported to the Committee which may, depending on the circumstances, levy an additional fine and/or points deduction;
Where a team fails to provide a suitably qualified referee in more than one tournament they will incur a point penalty of one point for each game where they have failed to provide a qualified referee.
If a team makes no attempt to find or get one of their team qualified as a referee they will have all their points deducted for the season.
The above sanctions can be avoided by providing a suitably qualified replacement; this individual can be from another club.