More than 1,400 young footballers and some budding referees got their opportunity to take part in September’s Zespri AIMS Games School Sporting Championships in Tauranga.
WaiBOP Football’s referee manager CK Kawana-Waugh and WaiBOP referee development officer Anna-Marie Keighley, both FIFA referees, headed up the team of referees at the event.
Many of the referees who managed the hundreds of matches were either current participants or graduates of WaiBOP’s Youth Referee Academies, located in Hamilton and Tauranga.
Main photo: WaiBOP’s referee academies are helping develop young officials. Photo credit: WaiBOP Football.
Those referees currently in the academy – all high school age – have been working with referee coaches Nadia Murrihy Browning (Hamilton) and Anna Harris (Tauranga) over the year and have all completed their Level One referee certificates.
Among these young referees are Jordee Jones (14) and Elsa Hogue (15), both in their second year of the Tauranga Referee Academy.
Though they attend the same large school, they only met through the Wahine Toa programme in April 2023. Now, they’re not just refereeing together but are also teammates, playing for Tauranga Blue Rovers in the Baywide 15th-grade girls’ team.
READ MORE: Another Wahine Toa programme delivers learning and fun for young women >>
Jones has enjoyed refereeing over the past two years.
“Going to meetings with my friends and refereeing tournaments like AIMS is really fun,” she says.
“Refereeing has helped me meet so many new people.”
Hogue believes refereeing has improved her confidence and ability to think under pressure.
“I’ve also improved my communication skills,” she says.
Both girls agree officiating has not only enhanced their understanding of the game but has also made them better players.
WaiBOP’s Youth Referee Academy is open to teenagers aged 13 and older, and is run at no charge to the participants.
For some, the Youth Referee Academy is the beginning of a potential career in officiating.
Referees can progress through various qualification levels, starting with local matches and moving up to higher leagues.
Those who excel may even find themselves officiating at national or international tournaments.
WaiBOP Women’s Development Officer Nat Broadhead, and co-ordinator for Wahine Toa, spent the week at AIMS Games & enjoyed watching kōhine take to the field as referees and see how confident they were in themselves.
“It’s exciting to see our kōhine grow in different aspects of our game,” she says.
AIMS Games
Zespri AIMS Games is Australasia’s largest junior sporting event. From September 7-13, 2024, teams and individuals from more than 390 intermediate schools across New Zealand converged on Tauranga Moana.
Since the first edition in 2004, the event has expanded from 14 sports and 17 schools to more than 12,500 competitors from more than 390 schools, supported by 1,800 volunteers.
Football and futsal were among the 27 sports featured in 2024, with WaiBOP Futsal Development Manager Cliff Harris overseeing the organisation of both sports.
The 2024 tournament had a record number of entries for both football and futsal.
Football featured 69 boys’ and 35 girls’ teams from across New Zealand, totalling 1,456 players. Futsal included 46 boys’ and 22 girls’ teams, bringing 680 players to the event, for a total of 172 teams and over 2,100 players kicking a ball.
Mercury Baypark Arena in Mount Maunganui hosted 332 futsal matches between September 7-11 while football had 490 games running from September 8-13 at Gordon Spratt Reserve in Papamoa.
Acknowledgement
We thank WaiBOP Football for providing this story.
This story was first published on October 1, 2024.
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