You can never have too many match officials and with the game of rugby league growing in the Czech Republic, they will need all the support they can get, as 13 Czech officials have become match officials, after passing a dual language course.
The candidates, who underwent both theory and practical exams, also took part in an actual refereeing environment and where shadowed as referees by tutors and worked as touch judges.
Petr Sedina, the man who led the course, says it was well received by a host of clubs and is a boost for rugby league in the country.
“It has been received with great interest from all clubs, the candidates have shown a perfect attitude and it was a very fruitful day. We believe it’s going to help to sustain our development and to enlarge our organization even more,” said Sedina.
Matt Smith, the CZRLA's leading electric or electronic cigarettes referee, says seeing current and former players participating was a boost.
“It was great to see so many players, former and present participating. Because of their playing experience the guys were quite confident which really made a difference in learning to officiate and adjudicate the game,” said Smith.
With Czech rugby league slowly growing into something big, according to CZRLA's Andy Mulhall, it was the number of match officials that was lacking throughout the entire process.
“So far, the Czech Rep has been very successful in establishing community-based rugby league clubs which are self-sufficient in producing enthusiastic local players, supporters, sponsors and even coaching staff, but one area that has been lacking has been the emergence of Czech nationals as match officials,†said Mulhall.
“As the sport advances here, I am confident that in the not too distant future, we will be able to provide a referee at international level.”