NEW REFEREES' ASSOCIATION.

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 14

NEW REFEREES' ASSOCIATION.

The' New Zealand Hockey Referees' Association, which has been given a new lease of life as a result of the New Zealand conference held at Wellington "on 13th June, promises to fill satisfactorily a long felt want (remarks the Auckland S^ar.) With an energetic secretary in the person of Mr. A. W. Manning, the well-known Wellington, referee and selector, and a capable management committee, the association should be soon placed on a sound footing. The draft constitution-which was adopted at the conference is now being 'put into shape for confirmation at a meeting of the council of delegates to be called as soon as possible, and when these formalities are concluded, the real work will be commenced. -,

It is rather gratifying to Auckland that the classification scheme of the Auckland Referees' Association . has been adopted, with minor modifications, by the Dominion body, and this will provide for the theoretical and practi; cal examination of referees and their grading for appointment to representative matches.. Any referee, who is qualified under the rules of his association and recommended by that body, will be eligible for examination under tho Dominion scheme. It is proposed to grade such men in two grades instead of four, as under the Auckland Association's rules;, and referees passiiig in A class will.be entitled to wear the parent association's badge. This badge will consist, of a white fern, .'and the letters N.Z. worked on a, black shield. The preference in appointment to < representative* matches will he : (a) Referees qualified under-the New Zealand A ssocialion's rules ; ,(b) .other qualified under their own, association's rules j (c) oilier qualified referees. This'-will prevent tho .appointment cf any unqualified referee for an important representative match. The 'examiners ap-

pointed by the New .Zealand Association .are Messrs. L. H. Norton (late examiner of the Auckland Association), A. W. Manning (president of the Wellington Referees' Association), and W. Simpson (late president of the Canterbury Referees' Association). The conference also recommended to the N.Z. H.A. that all referees' associations be requested to adopt a classification scheme on the lines of Auckland's.

By the appointment of an interpretation of rules coriimittee, the New Zealand Referees' Association has taken a step; that should quickly result in the uniform interpretation of the rules all over New Zealand, in so far as this is practicable. The personnel of this committee is identical with . the board of examiners, and these gentlemen will lay down interpretations '\vhich will be binding on all affiliated referees' associations, subject to the right of appeal only to the New Zealand Hockey Association, and. through that body to the " International Hockey Board of Great■;-.: Britain and France. A number of interpretations have already been laid down, while other matters not mentioned in the rules of the game, have been '" provided for, and all these will be circulated to the various associations . throughout the Dominion. The conference; decided that in every case of a player taking a bully, pulling the ball through his legs', directly from such • bully, the referee shall penalise such player for "obstruction." It was, felt, that this would definitely put an ; end to such Unnecessary tactics. ';..-'■'.