Touch New Zealand is proud to launch the Foundation Referee course for beginner referees. This is the entry point into the referee pathway – ideal if you are just starting out as a referee with little or no experience.  You may be a supportive parent, a player looking to improve your knowledge, or a new referee looking to support your local module. Whatever your story is, we congratulate you for taking your first step on your referee journey.

At the 2020 Touch NZ Stakeholder conference, Provincial Association’s very clearly noted Referee development as a key priority to support and grow the quality experience at module and local level.  

This has culminated in the Touch NZ Foundation Referee course which will be implemented prior to the 2021-2022 Touch season. A community focused, self-paced online learning portal, which will be free of charge and accessible to anyone wishing to build confidence around refereeing at community touch (modules) and an introduction to Touch.

As well as the new online course, a working group has developed a new structure for the practical course that follow the online course, setting out what needs to be covered in those sessions. Tutors from around the country are being introduced to the new practical course and their role in it currently.

The Foundation Referee course consists of a series of online topics delivered through Sport New Zealand’s SportTutor platform, which on completion will provide the user with a Touch NZ Foundation course certificate. 

The user can then choose to enrol in a practical course run locally in associations and be followed up with an on-field assessment. Successful completion of these three elements will result in the Foundation referee achieving Touch NZ Level 1 referee accreditation.

Information on how to start out as a referee is available on the Touch NZ website on the Referee page Touch New Zealand - Referee Touch (touchnz.co.nz). With specific course related information here Touch New Zealand - TNZ Foundation Referee Course (touchnz.co.nz)

You can access the course through these pages or directly in the Touch NZ Catalogue on the SportTutor platform. Click here.

Article added: Tuesday 14 September 2021