Referees
At Newcastle City Touch, we value our referee team as part of our club. Referees play a vital role in Touch Football, ensuring our game is played in a fair, safe and enjoyable environment for all participants. Quite simply: without referees, we can’t play!
Becoming a referee is a great way to remain fit and participate in our game. We require all of our referees to become accredited by at least attending a Foundation (Level 1) Referee course. Please refer to the NSW Touch website for more details on Touch Football Australia’s six-tier accreditation system.
Level 1 Referee course – Sunday, 17th September 2023 from 3pm
REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL
Who should register?
Anyone who is at least 12 years of age can register for a Level 1 Referee course. Whether you are wanting to referee in our junior or senior competitions, we welcome you to join our referee team. No refereeing experience is required but if you know a few of the basics about touch football, that would help. All referees in our competitions must complete a Level 1 Referee course.
Of course, we also welcome referees from other affiliates to the course – this is not exclusively for Newcastle City Touch referees.
Where is the course?
Newcastle City Touch fields are located within the Newcastle Harness Racing Club. The course will be held in one of the rooms there, with the specific room to be confirmed. Please refer to our Location page for details on how to find us.
What does it cost?
Course costs are set by NSW Touch and are currently $49.50 per attendee. You will need to pay this during the registration. We pay accredited referees for refereeing games so this cost can be quickly recouped. We will also provide a free sausage sizzle after the course for all course participants, courtesy of Newcastle City Touch.
What options are there if I can’t make the course at Newcastle City Touch?
We usually only run one Level 1 course at Newcastle City Touch per year. However, the NSW Touch refereeing page includes Level 1 courses scheduled across the state. You might be able to find an alternative course at another local affiliate that suits you better.
What would happen after I complete the course?
Once you have completed your Level 1 course, you are eligible to referee in our competitions. If you play as well, you can nominate time slots outside of your game time. We will aim to schedule you on games suitable to your age and experience and provide mentoring by experienced referees if available.
How do I register?
The process of registering for Touch Football referee courses involves a few steps so this guide will help. NSW Touch also provides a video explaining the process.
Please complete these steps no later than Sunday, 10th September so we can confirm that we have the numbers for the course to proceed.
Step 1 – Enter Expression of Interest form
First thing to do is to fill in this form as an expression of interest in doing the course. This does not register you in the course but it at least lets us know that you are interested in doing it. If you get stuck on the later steps, it will let us get in contact with you to help you along.
Step 2 – Complete Sport Australia Community Officiating General Principles online course
This online course is a pre-requisite of doing a Level 1 Touch Football Referee course. It is not specific to touch football but talks about the general principles of officiating for any sport. We recommend that you do this via a computer as it may be tricky to navigate on a smaller screen.
Note: you should complete this online course BEFORE you come to the Level 1 course. Your certificate cannot be issued until this is complete.
Go to https://learning.ausport.gov.au/ and click on the CREATE NEW ACCOUNT button. Once your new account is created, go to Find Learning at the top and choose the Community Officiating General Principles course.
Click on ENROL ME and follow the instructions to work through the modules. A certificate is able to be downloaded at the end as evidence that you have completed this.
Step 3 – Register and pay for Level 1 Touch Football Referee course
All touch football training is organised via The Nest website: https://touchfootball.etrainu.com/training/
If you have not used this site before, create a new account via the Sign up here link. Tip: Every person will need their own account so if registering for multiple kids, they will need their own account.
Once logged in, go to Training Library. Find the TFA – Referee Courses option and click View Courses.
This will show the various referee level course. Find the Level 1 course, priced at $49.50, and click on Purchase. Pay using credit card and the course will then appear in the My Training section of your account. Complete all necessary online requirements. Once completed, you can then book into the specific Level 1 course at Newcastle City Touch via the course calendar.
If you get stuck, please send us an explanation and any useful screenshots to newcastletouch@gmail.com so we can try to help.