Scholarship Opportunities
The Australian Rugby Union and State Unions conduct various education, training and development programs for match officials including scholarship arrangements for selected individuals.
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The following two programs are national programs run by the ARU.
School Student Scholarship Program
In conjunction with State Rugby Unions and Referee Associations, the ARU conducts a School Student Scholarship program for promising school aged referees. The aims of this program are:
- To promote Rugby refereeing as an athletic pursuit for students at secondary schools
- To promote Rugby refereeing as a tool to assist with developing leadership skills and management qualities in a workplace
- To identify school student referees who in the course of their refereeing have shown potential and aptitude which could enable them to officiate at the highest level.
- To provide coaching and support to assist recipients in achieving their potential.
- To involve and expose the recipients to levels of the game which in other circumstances may not be available to them
- To recognise personal achievement of the individual
Participation in the program is through nominations from State Unions. Individuals selected for the program will be in the 16-18 age bracket and are generally in years 10 -12 at secondary school with at least one year's refereeing experience. They will have demonstrated by performance that they are willing to commit to refereeing for the duration of the scholarship and after they have left school. The scholarship is open to both males and females and can be awarded for more than one year. To view the list of the School Student Scholarship recipients since 1995, click here
Australian Sports Commission Officials Scholarship
Since 2003, the Australian Sports Commission in association with national sporting organisations has conducted a National Officiating Scholarship Program. Under the program the ARU employs, on a full time basis for 12 months a talent identified referee. This referee is located in the ARU High Performance Unit and is provided with a mentor and a development program to assist in their development. Each year the ARU selects a referee from nominations submitted by State Unions. Recipients under the scholarship program have been:
Andrew Lees (NSW) - 2003
Ian Smith (QLD) - 2004
Angus Gardiner (NSW) - 2005
Luke Colbron (NSW) - 2006
Richard Goswell (NSW) - 2007
