THE WHISTLEBLOWER - Mainland Football

THE WHISTLEBLOWER
May 2016
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday 3 May
In this Issue: PLENTY OF PHOTOS,
Ian Hull Article, Referee Week,
Coaching Session #3, 7pm at
English Park.
Futsal Refs at National Tournaments,
Upcoming Referee Courses, AND MORE!
Monday 16 May
Coaching Session #4, 7pm at
English Park.
WAYNE’S WORD: FROM THE DESK OF THE
REFEREE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
It’s a bumper issue with the first month of the season done and
dusted!
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Caolan Bolster (Canterbury)
Courteney Bremner (Canterbury)
Warren Brown (Canterbury)
Connor Leath (Canterbury)
Firstly, welcome to our newest members; Caolan, Courteney,
Connor, and Warren. The first three named have already been
in action and quickly learning assistant referee skills. Warren will
get involved when he arrives back from holiday in a couple of
weeks. I hope you all welcome them into out refereeing
community, and help them develop into fine officials in time.
I’d just like to comment on coaching nights in Canterbury and for
that matter, whenever coaching is run in the districts as well.
The session on Monday the 18th of April in Christchurch was
about Delaying the Restart. There was great discussion, debate
and a few laughs, this is what coaching is all about. There were
37 members in attendance, so not a bad number.
If you haven’t attended coaching for a while and don’t have work
or other commitments, get along and join the discussions and
comradery. We are never too old or experienced to learn
something, and we owe it to the players and game to keep a
tune to the laws and interpretations.
The two sessions this month include, The Best Position to Make
the Correct Decision (3 May), and Attacking Free kicks (16
May). See you at English Park at 7pm if you live in or are
visiting Christchurch.
Wayne Stapley
REFEREE WEEK: 11-17 APRIL
Referee Week recognises the contribution by the Women and
Men in the middle. Without them, there is no beautiful game.
New Zealand Football and other federations have done features
on a range of referees; from the grassroots to the international
stage. Local referee Ryan Mahalm has a feature further down in
this newsletter. You can also catch articles on two of our
country’s top officials Sarah Jones, and Anna-Marie Keighley.
Roelof Boiten was looking forward to the
opening weekend of the season so much,
he forgot his socks! [Photo: Gary Neill]
CONGRATULATIONS!
Ian Hull:
Life Member for Nelson Bays Football
REFEREE DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY NOMINATIONS
AFTERMATCH AT
RDA 2 (28 August- 2 September, Papamoa): Dylan Waugh,
Jack Henderson, Sean Reilly
RDA 3 (28 August- 2 September, Papamoa): Ryan Mahalm
Futsal RDA 2 (15-17 July, Palmerston North): Jake Brunton
O’SHEAS
Referees are encouraged to
discuss stories from their
afternoon games, and catch-up
at O'Sheas Public House (128
Marshlands Road, Shirley), on
Saturday afternoon from around
5:00pm to 6:30pm. Our fantastic
host Alan Stroud (pictured) puts
on some great food for us.
Regan Preston (Right) gives his pre-match team talk to Simon Myers
(Left) and Tim McLintock (Centre).
Birthdays This Month
-
3rd Greg Cook
(Canterbury)
-
5th Luke Brierley, Subho
Sakar (Canterbury)
-
6th Lance Frater
(Canterbury)
-
10th Clive Beaumont
(Nelson)
-
11th David O’Neil
(Canterbury)
-
15th Jake Brunton, Paul
Hoeper (Nelson)
-
17th Darren Sundborn
(Canterbury)
-
22nd Brett Cowles, Kevin
Peters (Canterbury)
-
26th Stephen Burgham
(Canterbury)
-
28th Mohammed Alsaleh
(Canterbury)
-
29th Geoff Pitcaithly
(Nelson)
Haven’t registered yet? Click here to register
Dylan Waugh administering a kick-in during
the NZSS Futsal Champs in Wellington.
[Photo: NZF]
CANTERBURY CHAMPIONSHIP CLUBS ATTEND
EARLY SEASON REFEREE BRIEFING
Representatives from all 6 CCL clubs were given the same
briefing that MPL clubs were given in March. These came in the
form of 3 sessions. Thanks to Regan Preston, Hamish Little,
Craig Duff, and Cameron Gruschow for presenting these.
FUTSAL REFEREE NEWS
There was plenty of national representation from our local futsal
referees in April. Chris Sinclair, and Dylan Waugh officiated at
the New Zealand Secondary Schools Futsal Championships,
held in Wellington on 7 and 8 April. Dylan was appointed as a
referee on a semi-final, while Chris was appointed to the final.
Dylan was also in Palmerston North for the New Zealand
University Futsal Championships, with Cameron Gruschow from
16-18 April. Both were appointed as referees on different semifinals, while Dylan was also appointed as Referee on the final.
FEDERATION NEWS
Former Wellington Phoenix player and New Zealand
International Ben Sigmund will play for Cashmere Technical in
the MPL this season. After completing a stand-down period, he
plans take to the field in June.
 Tasman United have named English coach Richard
Anderson as head coach ahead of their debut National League
season. He will be assisted by Davor Tavich, who has had
experience coaching the Nelson-Marlborough Falcons in the
National Youth League.
 A total of 130 teams have entered in the 93 rd edition of the
Chatham Cup. 15 of those are from the Mainland Region.
Notable omissions from the region this year include
Christchurch United, and Nelson Suburbs. Eastern Suburbs
(Auckland) are the defending champions.

FOOTBALL REFEREE HANGS UP WHISTLE
Reproduced, with permission from Andrew Board, Nelson Weekly
For almost 40 straight winters Ian Hull has spent his weekends
either refereeing football matches around Nelson, or assessing
those who do.
That run will come to an end this year, with his decision to swap a
Nelson winter for a summer in Canada and Europe. But his
dedication to the sport earned him a surprise life membership of
Nelson Bays Football, last week.
Ian began refereeing when he was roped in at the last minute to
replace a friend who went down injured.
“I arrived here [from the UK] in 1970 and got involved with Nelson City junior football and then started
coaching rep teams. But I got involved with this guy Dennis who was a referee and I used to run the
line for him. Then one day he rang me up just a little while before kick-off and said ‘look Ian, I can’t do
the game today, I’m injured. Can you do the game?’ That’s how it started.”
And it continued for 38 straight winters.
Ian says he quickly got his local refereeing badge before working towards his New Zealand badge.
He refereed National League games in Nelson and Chatham Cup games.
He admits that refereeing isn’t for everyone, but it was something he relished.
“You can never force someone into refereeing. You can twist their arm to play a game because
they’re in a team, but you can’t force someone to stand by themselves in the middle of the field. For
me it was just one of those things, you have to have a hobby or something, and it just fell into place. I
just carried on through the ranks.”
He says there were times when players crossed the line, but it was a rarity. “There has only ever
been one player who I genuinely felt crossed the line on a regular basis, we didn’t get on. I think it’s
white line fever. Talk to a guy outside the field of play and he’s the nicest guy, cross that field of play
and he changes. But most players realise that referees are doing it on a voluntary basis.”
More recently, Ian has stepped off the pitch in his role as referee development officer for Nelson Bays
Football. It was a role he enjoyed. “I thoroughly enjoyed the referee development role. My only regret
is not getting more young referees into it. It’s probably been the only let-down.”
Ian’s involvement in football isn’t over though. He’s already been asked about helping with the
national league games when the competition returns to Nelson this summer. Peter Cobeldick has
replaced Ian as RDO.
RED CARDS DOMINATE MATCH DAY
KEY PEOPLE
2016 Mainland Football Referee’s
Committee
Paul Dalziel (Spokesman)
Jack Killick
Hamish Little
6 red cards were shown by referee George Time (Solomon
Islands) in a hot-tempered Oceania Champions League match
between Nadi FA (Fiji) and Kiwi FC (Samoa) on 11 April. Both
teams ended the match with 8 players each. In the ealier match
between AS Magenta (New Caledonia) and AS Tefana (Tahiti), 3
red cards were shown, bringing the total number of red cards in
the matchday to 9.
Brett Cowles (Appointments)
Chris Sinclair (Futsal)
Wayne Stapley (RDO)
Julian Bowden and Tony Ambrose
are invited in their positions as CEO
of Mainland Football, and NZF
Appointments Panel member
respectively.
Peter Cobeldick and Dave Baker will
attend as the Nelson and
Marlborough representatives
respectively if a full committee
meeting is required.
2016 NZF Appointments Panel
Representative (Feds 6 and 7)
Simon Myers in charge at Ilam Fields. [Photo: UC Football]
Tony Ambrose
UPCOMING REFEREE COURSES
2016 NZF Referee’s Committee
Representative
Hamish Little
There are two Club Based Referee Courses this month. They
are designed for those that want to help out refereeing in their
club and/or where clubs need to provide qualified Club Based
Referees, as part of the Mandatory requirements.
Click HERE to register for a Club Based Referee Course, or just
go to then Referee Course page on the Mainland Football
website to check out more about courses CLICK HERE.
Got a Story or Photos to share?
Email
whistleblowereditor@gmail.com
You can also watch an introductory video, featuring current NZ
FIFA Referee, Anna-Marie Keighley HERE. Anna-Marie was
appointed to referee a FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final in
2015, between Japan and England.
CHRISTCHURCH
Email wayne.stapley@mainlandfootball.co.nz for more
information on any of these courses.
Introductory Referees (Club Based Referee) Course #1
Andrew Robertson tracking the offside line,
at Garrick Memorial Park, 9 April.
[Photo: Iain Glover]
Laws of the Game Snapshot
Date: Monday 2 May.
Time: 6pm-10pm.
Venue: Ferrymead Ale House (2A Waterman Place).
Introductory Referees (Club Based Referee) Course #2
Date: Wednesday 25 May.
Time: 6pm-10pm.
Venue: English Park (127 Cranford Street).
NELSON AND MARLBOROUGH CONTACTS
LAW 12: FOULS AND MISCONDUCT
PERSISTENT INFRINGEMENT OF
THE LAW OF THE GAME
Email cobeldick_family@hotmail.com (Nelson).
Email mosbaker@clear.net.nz (Marlborough)
Referees should be alert to players
who persistently infringe the Laws.
They must be aware that, even if a
player commits a number of
different offences, he must still be
cautioned for persistently infringing
the Laws.
There is no specific number of
infringements which constitutes
“persistence” or the presence of a
pattern. It is entirely a matter of
judgement and must be determined
in the context of effective game
management.
Wayne Elcock (background) in action on a WPL match, at the
Christchurch Football Academy. [Photo: UC Football]
NZF REFEREE WEEK: RYAN MAHALM
Article written by New Zealand Football
After a successful playing career, Ryan Mahalm decided he wanted to become a football referee. The
33-year-old picked up the whistle after playing and captaining Christchurch United in the Mainland
Premier League (MPL). “I had played for 28 years up to MPL level in Canterbury and wanted to
continue participating in football given the experience I had,” he said.
Mahalm had spent time coaching at PDL and Youth level, but found the time commitments of
coaching at that level quite demanding. “After many years of hearing people involved in football
debating the standard of refereeing I decided that refereeing would be a good way for me to stay
involved, stay fit and contribute back to the sport, and make good use of my football experience and
communication skills.” Mahalm has shown his football experience and understanding of the game
early in his refereeing career. He was awarded the role of refereeing the final of the Lotto U-20
tournament in Christchurch in October 2014 as a result of scoring highest in refereeing competency
across the tournament.
He believes he learns valuable life skills from being the man in the middle. He said there are a vast
number of different aspects to refereeing, plenty of which relate to communication with players and
team officials before, during and after matches are played. “The challenge of having your own brand
while tailoring your communication style to get the best outcomes in your interactions with people
makes the role rewarding and demands you to improve and diversify how you communicate.”
Mahalm said other aspects, like preparation, fitness, public speaking, theory and analysis, listening to
and understanding different points of view, accepting feedback and criticism and developing your own
personal confidence and resilience are true aspects of the role. “Despite my desire to try and remain
relatively subdued and ‘out of the spotlight’ on the pitch, the role is very much about leadership too,”
he said. Mahalm believes refereeing gives former players the option of longer term involvement in the
game, and the likelihood of progressing to higher level in refereeing is more achievable. He said there
are thousands of people playing football who aspire to play at A-League level, who will likely never
have the chance. “However as a referee my goal is to progress to that level of accreditation and it is
absolutely achievable.”
He said the best moment, which came early in his career, was being awarded the Lotto U-20
tournament in Christchurch – a proud moment in his first season of refereeing. “The feedback I have
received from players and team officials has also been a real highlight, with many commenting that
they are hoping to see me refereeing at higher levels locally in the near future.”
Ken Wallace, the Referee Development Officer at New Zealand Football, said the goal of ‘Referees
Week’ is to demonstrate that refereeing is a relevant and viable opportunity in football. “We have a
huge number of people in the 30-35 age group whose playing days have come to an end but they still
want to be involved in the game,” said Wallace. “We are encouraging them to consider refereeing, as
people like Ryan have, to stay in football and get huge satisfaction from being involved at a range of
levels to continue growing the game that we love.”
NZF REFEREE WEEK: MIKE HESTER
Article written by New Zealand Football
Mike Hester is well qualified to comment on the pathway that New Zealand Football offers in
refereeing. The former footballer, who began refereeing at the age of 29 in 2001 following a playing
career with Waiuku, finished a successful career with the whistle at the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa.
Take us back to how you first got involved in refereeing? I was a weekend warrior like most of
us. I was playing football for Waiuku initially, but from when I was a young kid to my late teens I
kicked around at a few Auckland clubs. Towards the end of my career I found myself back at Waiuku
and by this stage I had helped referees a lot during the course of my playing career [laughs] so it was
time to put up or shut up. So I decided to give it a go for a year. In 2001 I signed up with the Auckland
Referees Association to just give it a go for a year. That was the start of it.
What appealed about refereeing after your playing days? A lot of it was about making a
contribution back to the game at a level where you didn’t always have good referees. You had good
referees from time to time. But I recognised, because I was often the captain, that the referee played
a really important part in keeping the game moving, keeping it safe and fair and without good referees
you can’t really have a good game. So that was the motivation. Secondly I knew that there was the
potential to extend your career through refereeing. I was 29 when I decided to give it a go. It could be
a way of staying involved in the game that was a bit different to what most people did, which was
transition to masters or go and coach. So it turned out that way I ended up having a very rewarding
and full career after my playing days.
You achieved at the highest level and got the call up to referee at the FIFA World Cup in 2010,
what was that experience like? Well it was obviously a huge highlight. It was the goal that I set in
2001 when I decided I was going to do something with refereeing, I wanted to shoot for the very top.
At the end of that season I sat down and wrote on a piece of paper that I would try and get to South
Africa so I wrote out a plan of how I was going to get there. To tick off a lot of those achievements
over the course of the next 10 years was really satisfying. The final moment was getting to the World
Cup. Ironically the build up to the World Cup – where there was 80 referees cut down to 24 for the
event – a lot of the preparation was about trying to create this strong sense of déjà vu. So by the time
you actually got to the World Cup you weren’t overcome by excitement and the colour of the event.
You were focused on doing your job. While it was a wonderful experience, the preparation was so
intense and detailed that I had a strong feeling of being there before. Even though it was my first and
last time that I was involved.
Which fixtures were you involved in? I was the referee for South Korea v Greece and I was the
fourth official for England v Algeria in Cape Town and I was the fourth official for USA v Ghana in
Rustenburg. I would never describe refereeing as fun. It was exciting. Exhilarating and intoxicating at
times, but because of your responsibility there was a lot of fun being around refereeing. Lots of great
times and there were moments when I saw tremendous players and tremendous games and you
have those aspects of why you did it. There are a wide range of emotions when you are involved but
ultimately you are there to do a job.
How important is the strength of refereeing to the ongoing success of football in New
Zealand? Refereeing is crucial for the development of the game. If you want to have good
competition you need good referees and if you want good referees they need good competition, so
they both go hand in hand. You are not going to get the quality and intensity of matches that quality
players need without good referees controlling the game. Refereeing is a labour of love. People do it
largely because they want to give something back. Most will recognise that is a thankless task. Most
people won’t appreciate the controversial role that you will play in controlling matches. But it is a
necessary contribution and as the game continues to develop we need to develop our referees as
much as we do coaches and players if we want to move the game forward.
What makes a good referee in your mind? Referees typically come from within the game. To be a
successful referee you need to have a really good understanding of the game, you need to know
what it is like to be involved in the game as a player and to be on the receiving end of bad tackles and
bad decisions. That game knowledge is crucial to getting a good feeling for the game. For those that
have ambition in the game or want to contribute in a different way. Refereeing is a great way to give
back but also to progress if you have that ambition.
(L-R) Ryan Mahalm, Hamish Little, Ben O’Connell, and
Subho Sakar. [Photo: Canterbury Sports Shotz]
PHOTOS
Neil Davidson (Left) charging finishing a
40m sprint in style.
Ken Cribb (Right) joined by his son in
the CCL fitness test (40:50).
You won’t be missing Willie Nation in
those boots! [Photo: UC Football]
Dylan Waugh and Cameron
Gruschow (back row) at the NZF
Futsal University Champs in
Palmerston North. [Photos: NZF]
Brett Cowles taking a Club Based Referee Course
at the FC Twenty 11 clubrooms. 17 attended.
Craig Duff. [Photo: Waimak United]
Chris Sinclair (Above) during an NZSS
Boys match in Wellington. [Photo: NZF]
Glen Brown (Left) cruising through his
MPL fitness test (35:40s).
(L-R) Glen Brown, Regan Preston, Jack
Killick, and Wayne Stapley at the fitness
test
Robbie Noster in action.
[Photo: Waimak United]
(L-R) Greg Cook, Dylan Waugh, and
Javier Ortega lining up ahead of their
match. [Photo: Iain Glover]