Milton
Keynes Referees Association
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MILTON KEYNES REFEREES ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER “Keyne Whistler” August 2005 Thoughts of the editor……….. Is summer really over already?!? It doesn’t seem five minutes since we finished last season and already it’s time for the first newsletter of the new one! I guess it’s the nature of the game we are involved in, coupled with the ever increasing demands of TV that creates a shorter close season every year. Great for keeping the fitness up, not so good for taking a well earned break! I will start by wishing everyone the very best for the forthcoming season, and whatever your aims are for the year I sincerely hope the Referees Association can plan a part in helping you achieve them. I would like to think that the RA acts as a kind of ‘support group’ for officials, and I hope everyone takes advantage of the benefits that membership brings. If you have applied for promotion this season then I wish you good luck! That’s silly of course, as luck wont play a part in it, whereas hard work, good preparation, knowledge of the laws and how to apply them and a good level of fitness will. If any member of the committee can be of any assistance in your application for promotion then please do not hesitate to ask. On a broader level, as an association we are still looking for a training officer. This is, in my opinion, the most important role in the association. There are so many young people locally who are looking to get involved in refereeing and unfortunately at this moment in time we have to send them across to Buckingham for training. If you are interested, or know anyone who is interested in filling this extremely important role please contact me. My details are at the bottom of the newsletter. I expect there will be the usual shortage of referees across the local leagues, so if ever you are at a loose end this season then do feel free to contact one the local leagues fixtures secretary who will be more than happy to sort you out with a game. Finally, on a personal note, I must say how pleased I am to be Chairman of the branch for the forthcoming season. We must all say a big thank you to Dave for the hard work he has put in over the past two years, luckily for us Dave has agreed to stay on the committee so we will still have the benefit of his expertise to call upon. May I also wish Richard Armstrong all the best in his new role as secretary. His loan spell from last season has resulted in a permanent transfer! Enjoy the season. Gareth This time around……….. Our first branch meeting will be held at Shenley Leisure Centre in the annexe behind the Clock Inn on Thursday 11th August commencing at 7.30pm. To get us back into the swing of things, Dave has very kindly agreed to give a presentation on the law amendments for this season, and also Jonathan Collins will be reporting back from his recent trip to the national RA conference in Southport. Just to give everyone one some very prior notice, next years’ national conference is to be held in Northampton, but more details to follow on that later in the year. Please do try and attend the branch meeting if you possibly can. Get it done……………. You will recently have received a letter from Berks & Bucks with reference to CRB checks which MUST be undertaken by ALL referees by the end of this year. It gives information in the letter about dates and venues where you can take your documents to be verified by the appropriate people. However, I am very pleased to report that we can offer you a far easier alternative. If you bring your documentation along to a branch meeting in September, October, November or December we will have someone available who will happily check your documents there and then and return them to you instantly. We are also opening this opportunity to non RA members, so if you know of any of your refereeing colleagues who still need to get it done but aren’t members of the association, please do still ask them to come along to one of the meetings. Their documents will still be checked, and they will be furnished with a blank membership form! Many thanks to Paul Swannell for organising this and saving us all some time consuming journeys to some not particular convenient locations. Academically speaking…….. We will again be supplying officials for the majority of the MK Dons academy fixtures for this season, if anyone is interested in being involved then please let me know. On a more pressing note, the U16 and U18 teams are playing fixtures against a touring team from the United States on Tuesday 16th August at Woughton with kick off at 2pm. We are therefore looking for two referees and four assistants for these games, if you are available then please call me ASAP. Don’t wait until the branch meeting as I’ll be panicking by then! Contact Points……… If anyone wants to contact me for whatever reason then I would heartily recommend that you use one of the following methods.
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