Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1172058
60 | AUTUMN 2019 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie FEMALE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME Sinead McHugh: Refereeing/Officiating 1 What attracted you to the Female Leadership Programme in the first place? I applied for the programme because I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some expertise in officiating. I've been a referee tutor for LGFA for a number of years now and thought it was time to actually practice what I preach. Having the support from the officiating group and my mentor, Su Carty, has been great. 2 What has been the highlight from your general leadership days? Hard to pick just one but the very first day with Niamh McElwaine was excellent. It was a great learning opportunity and enabled the group to gel within a matter of hours. Niamh had a great way to help us to identify our strengths and our areas for development. Niamh did a number of exercises with us but her ability to draw each and every one of us outside our comfort zone was remarkable. it was an opportunity to set our goals and a plan to achieve them. 3 What part of your referee specific days has had the most impact on your development? Our recent practical evening with Cliodhna O' Connor and Clare Dowdall has had the most impact. It was a great training session but it also highlighted the importance of preparation and training for a referee if you are intent on reaching the highest level in LGFA officiating. In many cases throughout the country, many referees use refereeing to train rather than training to referee. Quick Fire Questions with our Female Leaders 4 What are the barriers to young women getting involved in refereeing? I'd say there are a few barriers but one of the main reasons is that officiating has been traditionally a male role. I can understand how counties revert mostly to their reliable referees that have served the game well for a long number of years but I would love to see county boards putting a direct focus on aiming to increase their female officiating group. I think more women would get involved if they were getting regular games and gaining experience. Another barrier would be the level of abuse that is directed at officials. While, abuse can be directed at male and female officials, I would like to see a higher level of respect from players, management teams and spectators to the officials. Games won't go ahead unless there is a referee after all! 5 Has it helped you having more regular contact with your peers? Yes, it has definitely helped. It has been a great support group as we can bounce things off each other and get some advice when certain instances happen in games etc. We have regular contact through the officiating strand so it's great to have speakers to give us a real insight into the ups and downs of refereeing. 6 What is your ambition as a referee? To referee All-Ireland Final day in Croke Park. 7 What is the biggest thing you are working on at the moment? Working on two things at the moment - one is my training programme. It can be difficult to juggle training with work, study and refereeing so trying to get a regular training plan. Also working on my positioning within games so constant reflection after games and trying to improve for the next game. 8 Any other thoughts on the programme? Absolutely fantastic programme, would highly recommend to anyone thinking of applying. I'm lucky to be part of a great group of 20 female leaders and also to have the calibre of Lyn Savage in the LGFA heading up the programme means that the quality or the programme is exceptional.