Ladies Gaelic Football

34 | AUTUMN 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie REFEREE DEVELOPMENT PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL R E F E R E E AC C E L E R AT E PROGRAMMES COMMENCE NAME: AARON CLOGHER COUNTY: ROSCOMMON (PÁDRAIG PEARSES) Describe your refereeing journey? I got into refereeing (GAA initially) in my late teens, and I really enjoyed it. At the time I was also the LGFA Coaching Officer in my club (Pádraig Pearses, Roscommon) and was involved with a few of our underage teams, so I took up refereeing Ladies Football on the back of that and pretty quickly got asked to do some County Finals, which was nice and a sign that you're doing something right. I was put forward for the Provincial Accelerate in 2014, but unfortunately was unable to complete all the modules as I was involved with a number of teams at the time. Over the next few years, I was very fortunate to be asked to referee all of the various adult championship finals in Roscommon and was again put forward to do the Provincial Accelerate in 2019. Since progressing to the Provincial panel, I have got a couple of games in the Connacht club and underage Intercounty championships, which have been a great experience. A ll four provinces are involved in this year's Provincial Referee Accelerate Programme. This initiative provides a development pathway for ambitious future provincial referees. The National Referee Accelerate Programme has also started and successful participants on that initiative will progress to the National Referee panel for 2022. The Provincial programme commenced in July and will run to June 2022 with all participants completing six modules, gaining practical experience and engaging What made you sign up for the National Referee Accelerate programme? I did the Connacht Accelerate Programme in 2019 and got a lot from it. It was great to meet a group of other referees all trying to improve themselves and also good to get a lot of useful information at the seminars and workshops which were put on for us. What do you think is the toughest part of refereeing? The number of people who expect the referee to have a perfect game. No team has ever played an entire game without making a mistake, and while the referee and teams of officials try our best, there (unfortunately) won't be a game played where there are no mistakes made by the officials too, just like the players. It's an unreasonable expectation, all we can expect of any player or referee is to do the best job they can on any given day. What is your favourite aspect of refereeing? I really enjoy being part of the games, getting to meet lots of great people and also working with my team of umpires, who are a fantastic support to me. Journeys are made significantly shorter by the slagging and craic in the car and the dressing room. After a year with very few games, it has been great to get back on the road with them again this year. If there was one rule you would like managers/players to be more aware of, what would it be? It has come into focus lately, but the most obvious rule that is misunderstood is the tackle. "A player holding the ball into her body cannot be legally dispossessed. Any attempt to do so will result in a free for her and her team." There is a lot of talk about physicality in the game, but the playing rules are clear in that there is no deliberate contact with another player. What would you like to achieve from completing the National Referee Accelerate programme? I hope to be able to officiate at adult Inter County level over the next few seasons, so I am hoping that the Accelerate Programme can help me to develop further towards that standard. Like the provincial accelerate, I think it will be great to meet with another group of officials from around the country and learn from each other over the course of the next few months. in assessments. The National Programme runs from August to July 2022, with referees attending seven modules, officiating at National League games and completing all assessments. Take this opportunity to meet some of the participants involved.

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