The 2024/25 season is upon us!
I wish all our members, experienced and new, who will be taking to the field or sideline (in the case of our MOs and Coaches) the very best for the season ahead. May it bring you lots of positive challenges and rewards in equal measure while you represent the London Society across the capital, country and beyond these borders for those lucky enough to head off on exchange abroad.
I also wish to update those who didn't manage to attend last weekend’s very successful Conference at Twickenham on the latest state of the Society and plans for the season ahead.
Conference
As mentioned above, last Sunday over 180 members came together at HQ for an extremely positive Conference which focused on 'Back to Basics' around Scrum, Line-out to Maul, Tackle to Ruck and Escalations. The sessions were delivered by Joe James, Richard Gordon, Will Foster and Greg Douglas, and the amount of positive feedback I've had so far shows what an excellent job they did across the day. Greg and Simon Dodd were also responsible for putting the agenda together and running the overall day, so for their hard work and effort - I wish to place on record my thanks for doing such a great job. A summary of the day with photos and a link to the presentations is now on London's website: Conference 2024
The password for the slides is has been communicated in WTR.
State of the Society
MODC / Recruitment & Retention
Looking back at the 23/24 season, I am very pleased to report that Society continues to recover from the Covid years with a healthy increase in active membership (457 last season, up 6% on 22/23 and 13% on 21/22). We appointed referees and MOs to over 7,000 league and cup games through the season as well as covering off at least 2,000 additional fixtures at Tournaments such as Bournemouth and the RP National School Sevens. With almost 600 formal observations conducted (up 20% from the 22/23 season) and a further 400+ informal across all our Tournaments, acknowledgement and thanks should go to the MODC team of Robbie, Alexis and Gary for their work in developing all our officials to enable us cover such a large amount of games, and our MO team under Ken Morgan and Mark Plummer for enabling our MO community to achieve such a remarkable number of observations. The R&R team of Tim, Bob and all our TUTW course facilitators must also be thanked for their work on growing the Society to such healthy numbers again!
Rewards & Incentives
The Society simply wouldn't exist without its 457 active members, so it was very important for the Management Committee to acknowledge the time and dedication each one of those members puts into the Society throughout the season. This year, to show our appreciation, we spent over £10,000 on rewards such as special items of Gilbert kit for those who officiated 35+ and 50+ games across the season, with the assistance of Mr Biles. Tickets to the Premiership Final and 6 Nations, tankards for those who officiated 50+ games, money off the Annual Dinner and vouchers to be redeemed at the Gilbert kit shop were just some of the ways we thanked our members, and our intention is to do the same this season. For those who are due an incentive reward from the 2023/24 season and have not replied to my 2 mails to date, please check your inbox as I have requested your preference for either a kit voucher or money off the Annual Dinner and I wish to close last season’s incentive scheme by Friday 13th September!
2024/25 Incentive Scheme
Anybody who does 10+ fixtures, in excess of their 23/24 total (and a minimum of 15 games) will be entitled to a pair of tickets to a professional game (Premiership, Women's World Cup etc.) which the Management Committee will determine during the season
Anybody who fulfils 35+ games will be rewarded with a custom piece of Gilbert kit
Anybody who fulfils 50+ games will be rewarded with a special gift (the traditional Tankard will be reviewed with this cohort at the end of the 24/25 season to see if they wish to continue with it)
The Society shall also provide a pair of tickets to an Autumn International / 6 Nations game / Premiership Rugby Final:
The two referees who referee the highest number of appointments
The two match observers/coaches who watch the highest number of appointments
Two pairs, drawn at random, for all officials who officiate 35 or more appointments
One pair, drawn at random, for all officials who officiate 20 or more appointments (draw to include those who officiate 35+)
Finally, for any member who completes 250 cumulative games for the Society (starting from the 2023/24 season) will be rewarded with a special President's achievement award
Society Recognition Awards
The Society is introducing two special annual awards for our members' this season, which will be awarded at the Annual Dinner on November 14th.
The Wayne Barnes Award
Wayne Barnes OBE is a former London Society referee, who reached the National Panel in 2001, and refereed his first international Test in 2006. More than 100 Test matches later, and having officiated at 5 World Cups, he retired in 2023 after refereeing the World Cup Final in Paris.
Purpose & Criteria: The purpose of the Wayne Barnes Award is to recognise performance on the pitch. The recipient can officiate at any level of the game.
Process: Nominations can be submitted formally by the five Regional Appointments Managers (in consultation with the Regional Managers) and the Development Squad Appointments Manager (in consultation with the Development Squad Manager). One nomination is permitted for each. Any Member of the Society is welcome and encouraged to make suggestions to their Appointments Manager. Nominations are open until 30th September. Thereafter, nominations will be reviewed by the President, General Secretary, and Chair of MODC; who together will select the recipient.
The John Raywood Award
John Raywood was a Life Vice President of the Society, and formerly South East Regional Manager. He is known for writing the 1995 “Raywood Review” which led to the creation of four geographical, semi-autonomous regions within the Society; the structure which exists to this day. John passed away in 2021 and is much missed by his friends in the Society.
Purpose & Criteria: The purpose of the John Raywood Award is to recognise outstanding service off the pitch. The recipient will have contributed significantly to the Society over a number of years, usually in a match observer or administrative capacity.
Process: Nominations can be submitted formally by the five Regional Managers and Chair of MODC. One nomination is permitted for each. Any Member of the Society is welcome and encouraged to make suggestions to their Regional Manager. Nominations are open until 30th September. Thereafter, nominations will be reviewed by the President and General Secretary; who together will select the recipient.
Exchanges
Last year was an extremely successful year for both English and International Exchanges and we wish to build upon this solid foundation this year. Eric Hewitt continues to do fantastic work with our fellow Societies across the Country and we aim to match last year's 64 exchanges. Internationally, Rich Gordon was tasked with rebuilding our overseas exchange program and rose to the challenge with 25 Officials heading outside of England's borders last season and we hope to add Ulster, Cardiff and either Munster or Leinster exchanges to the 6 other countries already confirmed. Please do submit your interest when applications open throughout the year as we wish to use these trips as reward and development opportunities for members who have given a lot of service to the Society.
Sponsorship
We were thrilled to formally announce a sponsorship deal with Spintso last month which will see them become the London Society's Official Referee Communications provider. This is a 3yr deal and will see the Society supplied with 8 kits from Spintso for use across London. Special mention must go to Piers Skinner who worked with the Society and Spintso to trial these sets across the 2022/23 season, and after extremely positive feedback from all our officials who used them, we were delighted to formally agree this deal.
We are still working on securing a main sponsor for the Society, and in light of the focus myself and the Gen Sec have across other parts of the Society, I received approval from the Management Committe over the summer to appoint a Commercial Officer. The sole purpose of this role is to source a main sponsor and collate an 'active' list of future potential sponsors so we don't find ourselves going without a main sponsor for such a long time in the future. I am delighted to announce that Andy Evans has accepted this role and will report into myself and the Gen Sec while the search is on-going. The role will be reviewed at the end of the 2024/25 season and a report prepared for the Management Committee on whether to formally create it under the Constitution.
Social Agenda
The Social Committee, under Tobias Whinney, has worked hard over the summer to put together a calendar of social events for our members and I would encourage as many of you as possible to join these events and enjoy the friendship of your fellow members off the pitch.
October - Regional Events (watch for e-mails and see the London website Calendar)
November - 6th or 7th Central Meeting (Date and Speaker to be confirmed shortly)
November 14th - Annual Dinner at The Millennium Gloucester Hotel (tickets selling fast, so purchase yours soon!)
December - Regional Events (watch for e-mails and see the London website Calendar)
January - 31st France v Wales 6 Nations Watch Party & Quiz Night (Central London Venue TBC)
March - RP NS7s Socials - Dates & Venues to be communicated closer to the time
April - 23rd or 24th Central Meeting (Date and Speaker to be confirmed shortly)
May - Regional Dinners (Dates & Venues to be communicated by each Region)
July - Potential members, friends and family BBQ (Feasibility being explored by Social Committee)
I hope you all sense the Society is serving you, our members, but I and my Management Committee always welcome feedback and suggestions on how we can do more, so please let us know. In the meantime, I wish you all a very successful and rewarding 2024/25 season and will continue to provide updates on the State of the Society via our midseason report card in January.
Kind regards,
Andrew MacNeaney
President L.S.R.F.U.R