For the very first time, all Associations with responsibility for the promotion of Gaelic Football, Hurling, Ladies Football, Camogie and Handball will have an aligned pathway and vision for the development of match officials.
The Match Official Pathway follows on from the successful launches of the Gaelic Games Player Pathway in 2021 and the Gaelic Games Coach Pathway in 2023. Players, coaches and match officials will now develop within one shared framework – from Go Games at club level all the way to national finals at Croke Park.
The vision of the Pathway is to support all match officials in achieving their full potential. Its mission is to deliver effective, engaging and accessible learning opportunities for match officials, relevant to their phase of the Pathway. This will be achieved by engaging, supporting and retaining match officials and match official developers, who in turn take responsibility for their own learning.
THREE PHASES
Mirroring the Player Pathway, the Match Official Pathway is built around three phases – Foundation, Talent and High Performing – which are further divided into seven stages:
- F1 Go Games: officiating non-competitive games for U7–U12 year olds
- F2 Youth Club: officiating competitive youth games
- F3 Adult Club: adult club competition, including referees, linespersons and umpires
- T1 Demonstration of Potential: first development opportunities beyond county level, including the Gaelic Games Female Referee Academy
- T2 Provincial Practising & Achieving: provincial academies and referee panels, including the LGFA Provincial Accelerate Programme
- T3 National Breakthrough: the LGFA National Accelerate Programme, the Camogie Association’s Peter Downey Academy and GAA support panels
- H1 National Match Official: refereeing national inter-county fixtures at the highest level.
GRAB YOUR FIRST WHISTLE
The refereeing journey can begin early. Through the LGFA’s Grab Your First Whistle initiative, young people aged 13 to 15 can take their first steps as referees, while the Go Games referee course is open to those aged 15 and over across all three Associations and handball referees can begin their journey through the online Bronze course.
The Pathway also sets out clear minimum standards. To be eligible to referee, every match official must be in receipt of a valid Gaelic Games Associations vetting acceptance letter prior to undertaking their role or have completed their Access NI check. Referees must complete the Gaelic Games Associations Referee Safeguarding Module (safeguarding module built into the referee in-service training) which is available to all Referees on Tobar. Referees must have a minimum referee qualification and complete an annual in-service. There are no exceptions.
At every stage, the Pathway identifies the people who support a match official’s development – from club referee mentors, blitz organisers and competition administrators to referee assessors and families. Team coaches carry a specific responsibility to ensure referees are treated with respect and have a safe environment in which to officiate.
WELLBEING
The Pathway is aligned with the Give Respect, Get Respect and Take a Second campaigns. It also places a strong emphasis on wellbeing through the RefWell programme, referee warm-up and injury prevention resources, and concussion guidance.
Each stage is supported by a dedicated learning space on Tobar, the Gaelic Games Learning platform. Resources include stage-specific videos, webinars on the match official mindset, pitch positioning and communicating with players, and the playing rules of each code.
This announcement once again reinforces the joint approach to Games Development across the Associations. It builds on previous collaborations such as Go Games, Féile, Be Ready to Play, and the Gaelic Games Player and Coach Pathways.
Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Jarlath Burns, Uachtarán Cumann Peil Gael na mBan Trina Murray, Uachtarán Cumann Camógaíochta Brian Molloy, along with leading referees from the applicable codes, were on hand to launch the Match Officials Pathway.
For full details on the Gaelic Games Match Official Pathway, visit https://learning.gaa.ie/MatchOfficialsPathway and https://read.uberflip.com/i/1546914-gaelic-games-match-officials-pathway
For more information, contact: Camogie Association – National Development Manager, Neil O’Driscoll, e-m Neil.ODriscoll@camogie.ie; GAA – GAA Club Referee Development Lead, Mike Henchy: mike.henchy@gaa.ie. Handball – Operation and Competitions Manager, Padraig Gaffney, e-m: Padraig.gaffney.handball@gaa.ie; LGFA – National Match Official Development Manager, Lizzie Flynn, e-m lizzie.flynn@lgfa.ie
