Swindon ref honoured at national tournament (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Swindon ref honoured at national tournament

9:09am Wednesday 2nd July 2008 in Football

Football: Leisure Leagues who are affiliated to UKIFF (United Kingdom Independent Football Federation) held its inaugural National Tournament at Birmingham University where the winners and runners up from leagues all over the country battled it out for the title of National Champions.

However it wasn't just the best teams that were involved, a selection of the best referees from all over the country were also present to make sure all games were officiated to a high standard.

UKIFF Referee Coordinator Olly Hitchcox commented "We have lots of fantastic referees all over the country who officiate at our leagues on a weekly basis. So it was great to see so many of them present today refereeing at such a prestigious event."

Swindon ref James Sutcliffe (pictured) who was one of those selected to referee at the tournament commented "I love refereeing at my league every week and was honored to be asked to referee at the tournament. It was great to meet all the others refs from all over the country and officiate some great games as well, it was a really enjoyable day."

Due to the tournaments success Leisure Leagues are looking at holding another one in September to accommodate winners and runners up who didn't make the cut off date for this one. This will again mean a selection of the best referees from all over the country being called up to officiate the game.

Olly went on to say " There were so many great refs we didn't get to use this time so we will defiantly look at using them in September. It's a great way to thank them for all the hard work they do for us on a regular basis and also gives them something to aspire to just like the players."

UKIFF are always looking for new referees at their affiliated leagues all over the country including those in Swindon.

Olly stated "we already have a number of great referees who work for us but are always on the look out for new ones as our number of affiliated leagues and teams constantly expands. And who knows anyone who joins our team of refs could one day even be selected to referee at a National Tournament in the future. We have an extensive training program and pay a minimum of £10 per hour as well as supplying full kit and equipment so I'd urge anyone interested to get in touch."

Anyone interested should contact Olly on 0845 230 2340 or e-mail info@ukiff.com