First Scrim
Today I refereed my very first full scrim! The Hellfire Harlots were kind enough to take me into their zebra pack for their scrim against Manchester.
As it was my first full scrim, I set myself a few achievable goals (based on the SMART principle). Primarily I wanted to keep my Rear OPR position on the pack, and I’m happy to say I managed to do this. My other goal was to echo the jam call-off whistles and match the pace of the other referees. I joined in probably 90% of the time and matched the whistles pretty well. The times I missed it, I was either focused on other things or felt I couldn’t draw breath in time to perform the full four whistle blasts. Sometimes not blowing the whistle is the right thing to do!
As a bonus, I saw a number of penalties. Some of which were called by other referees, and one I called myself. I wasn’t expecting to call any penalties - I was going to be happy enough with keeping pace and position on the pack - but I’m pleased that I had the confidence and commitment to call a penalty that I saw, and call it correctly and clearly.
Best of all - the Harlots have invited me back! This may become a regular thing, and if so, I’m extremely happy!
