Adventures in Aussie Touch Footie Part 10 - NSW Country Championships

NSW Country Championships was held in Dubbo this year, a 6-hour road trip from northwest from Sydney (but with a difference of about 100km depending on route). I was originally not planning on attending until one of my referee mates pointed out that I really should "check the box" on it... and he was right because I have thoroughly enjoyed every State and National event I've been to so far and would have probably ended up kicking myself later for missing this one. Thanks Fraggle :-)

On-field, I have achieved everything and more that I wanted to in Touch before I came to Australia. So instead of participating as an active referee at this event I spent my weekend with the State Panel developing as a referee coach, getting a feel for how they do what they do and for what happens behind the scenes with the evaluation and [finals] appointments processes. I was grateful for the invitation as it would set me up very well for the Referee Recruitment & Retention Program I would attend in June to attain formal accreditation(s) for course presenting and referee coaching.
(Of course having got a taste for the fun these people have together when I met most of them for the first time six months ago at State Cup (my no-alcohol preparation for the previous 4 weeks blown in the process!) I was also looking forward to partaking in a little myself... not that I'll be writing about it!)

The weekend certainly opened my eyes to the public and behind the scenes effort that the Panel members put in before, during and after these tournaments. Even after one day, I was mentally tired and actually sore.

Friday saw a pretty leisurely road trip out to Dubbo - via Bathurst where I drove a "hot lap" of the famous Mount Panorama circuit (but that's for another story!) - followed by a chilled out afternoon of catch-up chat and banter as people arrived at the motel. Around 6pm most people headed across the road to the Leagues Club for a feed before the weekend "officially" started with the pre-tournament referees' meeting and subsequently the Panel's team meeting - both of which are largely to motivate and communicate expectations, strategy & procedural announcements.

Now normally the night before a tournament I'd be back in my hotel room relaxing and settling down for a reasonably early night in preparation for an early start. But I'm not active this weekend :c) so it's time to get a few drinks in! As it was my first time with the Panel though, I and another fella were also on "grommet" duty, which meant serving up drinks to the rest of them for the night! Good times... late too!

Saturday morning and dammit the cold/flu symptoms I've been trying to fight off the past week have caught up with me... though I should hardly be surprised. So I downed a mug of hot honey & lemon before heading to the fields - via Maccas for a brekkie roll - fried food is the order of the day the morning after a drinks session! Naturally there were plenty of other people with the same idea and surprisingly a lot of them were players.

Wish the exception of a short break for lunch, I spent 8 till 5 on my feet watching games, attempting to study and write up coaching sheets for 3 referees at a time and delivering feedback to them after the games. After play finished for the day we [Panel] all headed straight back to the hotel to begin the evening's meetings - reviewing the day and discussing upgrades, finals appointments and back-fill appointments. This took about 3 hours in total, not including having to break for the tournament referees' dinner. I'm told we "got off lightly" in time terms as frequently these meetings run into the small hours of the morning. I skipped drinks that night, instead curling up in bed with more hot honey & lemon and the Lions tour game on TV.

I actually fell asleep before the game ended but not before contemplating differences between attending a tournament as an active referee vs. as a referee coach... but more on that later.

Sunday morning was a similar to Saturday... early start, not-exactly-healthy breakfast and more game watching and referee assessing. Around midday we [Panel] all got together to have a full team debrief as people needed to travel. It was a really good open and honest session for all concerned. Normally the Panel will invite a couple of coaches to work with them at an event but this time out there were NINE of us, so a little more "full-on" for them but the flip side is I think lots of great feedback came out of it so well worth it.

As active referees, we pretty much show up and run according to a schedule that has been prepared for us... and yes we generally run our guts out. When we're off duty though, we can sit down, recover and relax somewhere getting out of the sun/wind/rain if we choose. The Panel does a bunch of prep work before each tournament and coaches spend most of their days on their feet watching and analysing games, followed by evenings stuck in meetings. This is a big ask requiring much concentration effort and I for one developed a renewed appreciation for what these people do at every tournament.

I'm so glad I did this and am looking forward to the RRRP now and getting back on the field at Vawdon Cup in Sydney :-)
 

MasterChef Australia

I'm a closet chef... somebody who loves to create good food but doesn't because I don't enjoy cooking just for myself and don't stock up on ingredients because half of them usually end up in the bin. (I really HATE seeing food wasted - there are too many starving people in the world so it's objectionable to me that the Western world discards so much with little thought.) So I really like this TV show, both as "entertainment" and as somebody who simply enjoys food. I get to soak up new gastronomy ideas, the majority of what gets cooked is done as something resembling an individual portion and because I learn by observing/doing the show (Ready Steady Cook is another example) particularly resonates with me. I'm so much more likely to experiment myself... and do.

Masterchef Australia gives cooking/cheffing the reality TV treatment and it WORKS. Take twenty aspiring and talented amateur chefs - regular people with regular jobs and no professional cooking experience but hold dreams of breaking in - put them through a series of group and individual challenges as well as professional "master" skills classes with two of the Australia's top celebrity/executive chefs as mentors and gradually whittle them down to one.

It's SO much better than it's British ancestor - three people cooking in a quiet studio kitchen with judges watching (and occasionally interviewing) quietly - admittedly good for the audience of its time but lacks variety in today's market. I don't know if the show still runs and/or if they've updated the concept. Admittedly I'd also rather watch Sarah Wilson over Lloyd "we've ruminated, cogitated and digested" Grossman any day. As with many of these type of shows today, she's simply the host with the pretty face who makes cameo appearances come challenge or eviction time and has variations of about 4 scripted lines to speak - that's it - and it's a good thing because it keeps the focus on the cooking.

The other reason I like Masterchef Australia better than almost any other show in this genre is the elimination guidelines. In other shows, for example The Biggest Loser, contestants are invited to vote out the person "they'd like to see go home" or words to that effect, the result being tactical voting, alliances and betrayal. In Masterchef Australia, the contestants are repeatedly reminded to cast their vote for the person "who contributed least to the team" or "performed the worst"in the relevant challenges, and as Gary Mehigan (one of the celebrity executive chefs mentoring the contestants) advised last night:"You've got some hard decisions to make... think carefully... we want the right people to stay in this competition."

I do wonder though, why the producers use Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" (great track that it is) as the show's theme music. I mean, aside from that food can be hot or cold, what's the connection? Perhaps a thinly veiled reference to stereotypical chef temperament?


 

Leinster for the Heineken Cup!

 
In about an hour, Leinster will contest the Heineken Cup final for the first time, having smashed Munster off the park in the semi-final 3 weeks ago - something that gave me much satisfaction. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Munster at all. Munster is the heart & soul (not to mention proclaimed/propaganda crown jewel) of Irish rugby and I will happily and passionately support them, and Ulster & Connacht for that matter.

But many Leinster folk have morphed into fairweather supporters of our own provincial side, instead jumping on the winning bandwagon, claiming Munster is "their team", which bothers me. I'm confident those people will be back wearing blue today and it gives me satisfaction to say truthfully that blue was always my primary colour.

Allegiances aside though...

Ireland are Six Nations champions and Munster recently took the Magners/Celtic League (claiming Leinster's crown). It would be just FANTASTIC if Leinster could win the Heineken Cup (claiming Munster's crown in return!) to complete a clean sweep for Irish rugby and cap our greatest ever season.
 

Anti-speeding advertising campaigns

 
For years, road safety authorities in Ireland and UK have attempted to use "shock" tactics in advertising campaigns against speeding and drink-driving, displaying graphic images of destruction and painful injury. In the new age of digital special effects and reality TV though, people have become desensitised to these types of visuals. I reckon the Aussies have cracked it though, particularly when it comes (as these campaigns often do) to targeting the young male demographic.


 

Adventures in Aussie Touch Footie Part 9 - Recognition I never saw coming

 
I've talked before about the genuine recognition culture that exists within the Touch Football community here in Australia. Tonight I was a recipient of it - I just arrived home from the Sydney Rebels AGM where I was presented with a fabulous Kooga over-jacket with Rebels referee branding.

The following is an excerpt from the Regional Director's report:

"There has also been a new initiative launched this year aimed towards our graded referees. This year has marked an emphasis on referees being more proactive to "put back" into their region. This can include actions such as:

• Senior referees presenting their own refereeing courses at their affiliate or better yet in neighbouring affiliates
• Assistant to a presenter in refereeing courses at their affiliate or better yet in neighbouring affiliates
• Being available for inter regional trial matches
• Refereeing in smaller affiliates from time to time to assist in development
• Attending NTL

It is my view that less experienced referees benefit from watching, talking to and ultimately work towards advancing through the system as the senior referees did before them. The following referees have not only met the above criteria but have excelled at it. Rebels Touch thanks you for your efforts."

I'd been doing this stuff because I got enjoyment, learning and satisfaction from it - certainly never saw this coming so am really quite chuffed :-)