Spain, Greece and Italy have combined to deliver the latest activity in the RLEF-EU Training and Education Portal project, a level 1 match official course in Valencia for candidates and educators.

New Asociacion Espagnola de Rugby League educator candidates Andrew Pilkington and Juan Luis Mudarra were taught by Federazione Italiana Rugby League head referee, Guido Bonatti.

“The five days in Valencia were beneficial for everyone,” said Bonatti, who is also a member of the RLEF match officials development squad. “Spain now has more qualified and experienced educators and referees, whilst the Greek contingent had the opportunity to deliver parts of the course in a foreign country to aid their development.”

Aris Dardamanis and George Stilianos helped Bonatti deliver some elements of the course, with RLEF Tutor Danny McNeice overseeing. Dardamanis said: “It was great to go over the level 1 requirements again and build on our knowledge from previous courses. I look forward to passing it on to our next referees back in Greece.”

Pilkington noted: “From the perspective of the Spanish college of referees it was a very positive activity. It was demanding, both physically and mentally but extremely beneficial, the relationships we were able to foster were also a big plus. The interest and knowledge shown by the candidates, some of whom have had no previous contact with rugby league, was also very pleasing.  Our next step here is to get these new officials into games and we already have some plans in place for them in the autumn.”

Four new Spanish match officials graduated from the activity.

The TEP is a three-year, €723.000 investment into capacity building through good governance and technical training, funded by €466.000 from the EU’s Erasmus+ project and the remainder from the RLIF and five of its full members. It is intended to build the knowledge and skills of the RLEF’s 21 European members through high quality training and mentoring.