A total of 13 new match officials, many with links to CZRLA clubs, have qualified as match officials after a dual language course as part of the RLEF-EU Governance Foundation Project. Theory sessions were run in the morning with practicals worked in tandem with a second division tournament in the afternoon, where the candidates where either shadowed as referees by tutors or worked as touch judges.

Petr Sedina, who led the course in Czech said, "It has been received with great interest from all clubs, the candidates have shown a perfect attitude and it was a very fruitful day. We believe it’s going to help to sustain our development and to enlarge our organization even more."

Matt Smith, the CZRLA's leading referee, who co-supported running the course added, "It was great to see so many players, former and present participating. Because of their playing experience the guys were quite confident which really made a difference in learning to officiate and adjudicate the game."

“So far, the Czech Rep has been very successful in establishing community-based rugby league clubs which are self-sufficient in producing enthusiastic local players, supporters, sponsors and even coaching staff, but one area that has been lacking has been the emergence of Czech nationals as match officials,” noted CZRLA’s Andy Mulhall. “As the sport advances here, I am confident that in the not too distant future, we will be able to provide a referee at international level."

Pictured: CZRLA match official tutor Petr Sedina goes through theory in the classroom.