Headmaster laments lack of respect for sports officials

St Peter’s College Auckland headmaster James Bentley said he was “recently at a meeting where we were told that one of our major winter sports is facing a critical shortage of referees. The reason was simple: referees are walking away because they can no longer tolerate the abuse coming from the sidelines”.

“Men and women who volunteer their time to support young people and contribute to the sport they love have decided they have better things to do on their weekends and, quite frankly, who can blame them?

“One of the greatest threats to the growth of amateur sport is the declining availability of referees and officials,” Mr Bentley said.

“Already, we are seeing competitions forced to centralise games so referees can move quickly between matches. In most cases now, having a neutral qualified referee has become a luxury. Instead, the responsibility falls to coaches or parents willing to put up their hand. While not ideal this is becoming more common.”

Mr Bentley said he had once offered the chance to referee a rugby game involving five-year-olds. He “faced a barrage of shouting and sideline instructions about everything I was supposedly missing. When I eventually stopped the game and politely asked the instigators to settle down, I was met with a volley of abuse”.

Mr Bentley noted that “sport can teach many things including resilience, respect, self control and perspective”.

“If we adults cannot model those qualities from the sideline, we should not be surprised when young people struggle to demonstrate them on the field.”

The headmaster said that, at St Peter’s College and “across all schools in our region, poor sideline behaviour is never tolerated”.

“Please support your son passionately,” he urged parents. “But always remember that school sport only survives because people are willing to coach, manage, referee and volunteer their time for the benefit of our boys. And for that they must always be respected.”

FULL STORY

Newsletter Issue 8 (St Peter’s College)