On behalf of the Management Committee of the Townsville Touch Referees Association Inc., I wish you and your family the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years!
This year was filled with lots of wonderful achievements for our members, and we are sure that there are plenty more to come in 2023.
Throughout 2022, our members travelled from the Torres Strait to Coffs Harbour to referee the sport they love, and we were represented at every level from social games at Queens Park on Monday nights through to one of sports pinnacle events – the State of Origin in Coffs Harbour.
As an organisation we facilitated five accreditation courses throughout the year, which saw us welcome 27 new referees to our ranks. We also upskilled 10 young referees in preparation for their Level 2, and 3 developing referees for their Level 3 accreditation. We have already seen one of them upgraded to Level 3 – congratulations Mikayla Atkinson!
To top it off, one of our top-performing young referees was awarded his upgrade to Level 5 at the NTL in May – congratulations Bailey Sloman!
In August we recognised the service of nine long-serving members of our organisation. Congratulations to all of you, and a special congratulations to both Sheridan Turner and Rowland “Roly” Warnock who were recognised for their 25 and 30 years of service, respectively.
This year saw the return of the TTRA’s President’s Award at our annual awards night, after a full decade in the archives. Congratulations to Sam Chittleborough, who also took home this year’s Glen Wilson Award for Most Improved Referee.
Our Most Promising Referee awards for this year’s Colliers Shield were presented to Kaylee Schroeder and Dakoda Fox, while Sally Broad and Kylan Cutts took the honours in the junior season. All four of them have shown an exciting amount of potential as referees, and we’re looking forward to seeing them succeed as referees in the future!
Leanne Leo and Troy Jones took home the Most Valued awards for the Monday Night Mixed season, and Dakoda Fox took home the award for the Veterans season. The award reflected the reliability and commitment that each of them has shown towards refereeing in our weeknight competitions.
Congratulations to all our members who were recognised in 2022, whether it was with one of our prestigious awards, or with an appointment to a Grand Final.
To everyone, thank-you for your dedicated efforts and your positive attitudes in 2022. We could not have done it without you!
If you are travelling away over the holiday period, please do so safely, because we are looking forward to seeing you all back on the touch footy field in the new year.
May your season be merry, and your presents be underwear-free (unless you really need some!)
Have a very merry Christmas, and happy and safe New Year!
Kerrod Hall
President
Townsville Touch Referees Association Inc.