Community based rugby referees' experiences with recruitment and retention

The retention of sports referees is a critical factor in the ability of local, state and national sporting organisations to deliver community sport to players on a regular weekly basis. A number of studies have been dedicated to investigating the retention rates of coaches and players, however less scrutiny has focused upon why sports referees' commit to undertake the officiating task. This research looked at the factors which influence the continuing participation of community based rugby referees in New South Wales, Australia. The results indicate that the camaraderie amongst referees, their level of enjoyment and success experienced were the key elements in the decision to remain involved. Potential negative factors such as abuse and stress were not found to be contributing factors to this decision.