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The power of one: An autoenthnographic journey of a rugby union referee
Baldwin, Christopher Francis
Baldwin, Christopher Francis
Author
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reveal the experiences the author encountered during one of his rugby union refereeing seasons.
Design/methodology/approach: When the author assumed the role of a senior referee in a local community rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia, he started collating his matches in the form of a diary. His lived experiences, as recorded in the diary, were the sole source of data for this inquiry. The data collected were over a 12‐month period (2010).
Findings: This study provides a descriptive analysis of the author's weekend and, on occasion, week day/night match experiences in rugby union as a referee and the challenges of fairness and subjectivity encountered.
Originality/value: The paper identifies challenges of maintaining a viable and competitive local rugby union competition free from violence amidst a growing trend in declining player numbers and skill levels at the local community rugby union level. It is envisaged that the findings may benefit competition administrators in designing and facilitating better ways to cater for the diverse playing abilities of local rugby union players in an increasingly competitive sport market who are looking for ways to participate in team‐based sports.
Keywords
autoethnography, lived experience, referee, rugby union, sports, ball games, individual behaviour, individual psychology
Date
2013
Type
Journal article
Journal
Qualitative Research Journal
Book
Volume
13
Issue
2
Page Range
154-162
Article Number
ACU Department
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled