Blowing the whistle, waving the flag :The difficulty in retaining rugby union referees from season to season

The retention of sports referees is a critical factor in the ability of local, state and national sporting organisations to deliver community sport to its clients on a weekly basis. Previous studies have been dedicated to investigating the retention rates of coaches and players however little work has focused upon the sports referee and why referees continue to officiate. Using data from interviews and material sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this research looked at the factors which influenced community based rugby union referees from choosing to remain involved in officiating. Results revealed that decisions to join and decisions to join and decisions to leave differ greatly amongst the referees who participated in the research. Factors including camaraderie amongst referees, level of enjoyment and success experienced were all identified as key elements in helping referees decide to remain