A&H

"Nice to haves" for a new ref

zarathustra

zarathustra

RefChat Addict
Morning all,

As I'm due to take my BRC in September I've decided to start gathering various bits of kit which I will need so that I can hit the ground running once I start officating matches, and I'd appreciate some advice on what bits and piece you guys would recommend that a new ref should have and/or would be useful to have.

So far I have secured the following:
  • Complete Nike kit;
  • Red & Yellow cards x 2;
  • Whistle x2;
  • Wrist Lanyard x2;
  • Flags;
  • Card wallet/holder;
  • Match cards.
The remaining items on my shopping list are as follows:
  • A decent watch - What would you guys recommend for a newbie? I have a "reasonable" budget and I'm willing to pay for a quality watch that will do the job and last me a while
  • A pressure gauge - I assume that they're all pretty much the same, but are their any makes/models I should avoid
  • A refsworld organiser - (currently sold out)
  • Coin(s)
Have I missed out anything important, or can anyone recommend anything that isn't essential, but would be a "nice to have"?

Thanks,
Z
 
The Referee Store
I am doing mine in September as well. Everything you have listed is what I have.

It should do me well for a while. I also have a few set of wet and dry pens and pencils. I also have the red and yellow reusable sheets and a fox 40 whistle.

Good look with your test buddy
 
unless you're a flash f***er like me and have 2 coins :)

id probably buy a pair of boots if I were you ... socks might get wet during the winter months. lol

I have had the 'Optimum' watch from A&H for the last 8 years ... £38, simple to use and - obviously - lasts the length of time ... im also buying the Limit Referees Watch from there as a spare, £21 and got good reviews from these chaps the other day.

when you say 'complete kit' does this include tracksuit/jumpers/jackets? if not then worth getting some sort of tracksuit ... I just wear my West Ham black jacket, does the trick.

oh and I also take a hand towel ... when its raining it can be nice to just dry your face and hair/head at halftime to start again!
 
Looks like you have it well covered. As some others have said:

1. Any coin will do. I normally go with 50p though (get me!) purely because it is more tossable (!)
2. Two watches. One keeps going (counting upwards), and the other counts down from 45:00 and you can stop/start as required for injuries and so on.
 
Mewcenary said:
Looks like you have it well covered. As some others have said:

1. Any coin will do. I normally go with 50p though (get me!) purely because it is more tossable (!)
2. Two watches. One keeps going (counting upwards), and the other counts down from 45:00 and you can stop/start as required for injuries and so on.
Click to expand...
just as a matter of interest which one do you refer to when you are recording times of goals, subs, cautions
 
jofusref said:
just as a matter of interest which one do you refer to when you are recording times of goals, subs, cautions
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The one counting up - it's the total elapsed time. So, it is feasible to have a goal in the 47th minute of the first half, if stoppage time allows.
 
I managed to find a nike watch that has analogue and digital on same face, so both on at same time.
 
I got a 1971 10p coin on ebay, its weight and size make it good to flip and its a talking point...I would get the spintso watch from a&h it counts up and down plus adds injury time and counts down the half time once the first half is ended, for awhistle the molten dofin F or pro is a great whistle and not many have them so if your on a council site with multiple pitches will make you stand out from the usual fox40 or acme users.. and I have a sonic blast in my pocket for mass confrontations..really ear popping..not had to use it yet I hasten to add
 
Thanks guys, some really useful tips.

Went for a Spintso in the end, am also looking into a new smart tracksuit, although how smart anyone can really look in a tracksuit is debatable. But I don't think turning up for matches looking like stig of the dump will help my credibility.
 
I had another look at mine. Mine has the count down from 45mins and a stop watch on the same screen. You can start them both at the same time and you can stop the count down for an injury or any other stop in play. Will post a photo up tomorrow.
 
I've also got a Nike plus gps watch that tells me how far I've run and has a stop watch just in case my spinsto stops
 
SM said:
Lovely nails mate :)
Click to expand...

Do you think? Its the new bubblegum pink with leopard print....

Unfortunately they are my other half... I hate pink with a passion.

The wristwatch is the one I will use, the stopwatch is what I used when Reffing U10 7v7 last season.
As for coins I asked my mates for leftover coins from their holidays... I now have roughly 3kilograms of metal coins, so losing a few is not an issue
 
This Saturday we turned up at my daughter's game, a 45 minute drive from home, at which point she announced that she had forgotten her whistle.
Knowing what she's like I have always kept an old $1 whistle at the bottom of my bag. So she had to ref with a tiny whistle with a wooden pea, rather than the Fox 40.
She had to do the usual post-game deciphering of scratch mark notes she'd made, because her pen stopped working 5 minutes into the half, as happens most weeks. Hm.
 
Phonesurgeon said:
Marine alphabet... communicate?
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Just to let you know, I've just taken my BRC (and passed lol), with the course we got:
Fox 40 Classic
Wrist Lanyard
Flags ( cheap quality)
Fa cards and book

my County fa sell the full nike kit with badge for £45, which i thought was reasonable!

Hope this helps!
 
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