Rugby Ontario and the Ontario Rugby Referees’ Society are extremely excited to announce the members of the 2010 Ontario Referee Focus Group.

Nathan Abdelnour (Ottawa), Talal Chaudhry (Mississauga), Brendan Douros (Toronto), Hadis Fetic (Burlington), Stuart Findlay (Etobicoke), Lindsay Hunt (Mississauga), Carl Johannson (Ottawa), Niall Jones (Wingham), Camille Juzwik (Ottawa), Peter Kijak (Mississauga), Rose Labreche (Markham), Steven Meyer (London), Kevin Noble (Hamilton), Graham Oldford (Waterloo), Chris Pilon (London), Nathan Robb (Toronto), Danielle Spice (Oakville) and Blake Wilson (Kingston).

This group of young, athletic and enthusiastic referees was selected after the initial presentation was made and streamed online. Applications for the program outweighed expectations and some extremely tough decisions were made after the interview process. The selection process was so competitive that the squad size was increased from the initial number of 15 to18. A further 10 people expressed interest in joining the program but due to commitments were unable do so in 2010.

With an average age of 21 the Focus Group is looking to emulate other parts of the world and provide younger people with the opportunities, challenges and enjoyment that refereeing rugby can provide. “This is an absolutely phenomenal start to the program and will, I believe, go a long way to changing the face of rugby refereeing in Ontario.” Gareth Callaway, Ontario Rugby Referees’ Society Chairperson.

Another key part of the Focus Group program is to develop new referee coaches to help progress the referees’ development.

Four coaches will be involved with the 2010 inductees. They are: Peter Darbishire (Stratford), Brian Chapple (Hamilton), Colin Shaw (Toronto) and Mark Doyle (Ottawa).

The Focus Group is a joint venture by Rugby Ontario and the ORRS to develop and promote refereeing as a career. It is facilitated by Rugby Ontario's Rugby Development Manager Andrew Hall. “I am sure that with this great start to the 2010 Focus Group the momentum will carry over until next year and we will start to see more people look to refereeing as a career in rugby.”

The Focus Group will assemble at Seneca College, Toronto on Friday 16th July for a 2.5 day camp. This will be followed by further development sessions throughout the 2010 season.

For more information on the Focus Group or to watch the presentation please go to the Rugby Ontario website - www.rugbyontario.com

Alternatively contact Andrew Hall, flagrugby@osrc.com 416 426 7181.