Rugby League’s flourishing stocks of junior referees

Rugby League’s flourishing stocks of junior referees received another boost last night after one of its best young officials took out the NSW Sports Federation award for Young Official of the Year.



The annual awards dinner celebrated the outstanding achievements of athletes, administrators, organisations, coaches, officials and volunteers within NSW, with last night’s winners in other categories including Australian cricketer Simon Katich and Olympian Matthew Mitcham.



Rugby League topped the lot in the Young Official of the Year category with 21-year-old NSWRL referee Kasey Campbell taking out the award for her outstanding achievements in 2008.



In between her full time job as an ARL Development Officer, Campbell refereed in the 2008 Women’s World Cup including the third place play off between England and Pacific Islands, and was touch Judge in the Final between Australia and New Zealand.



In a huge year, Campbell also controlled Game 1 of the NSW v QLD Women’s State of Origin series and refereed and touch judged in numerous state and district level competitions, including the Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball Cup competitions of the NSWRL.



Campbell, who has refereed since 2004, said she hoped to do it for many years to come.



“I love the physical challenge of refereeing and the mental aspect of it too,” Campbell said today.



“The other thing about refereeing is if you work hard you are given a lot of opportunities and that’s a great thing, it keeps you motivated to keep improving.



“It was a big shock to get an award but I’m very grateful.



“Refereeing isn’t something you do for recognition but it was nice of the Sports Federation to consider officials for the awards night.”



NSWRL Coaching and Development Manager Martin Meredith said Campbell had a bright future as a referee.



“It’s a wonderful achievement for one of the up and coming young female referees to be awarded a prestigious award in a male dominated sport,” Meredith said.



“She’s come a long way in a short period of time and is showing plenty of potential.



“Our numbers in the junior refereeing ranks have steadily increased over the past 12 months and hopefully Kasey’s win will further encourage more women to get involved.”