USA Rugby and USA Rugby Referees alike were pleased this summer, to not only welcome rugby back to the pitch, but also recognize two achievements with the selection of Cisco Lopez to the HSBC Sevens World Series High Performance squad for 2021-22, and Kat Roche’s appointment as the first female official to lead referee a Major League Rugby match.
Lopez is the first USA representative on the sevens circuit officiating squad since Emily Hsieh in 2019 and Mike O'Brien in 2018. He joins 18 other referees from 17 different nations in a larger squad intended to give more referees the opportunity to develop in lead up to the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa. Lopez is one of USA Rugby’s standout figures in refereeing, having been a regular fixture at both sevens tournaments across the country and in the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, which saw him taking charge of matches in Chile and Uruguay in February 2020.
USA Rugby referee manager and Sr. Director of Training & Education, Jamie McGregor said “Congratulations to Cisco for all the hard work he’s put in over the years to reach this level, we wish him the best in excelling on the world stage as representative of USA Rugby Referees. Acknowledgement is also due to USA Rugby Sevens Referee Manager Nick Ricono and his team of referee coaches who have done an excellent job developing sevens referees over the past few years. We hope for more good news regarding opportunities for our referees to perform at these international levels in the future.”
Lopez has been selected for both the Vancouver and Edmonton legs of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, both scheduled to be held in September this year.
On July 15, Kat Roche earned the spotlight within Major League Rugby, taking the pitch as the first ever female lead referee in an MLR match. In a season finale between the Houston Sa berCats and Seattle Seawolves, Roche was front and center following Assistant Referee duties in MLR since 2019.
Roche noted through the MLR press release, “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to pick up the whistle in the MLR. I’ve been involved with the MLR since the first season as a volunteer in the technical zone, then as an Assistant Referee and next into the Extended Referee Group. This new opportunity is my dream come true. I’ve put in a lot of work on and off the field, and I’m honored that the Match Official Managers have faith in me and put me on this match.”
McGregor added, “Sending along a sincere congratulations to Kat on behalf of USA Rugby. Watching her and the ranks of other excelling referees develop through the professional game is exciting to see.”
