- The Referee & Laws Committee (RLC) have recently seated members to the advisory group, including Olivia Rogers as Chair and Michele Yarbrough as Vice Chair.
- Committee members were nominated and elected to nine competitive regions by Local Referee Organizations (LRO) as well as the Youth & High School, Collegiate and Senior Club Councils, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
- A USA Rugby first as two women are elected Chair and Vice Chair of national referee leadership.
- The RLC will provide recommendations with regard to laws of the game, recruitment and retention, development, training, coaching, and performance review.
The USA Rugby Referee & Laws Committee (RLC) was recently seated following nominations and elections by the Local Referee Organizations (LRO), USA Rugby National Councils and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. LRO representation was consolidated into nine competitive regions. Additionally, Olivia Rogers of the Michigan Referee Society was seated as Committee Chair following nominations and voting by LRO Chairpersons. USA Rugby Board Member and referee Michele Yarbrough was also seated as Vice Chair. Rogers and Yarbrough’s appointments mark a USA Rugby first as two women are seated in the leadership roles of a national referee and laws committee.
Rogers noted on being seated as Chair, “I have been fortunate to be involved with the USA Rugby Referee program for quite some time and have had some incredible mentors along the way to influence my growth both on and off the field. I see serving as Chair of the RLC as a wonderful way to give back, leveraging my professional and personal skill sets in a meaningful way.”
As stated in the USA Rugby bylaws, the Referee & Laws Committee will make policy recommendations with regard to match officials, including recruitment and retention, development, training, coaching, and performance review. The Committee will also make recommendations and review budgets associated with match officials and High Performance pathways.
The Committee’s overall goal is to enhance match officiating across the country by increasing cooperation and consistency between referee organizations and providing common solutions. The RLC will ensure transparent processes are clearly communicated to stakeholders and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive match official community that is welcoming for all.
The RLC Terms of Reference were collaboratively developed and voted on by LRO leadership to focus service and support towards each organization acting as the primary entities of referee administration within USA Rugby. The Terms of Reference were then voted on by LRO Chairpersons and ratified by the USA Rugby Board of Directors.
| POSITION | NAME | ORGANIZATION |
| Chair | Olivia Rogers | Michigan Referee Society |
| Vice Chair | Michele Yarbrough | USA Rugby Board of Directors |
| Pacific North | Lee Bryant | NorCal Rugby Referee Society |
| Pacific South | Marquise Goodwin | SoCal Rugby Referee Society |
| Frontier | Kahlil Harrison | Rugby Utah Referee Society |
| Midwest | Martin Dunne | Chicago Area RFU Referee Society |
| Atlantic North | Robert Gilmore | Rugby Referee Society of New York |
| Mid Atlantic | Mike O'Brien | Potomac Rugby Referee Society |
| Southern | Randall Johnson | Mid South Rugby Referee Society |
| Red River | Derek Summers | Texas Rugby Referee Association |
| Independent At Large | Phil Klevorick | Back10Pros |
| Youth & High School Council | Jason Divine | NorCal Rugby Referee Society |
| Collegiate Council | Riaan van Greuning | Potomac Rugby Referee Society |
| Senior Club Council | Kirk Tate | Texas Rugby Union |
| International Athlete Council | To Be Seated | |
| Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee | Amanda Cox | Southeast Rugby Referee Society |
| Communications Director (non-voting) | Elvy Asonye | Referee Society of Virginia |
| USA Rugby (non-voting) | Jamie McGregor | USA Rugby National Office |
Rogers continued, “The RLC's immediate objectives are to have the newly constituted committee get familiarized with all the work done by the working groups over the past nine months, which has been truly incredible, and to ensure the knowledge and materials are shared widely with the USA Rugby Referee community to put into practice.”
Starting April 13th, the RLC will host quarterly virtual meetings with LRO representatives to discuss current objectives of the committee, ensuring transparent communication and feedback is consistent throughout the referee season.
“The long-term goal is a knock-on effect of this immediate objective: to establish a solid framework for the Local Referee Organizations and individual match officials for continued diverse and inclusive referee recruitment, retention, and development.”
Working groups will continue to function within the Committee, focused on certain aspects of referee administration including referee development, governance, training and education and diversity, equity and inclusion.
"I am delighted to be working with Olivia and Michele to improve resources and pathways for match officials across the country,” added USA Rugby Training & Education Director, Jamie McGregor, “Over the past three months, USA Rugby has been working with the interim RLC committee to support the #FitRefRaffle and a series of 12 Referee Coaching seminars, both of which have been very well received. I anticipate even greater collaboration and positive outcomes working with the fully seated committee.'
