The USA Rugby Referee Department is pleased to announce that Amanda Cox will be joining the High Performance Management Group in the role of Referee Administrator. She will be working with Marc Nelson, the USA Rugby Referee Development Manager and Richard Every, the High Performance Referee Manager, to ensure that referees are identified and set on an integrated developmental pathway to effectively reach their potential and beyond. Amanda will liaise directly with the Referee Development Officers or Chairs of each Local Area Union to identify emerging referee talent and sustain and support existing talent. She will recommend referee development plans by providing resources, direction and match level assignment support to assist referee growth. In addition she will also be responsible for event logistics at national and international competitions.
Amanda comes to the department from the Southeast Rugby Referee Society with over 20 years experience as player, team captain, founding member of the Raleigh Venom (4-time National Champions) and referee coach. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, she has spent the past 3 years honing her skills as a referee coach. She most recently held a role with SERRS that allowed her to recruit and develop local talent for the national stage. She was identified as a High Performance Referee Coach and has attended multiple events where she has excelled. Amanda is the only woman in the United States to be a certified Level 2 Coach of Match Officials. She is a respected figure on the sidelines and was named to the National Selection Committee in 2016.
High Performance Referee Manager, Richard Every, says, "As we move toward 2017 we are in the process of developing clearer pathways with reporting systems that promote self-evaluation, video analysis and referee development support over the current system that has been found to be too critical, personal and subjective. The ultimate goal is to build community amongst referees, performance reviewers, referee coaches and match official administrators to increase recruitment and retention through structured pathways. Amanda brings a good understanding of the direction we are heading in and her natural leadership and organizational skills will be a huge benefit to the refereeing fraternity.'
