USA Rugby Training and Education recently held a key development weekend in Charlotte, NC to expand and refine its certified educator workforce.
The event featured training for new instructors, strategic alignment for existing educators, and international collaboration.
A major highlight of the weekend was the training of 11 new Level 1 (L1) referee educators. These individuals were selected from a competitive application process by a panel that included representatives from USA Rugby's three councils; Youth & High School, College and Senior Club.
These new educators will soon go out and run L1 courses across the country. Initially, they will co-deliver these courses alongside the existing workforce of educators to gain experience. Communities interested in taking advantage of this growing workforce can request referee courses and find more details about hosting courses online.
The weekend also featured meetings for the existing educator and trainer workforce to work in greater detail on Level 2 (L2) offerings for both coaches and referees. Ten USA Rugby match officials were invited for the L2 Referee track, and 12 were invited for the L2 Coach track.
While USA Rugby acknowledges that each instructor brings their own unique perspective, the goal of these meetings was to ensure the delivery of a reliable and consistent product for all L2 attendees. This cohort reviewed the current L2 offerings to:
- Fine-tune presentation materials and structure.
- Align on facilitation methods.
- Clarify the educator's role in promoting participant success.
- Solidify understanding of educator requirements in both World Rugby IRIS and USA Rugby's Learning Center.
The primary aim of these L2 reviews is to increase the number of L2 courses run across the country, starting in the fall.
The development event was run in concert with Rugby Canada and Rugby Americas North (RAN). Two trainers from Rugby Canada attended specifically to assist in running the L1 Educator Training. Furthermore, Steph Veal (Senior Manager Game Development, Rugby Canada) and Scott Harland (Regional Training Manager, Rugby Americas North) were on hand to assist, guide, and ensure alignment across the entire North American region.
Outside of their educational development, all participants had the opportunity to attend the USA Men's Eagles vs. Zimbabwe match on Saturday night at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Jamie McGregor, Senior Director of Training and Education, praised the collaborative effort and the dedication of the attendees: "This was an outstanding weekend that demonstrated the passion and professionalism of our education workforce. Investing in our educators ultimately benefits every referee, coach and player across the country. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed their time and expertise, and I'd especially like to thank Rosalind Anderson, our volunteer Referee Development Coordinator, whose leadership and countless hours behind the scenes were instrumental in making this event such a success. We're also extremely appreciative of the support from Rugby Canada and Rugby Americas North, whose partnership continues to strengthen rugby development throughout our region".
