The New England Rugby Football Union Referees Society, Inc. (the Society) is the coordinating body for all rugby officials in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. These are the same areas covered by the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU, or the Union). Though the Society is a separate corporation, the two organizations are strongly affiliated and it is Society policy to keep all of its practises in conformity with NERFU requirements.
The Society was incorporated in 1982 as a Massachusetts corporation under its present name. It is a charitable and educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Society presently has about sixty members, of which fifty are actively officiating. NERFU has over one hundred member clubs, most of which field more than one side. Our inability to cover all the matches played in New England is obvious and the need for more referees is our greatest problem. The rapid growth and increasing organization of college rugby has put great strain on our resources.
New England Referees' Society runs exchanges with the other two Referees' Societies in our territory, Metropolitan New York and (upstate) New York. In addition we have ties and exchanges with referees in Potomac and Eastern Pennsylvania, and we also run exchanges with the MidWest Territory Referees, with Canadian Referees' Societies and with the Gloucester and District Referees' Society of England.
The Northeast Rugby Union (NRU) is one of seven territorial unions that make up the United States of America Rugby Football Union ( USARFU or U.S.A. Rugby). The USARFU has a Referees and Laws Committee (also known as USARRA, "You-Sarah") that also occassionally assigns and evaluates very good and very fortunate New England referees at important matches throughout the country. Due to the quality and dedication of referees in New England, we have been represented on panels and offices of the these august bodies far out of proportion to our numbers.
For ease of administration of assignments, the Society breaks New England into four regions. The Boston Area, extending to about route 128, is the smallest geographically but the busiest. The South and West covers western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Northwest includes Vermont and western New Hampshire. Finally, the Northeast has Maine and eastern New Hampshire. Each of these areas has a local Area Coordinator who makes assignments and arranges for local meetings throughout the season. If all goes well, each area has about three meetings during each season devoted to referee development (no administration).
The Society has two major gatherings each year, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the New England Championships. The AGM is usually held on a weekday in the first week of December at a restaurant in central Massachusetts. At the AGM the Society hears reports from all of its officers, conducts major business, and elects Officers and Directors for the coming year. In Spring at the annual New England Championships tournament run by NERFU, the Society traditionally hosts a dinner for its members and guests.
During the year the Society is run by an Executive Committee of four officers and five or six additional Directors. The officers are the President, Vice-President, Secretary (who must be a resident of Massachusetts), and Treasurer. By tradition, the Chair of the Evaluations Committee and the Area Co-ordinators comprise the rest of the Committee. The Executive Committee meets at least quarterly.
The Referees Society exists to promote rugby football, to develop the quality of referees, and to provide referees for matches. It holds meetings and clinics for discussions and instruction on officiating. On request, members of the Society attend club practises to explain and discuss rugby law and its application.