Brooke Kneebush [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the introduction to the Community Officiating Essential Skills Course webinar. My name is Brooke Kneebush. I'm the Senior Officiating Advisor in the Community Coaching and Officiating team at the Australian Sports Commission. And I'll be your emcee today. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet today. And for me, today, that's the Ngunnawal people and pay my respects to their elders, past and present. I'd also like to recognise the outstanding contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make to society and sport in Australia, and to celebrate the power of sport, to promote reconciliation and reduce inequality. We're thrilled to be here today to launch the Australian Sports Commission's new Community Officiating Essential Skills online course, which has been developed with support from Australian national sporting organisations and national sporting organisations for people with disability. Following extensive research and collaboration with input from sport, academics, officials, coaches and participants, the course recognises the important impact officials can have in facilitating quality, positive, sport, safe and inclusive environments for all participants. It's built on a foundation of the modern approach to officiating. Over the next 45 minutes we'll look in some detail into the objectives and structure of the course. Ways that it can be blended with sport specific development offerings, the value to officials, and ultimately their participants. We’ll explore the opportunity the course offers for officials to develop their skills well beyond applying the rules of the sport, including adapting according to different motivations, needs, environments and contexts, authentically engaging with participants, coaches and stakeholders, and reflecting on one's own practice. Later in this webinar, three panellists from different levels and roles in sport will share their perspectives on specific themes from within the Community Officiating Essential Skills course. And to begin with, we'll hear from Richard McInnes, Executive General Manager, Sport and Community Capability here at the Australian Sports Commission and ASC Director, Coaching and Officiating, Cam Tradell, who will set the scene for us discussing how the Officiating Essential Skills Course aligns with strategy, the role the ASC plays in the development of officials and why this course is so important. It's my pleasure now to hand over to Richard McGuinness to give an official welcome and introduction.
Richard McInnes [00:02:28] Thank you, Brooke, and thank you all for joining us today. Despite what's occurred around us, not a lot has changed in officiating education since 2000. The modern approach to officiating supports the modern approach to coaching, which is launched in 2022 by the Australian Sports Commission. The Community Officiating Essential Skills course complements and reinforces the Community Coaching Essential Skills Course, so coaches and officials will now be empowered with skills and knowledge to facilitate safe, inclusive, welcoming environments to enable participants to have an enjoyable experience that services their unique needs and motivations. Our officials play a critical role in sport and can have an immense impact on the environments in which people play and enjoy their sport. They can influence the experiences that participants have, which impacts on people either staying involved or getting involved in sport and hopefully staying involved for life. It is therefore really important that our officials are equipped with the skills to meet the needs of today's participants, and that officials are reinforcing the modern approach that coaches are taking now. The course reflects the broader Australian population by representing diverse participants, coaches and officials, and offers support to officials to engage with the diverse community groups that we have more confidently. I want to firstly or lastly, thank you for your time in volunteering in officiating around Australia and for attending today and we really value your contribution to sport. Thanks, Brooke.
Brooke Kneebush [00:03:59] Thank you Richard. And now over to Cam. Cam, can you explain what is the Community Officiating Essential Skills course and why is it important for sport.
Cam Tradell [00:04:10] Yeah. Thanks, Brooke. The the course, itself is made up of seven modules, which learners complete, well, when they complete, they receive an award. And if they do all seven of the modules, they receive a certificate for completion of the course. So the, the modern approach to officiating, is embedded throughout all of those modules, which is really key. So we can start to really tease out some of the nuances and some of the, the new information that that supports you in the way that you communicate and connect, with people, but also then provide optimal environments for people. So, understanding the context that you're officiating in and then being able to really, support that through empowerment. As Richard touched on, the the nuance between the modern approach to coaching and officiating, we see them as being two sides of the same coin. So, to create a really positive environment, having both coaches and officials on the same page becomes really important, so that we can ensure that we're getting some clarity with regards to what we're doing and how we're playing our role to create these high-quality environments. So, the the training and support that, that the learners are directed through, is really, developed to grow the capability and competence of, community officials, providing accessible, learning through the platform so that they get generic information that can then be contextualised for their sport. And as I say, with not just with how we officiate, the sport, transactionally, but how we interact and connect, at different levels through the different roles, highlighting the essential skills. It's to provide new and existing officials with knowledge to officiate in the community sporting environment. Guidance from officials on how to apply their knowledge into, practice. And that becomes really important is a lot of the time we have, information or education that, we think is, is fantastic in theory, but how do we apply that? Becomes key, so really being led, supported and helped to think deeply about what is the information and how am I going to apply it in my context? It's to provide, the modules and the reason why we've broken it down to the modules is to provide bite sized pieces of information so that it doesn't become overwhelming. So we can we can start to really hone in on each and think about each individual module, as its own piece in context of the broader, course. So that, NSOs and NSODs can select from or select and include whichever is the most important pieces for them that they really want to highlight that, that will really support their sports. And keep in mind that officials can, can, choose to opt in, to then fill a knowledge gap that they've got. So, you might find an existing, official believes that they've been provided some feedback that potentially they need that a little bit of help in their communication style or the way that they communicate, so they can jump in and do really specific or targeted, education development on, on how they communicate effectively. But it's, it's about, how we provide the capability and confidence of our official officials to provide accessible and appropriate learning development, with a focus on the different motivations and reasons why people turn up to play sport. Understanding that an old model that, that we had really lumped everyone together. So, you might do a, a level one course that that has everyone from a beginner official all the way up to someone who's in high competition. And sometimes that's unhelpful. What we want to do is we really want to get targeted with regards to focusing on people in the learning space and people who are just entering into entering, into sport and learning how to compete in the sport. Understand they're going to need different things to to support them on their journey. People in playing socially who are there for different reasons, other than, to be highly competitive and to be picked up on every little piece, of the, of the sport, then the people in competition and of course, and the people in performance, who are there to, to be the best that they can be. And and obviously they're there for the, the, top end of the sport. They're there for, the, the rules, the responsibility, the consistency. But still all of the pieces of information that underpin all the other areas still hold firm with regards to the respect, the relationships and the way that we interact at all levels. So inside this becomes a key foundational piece for the Australian Sports Commission on how we're supporting officials as we move into the future.
Brooke Kneebush [00:09:52] Thanks very much, Cam. We'll just move on now to talk about, what's changed? Why the need for this new Essential Skills course? This is replacing the General Principles of Officiating course that's been with the Sports Commission since the year 2000. Can you talk a little bit about what's changed in the two decades since then? Has sport kept up with the change? Or is there more that can be done? And how will the Essential Skills course support NSOs and officials to facilitate environments that enable modern Australians to have optimal experiences?
Cam Tradell [00:10:33] Yeah. It's a great question. And, and look a lot's changed over the past couple of decades. And, again I don't think, I don't think we're, we're telling anyone anything that they don't know with regards to the changes in, in society and, we had a, I, I often talk about the fact in when the original Essential skills came out I was walking around in a completely different world, still listening to noises as I was trying to dial up to my, to my internet and so on. Whereas now we've got an expectation of high-quality Wi-Fi anywhere we go and being able to access the information anywhere. The way that we share information has changed completely from going to an encyclopaedia to find out some information about something from years ago and we've got to keep getting the updated versions, to I can access anything I want, when I want, on my terms, in the way that I wish to receive it. So, that's all shifted, so that our ability to drive change isn't so much something that needs to take the time that it used to, to embed. We can literally be quite proactive with regards to accessing research and data and making the changes that we need and then making it accessible. That's why these sorts of initiatives become key to us, is that as we remain agile and continually evolve, that we can make the latest information, research and data available for people at their fingertips. So, this is the starting point of that. The other piece, is, of course, that there's been a significant shift in the way that people interact with sport. And there’s been a very well-researched piece of work in the decline of physical literacy of our, of our participants who are coming into sport with less, less experience, less knowledge of the sport. So, as we used to, in the old days, what we know of what sport looked like when, when I was growing up. Obviously a long, long time ago, but, but we used to play in the backyards. We used to play with our friends. We used to play outdoors and come into sport with a, with a knowledge of, of what the sport was and a basic physical literacy built not through being taught, but built through us just out there trying, testing, falling, jumping up, trying again. We don't have that anymore. We’re still, we're now in a new world where people aren't as actively engaged before they turn up to sport. And a really alarming statistic, comes out of the World Health Organisation, one of the latest research pieces that tells us that, 91% of females and 87% of males in this country aren't getting the, the basic activity, rate per day to hit their baseline markers. That's really concerning is the fact that we've got this cohort of teenagers coming through that don't have those activity rates that, that hit the mark. Therefore, our coaches and officials need to be aware of these things to start to service, to provide people confidence and competence so that they turn up having an enjoyable experience in sport based on what they can currently do, knowing that if they stay there longer, they will start to enjoy it and they’re confidence and competence levels will grow. So, creating that positive environment becomes key for us. So they’re the fundamental shifts that we've got over time that land us here with regards to this really exciting course release.
Brooke Kneebush [00:14:36] Thank Cam. And that brings us now to another important point from Richard. Can you please tell us how the new Essential Skills course aligns with the Play Well and Win Well strategies?
Richard McInnes [00:14:52] Yeah. Thanks Brooke. The, I mean the Play Well strategy at the heart of the Play Well strategy is around creating great participant experience. And it's really important for us to understand that when we talk about participants in that context, we're talking about players, coaches and officials. And so, there's a real there's a double link here. And we want to have our officials as participants. We want them to have a great experience with sport and stay involved with sport for a long time. But we also know that the officials have a really significant impact on the people that play, play sport and participate as a traditional participant. So, and it's all it's all connected because the role of the coach in there is equally as important because all of their behaviours impact on each other. And so if we want to have great experiences across the board, then the individual behaviours of all of those people in those different roles will have an impact on the broader culture. So it is a key part. It is a key part of the strategy to create great participant experience. And so being able to support our officials and our coaches to do that is really important. Within the strategic priority areas of the Play Well strategy we've got, you know, empowering people in organisations. So, this course is another way that we are trying to empower people within, sport to to understand their role, understand how they can enhance their role, understand how they can improve the experience they have with sport. And then another one of the strategic priority areas is around driving lifelong involvement with sport. So there's a couple of pieces there. One, if the participants, the actual players, or athletes are having a great time, they're more likely to stay involved. But two, we want people who participate in sport early on as a participant and then decide that they've had enough of actively playing, to stay involved then as coaches or officials. And so, this is another way we can try and keep people connected into sport, and use the experience they've developed over many, many years participating to then, give back to the sport as an official, or as a coach. So there's a couple of pieces there that really connect in with, the role of the officials in sport. And then equally in the Win Well strategy which is our high performance strategy, 2032 plus, you know, the key aim of that strategy is that when people finish their time in sport, they’re better offer the experience and that we yes, we're trying to win, we're trying to be successful, but that's not at all costs. And so again, that applies to athletes, to coaches and to officials. And for the same reasons I spoke about with the Win Well, strategy is that we want high performing officials in high performance sport who enjoy what they do. And we've seen some stories recently where, you know, some of the behaviour hasn't been great and that's that's not good. You know, we, those officials can't be having a good time copping some of the treatment they’re copping. So we need to to stamp that out. But equally that that those officials operating at the highest level of games and doing everything they can to create great experiences for the people that are playing at those levels and competing at those levels. So, there's some pretty common themes all the way through both strategies. And that's something we've worked really hard to do, is make sure these strategies are aligned. So regardless of what level of sport you're operating at in the country, the the guiding principles and philosophies are very consistent.
Brooke Kneebush [00:18:09] Thanks, Richard, and we'll be seeing some videos of the course shortly. And some other videos in the course really reinforce those points that you've been making, particularly talking about, the potential for officials to have a pathway to, international representation in a different role, but also the the value that there is for people while they still participating to take on officiating and both those roles to complement each other. So, Richard, thank you very much for your contribution to this webinar. I will say goodbye to you now as you log off and get back on with your busy day. Thanks again. We look forward to seeing you soon. And now, I wanted to talk about the collaborative effort that's gone into developing the Essential Skills course. We've engaged with national sporting organisations, national sporting organisations for people with disability in workshops and in the Australian Sports Commission's Community Coaching and Officiating conference. Internally, also within the Australian Sports Commission, we've been working with various departments including participation, volunteering, coaching, and also with Sport Integrity Australia, which with the course has integrity woven throughout the whole course. So, national sporting organisations have contributed to videos and also reviews and testing of the course. We do encourage sports to engage with the Australian Sports Commission Community Coaching and Officiating team advisors for support in how to embed the course in their framework. And we'll, talk a bit more about that as this webinar goes on. At this stage, I'd like to introduce our panel members. Firstly, Peter Wroblewski, Workforce Development Manager with Hockey Australia, Kay Robinson, National Wellbeing Manager Refereeing Football Australia, and Desiree Jones, International Gymnastics Judge. And we'll be first moving to Peter and I'll begin by showing a video. This video is from module three of the course - What you officiate. The video is about adapting officiating in different environments and contexts. So, we'll have a look at that now. And then I'll come back to you with a question. Peter.
[00:20:34] Adapting officiating in different environments and contexts
COES Course Video - Adapting officiating in different environments and contexts [00:20:34]
Chris Hall [00:20:34] So there are different situations that competitions take place. They might take place in a major metropolitan area. They might take place regionally. They might be on a home and away basis, where there's only one game happening at a time.
Desiree Jones [00:20:46] I'm from Western Australia, so we have, as you would know, a very diverse state where, um, most of our gymnastics is centred around our metropolitan area. But we do have many regions that we service and we run competitions at. When we have different club competitions, not all clubs would have the exact equipment that we would have at, say, at a national championships or a state championships. So, you've gotta be a little bit more flexible. Say with the matching requirements or maybe the beam doesn't go up and down.
Matt McIndoe [00:21:20] So hockey is working very hard to make sure our sport is not only accessible for everyone, but it's enjoyable for everyone. You know, we make the field shorter, we put bumpers up to make sure the ball stays in… it keeps the game flowing, it keeps it fast, it keeps it exciting. But it also just gives every single person an opportunity to participate in the game.
Isabelle Gemmel [00:21:36] Thinking about ways to simplify it for the learners sometimes can be, without bending the rules too much, can be something that officials can do to, to make it easier. What we do sometimes in junior wheelchair, if they don't have the skillset to play with the hard, normal balls, whether we can bring some balls that you use that are slightly bigger, that are slightly flying, slightly slower and are easier to hit or retrieve.
Brooke Kneebush [00:22:09] So Peter, in the video, Matt mentioned making hockey accessible and enjoyable for everyone by putting up bumpers and making fields shorter, etc. Why did you see a need for change?
Peter Wroblewski [00:22:21] Thanks, Brooke. I guess like hockey's been on a really, really informative and exciting journey over the past few years, and we've been putting a lot of work into identifying new ways to get Australians involved in our sport. And the process that we've gone through, I guess, has been a really collaborative, I guess, series of steps with our community. And we've taken on a lot of feedback. And within that information, we really captured that there was a strong need to, I guess, be flexible and adaptive to the way in which we deliver sport. Hence introduction of, I guess, modified formats and modified fields.
Brooke Kneebush [00:22:57] Fantastic. And so, so what, what are the changes that have been made? The how would a participant experience those changes?
Peter Wroblewski [00:23:07] Yeah, really great question. I guess some of the key ones, and which Matt alluded to in the video was, adapting some of the field structures. So the introduction of padded boards, which keeps the ball in play. So that allows participants to stay involved and engaged more frequently. But what we also have found as well is that some modifications to the rules have such a really, really significant impact on the participants’ enjoyment and their experience, but even more so, the way in which our officials are actually applying those rules to these new modified formats. Yeah, really have a positive, positive impact on the participant experience.
Brooke Kneebush [00:23:43] And what about the integrity of the sport? How do you make sure that it's still hockey and that there's the participants are still getting what they expect when they come along to have the experience?
Peter Wroblewski [00:23:56] Yeah, really good question. And I think that's where I guess our officiating community plays such a massive role in bringing this new approach to the way in which that hockey is played, both in our traditional formats, but also in our modified, modified formats as well. We definitely still want to see, I guess, the essence of the game and some of those fundamental rules. But officials play a key role in allowing that modification and adaptability to just keep that participant experience really, really enjoyable. But I guess keeping the heart and soul of hockey.
Brooke Kneebush [00:24:25] Fabulous. Thanks, Peter. We're going to, have a look now at another video, and then we'll be having a chat with Kay Robinson from Football Australia. So the, this video is from module two. And that's the How you improve module. And it's about coping, thriving and mental wellbeing.
COES Course Video - Coping, thriving, mental wellbeing [00:24:46]
Daniel Goodwin [00:24:46] We've got a wellbeing manager that looks after our professional referee program. She doesn't really sit there and act like the psychologist and take notes on your mental wellbeing, but she's there to provide support to people when they need it. Be it around how they're feeling after a game, how they're feeling with their training loads, what they can then look to do when they're transitioning out of the game. So rather than people getting to the stage where they're retiring from being a match official for 30 plus years and then not knowing what else to do, looking for different pathways for them to move into. So, rather than our referees being left out to do a pretty difficult job by themself, we're trying to add all of those different layers around it and make sure that we're, we are looking after people's mental wellbeing and their physical wellbeing as much as possible.
Debbie O'Connell [00:25:29] I would actually fire up a little bit as well in my earlier days as an official. Um, so I've had to do some work with a sports psych, um, which has been amazing. Um, and I've, one of the tools that I use to help find, um, that calm is actually finding a third space. So when there's a break in play, so the ball's going on over the baseline, just taking a moment to take a big, deep breath and I actually brush my skirt to say, ‘let it go.’ Um, so that's my visual for me is that I'm, I'm letting that go and I now no longer have to deal with it. Um, so yeah, it helps to keep me calm and, um, not as reactive to the situations that are going on.
Isabelle Gemmel [00:26:08] I've recently learned a lot about mindfulness and, um, sometimes when you get into very stressful situations, you sometimes just forget to breathe. And if I find that I get overwhelmed or if I get, um, stressed about a certain situation, just a very deep breath. And just to take the time before you react or before you do the next thing, just helps clear your mind and refocus. So that's one of the strategies I'm trying to use more and more when I get a little bit flustered about a situation.
Brooke Kneebush [00:26:46] So Kay, we know that unfortunately, sometimes officials are not treated with the respect, and Richard touched on this, that they deserve. And yet they're just people giving up their time, trying their best. Now the perpetrators of disrespectful treatment towards officials or even abuse sadly, at times they do need to be held to account for this. And there's a lot that can be done. And the Australia Sports Commission is certainly working towards that as, as are national sporting organisations to prevent that type of treatment. But how can officials look after their own personal mental wellbeing and ensure that they cope and thrive, and that stress and pressure doesn't negatively impact their lives outside of sport?
Kay Robinson [00:27:33] Thanks, Brooke. Yeah, I think it's a really important topic, and I think it's super important that officials actually have an awareness of their own mental health and where that sits on a continuum if they're struggling, coping or thriving. So having an awareness of this and recognising good days and bad days or particularly pressures that will have a negative effect on their mental health and well-being, which is likely to be different to everyone. So there's kind of four good foundations, I think, to set up a good mental health base and this links into physical health as well. And that's having a strong social support network both inside and outside the sport. And then key foundations such as good sleep, nutrition, exercise and recovery are all excellent foundations to look after your, mental and physical wellbeing, particularly when you're going out there to perform.
Brooke Kneebush [00:28:25] Thanks Kay. And in the How you improve module officials and an academic expert share effective methods of self-reflection as a tool for continual growth. And effective self, self-reflection involves exploring both areas for improvement and, and also what went well. How does reflecting on the positives contribute to this positive being?
Kay Robinson [00:28:53] Yeah, really important. And I think as humans we tend to focus on that one negative that happened in football, it might be a minute of the game and don't actually reflect on the 89 excellent minutes of performance that was had. So ultimately that's probably we had far more, positives and negatives hopefully in a game. So this is all reflection is giving us an opportunity for growth and it helps to link to our goals. So, we can be drowned out by negatives sometimes. But reflecting on positives can, can highlight some of the goals that we're achieving and help us pursue further goals and further development. I think reflection’s often very technical. So it looks at bad things that happened technically, but there's so many good things that officials do within a game that they should reflect on and use for growth, such as behaviours, how they manage some of the pressures which come from all angles and can be pretty huge in officiating, and also their communications. And hopefully by reflecting on these and working through some tools, recognising what happened, what does that mean to them and how they might use it in the next game can really help that internal motivation, which ultimately is what officials thrive off and help motivate them to move forward, do things differently and progress in their officiating career.
Brooke Kneebush [00:30:14] Fabulous. And I know for me that, many of the positives were always about those interactions with participants and with co-officials and coaches as well, and they were always really rewarding to reflect upon. So thank you Kay. Now finally, we're going to hear from our third panellist, Desiree Jones from gymnastics. And first we'll look at a video. This one's from module four - How you officiate. And it's on perspective impartiality and consistency.
COES Course Video - Perspective, impartiality and consistency [00:30:44]
Isabelle Walls [00:30:44] Being impartial and being consistent is a big part of the job as an official, as a referee. And it's really important that we are seen to be impartial by all parties, coaches, players, spectators. And of course that can be an issue, um, especially at grassroots level when you have minimal referees and you may be refereeing your own club for example. The communication between referees is really important. Discussing, ‘oh, hey, I do know this team, but this is how we're gonna ref it.’ So both referees are on the same page. Both teams are on the same page.
Eloise Sheridan [00:31:17] So it's about, um, in one particular match, having consistency in how we make our decisions, um, but also taking feedback on board post-match and then moving that into our processes, um, in future games as well.
Mitch Patterson [00:31:30] If it's particular to a game, then using the captains and don't be afraid to have that conversation with your other umpire prior to the game as well. Uh, just to set the standards before you go out into the pitch. Uh, 'cos once you start the game, you don't wanna be changing your interpretation on something, you just wanna keep it consistent throughout the game.
Desiree Jones [00:31:46] I always write down on our, our sheet, um, or a sheet of paper, what the scores are, particularly for the first rotation. So that then every single rotation I judge, I go back and I think about what that first routine was. And then I make sure that my ranking is right. And really our job is to rank. That’s really the most important thing. So I always try and get them to just go back. And even in between when we are having lunch break or anything like that, I remind the judges, 'go back to that first rotation, where were you?’ And make sure that you, you stay there for the rest of the, the, um, competition.
Eloise Sheridan [00:32:25] I don't really consider which team I'm going out there to umpire or which players. It's just I'm out there to umpire a game of cricket. And this game of cricket is the most important one for those 22 players that are out there at the moment.
Isabelle Walls [00:32:36] A lot of what we do as officials is conflict management, so we want to try and make sure that situations don't escalate. If a coach or a player has seen a situation from a different perspective. It comes back to communication. Telling the player, ‘this is what I've called, this is what I've seen.’
Brooke Kneebush [00:33:00] So Desiree, two notable expectations that participants have of officials are that they apply the rules of the sport impartially and consistently. And additionally, people see things from different perspectives. How can officials be supported to develop skills in these areas?
Desiree Jones [00:33:19]** Yeah. Thanks, Brooke. It's, look it is difficult. And particularly in a sport like ours, that is far more subjective than, other sports, that may be a little bit more objective. It is, sometimes hard to get it right in everyone's eyes. So I think one thing is just confidence and confidence that you're making the right decision. And that comes through in terms of preparation. And we always tell our younger coaches to have a look at the the rulebook before you turn up, because we send out panels so they know what they're judging. So they've actually had a little look through their routines and then that they feel confident in themselves. We also tend to do a bit of a briefing before each, each, competition or event, just so that if there's been any rule changes, either internationally or nationally or state based, that everyone is across that, because sometimes it's really easy, especially as a volunteer, to miss those, those changes. So and that will make a difference as to how the rules are applied and whether they are applied consistently throughout. And I suppose the last thing is to make sure that the experienced judges pass on tips. And one thing that I did mention in the video is that I always get, judges to, write down the scores from the first rotation that we judge. And then, because sometimes competitions can come up over a full day, and then when they come back to the next session or after lunch break, that they take their time on the first few routines and make sure that they are that, that the first routine judged, it gets the same, exactly the same quality of judging as the last routine judged.
Brooke Kneebush [00:35:08] Great. Thanks, Des. Now, the role of officials does go far beyond just applying the rules. So what opportunities do officials have to engage and interact with participants and coaches to create environments for participants to feel safe, included, motivated and wanting to achieve their own versions of success. Desiree Jones [00:35:32]** I think it's this would be different depending on sports, because a sport like ours, of course has, a large percentage are children. So the way you're going to interact with a child compared to an adult participant is of course, very different. And, you know, one thing that we, we try and do, or at least I try and do, is when the athletes come up to the table is to, have a little chat with them. You know, try and make them feel comfortable because they already think we’re these scary beasts, that are sitting on the other side, and just let them know that we, we are fun, hopefully bit fun, bit silly at times and that and ask them how they're going, you know, so they feel a little bit safe and, that it's, you know, okay, it's it's a fun environment, and they can just go out there and do their best job. We don't tend to give feedback directly to the athletes that way. But if you're talking to, say, adult athletes, then of course you’d be able to give a lot more, feedback if required. The other thing that we do is, often do a briefing, after, coach/judge briefing after sessions so that we can give some valuable feedback to the coaches. And then they also get that opportunity to ask the judges. And again, that's also trying to build that bond. And as we said before communication is very key. We also, a lot of judges will offer to go out to clubs. And at that point then of course, they see you in their environment. So they feel very comfortable. And it's also then that opportunity that where you may not have been able to give feedback directly to the younger athlete, you can because it's in that safe environment. So there's lots of different ways that that we can do that. You've just got to find the best path pending on the athlete’s age, their ability and and what sort of situation you're in.
Brooke Kneebush [00:37:34] Great. Thank you. Now you're an educator and a mentor to new and existing officials. How do you see the new community officiating, essential skills being of benefit to new officials and even existing officials and also to sports and then ultimately participants at the end of the day?
Desiree Jones [00:37:53]** I think it's a really important thing, and I love the fact that it's also broken up into modules, so it's not a huge beast to look at. And think, I can't, I can't do that. And particularly people coming into a sport when they starting to officiate, it's sometimes it's a little bit, you know parents will always say, oh no, that's too hard. I can't do that. So I think breaking things down and seeing that it doesn't matter really what sport you're in. There's always some challenges, but there's ways to overcome it. So I think in terms of this for, our sports, it will help officials maybe, come into the sport more easily and see that there's a pathway from maybe being a participant or sitting in the stands watching as a parent, and that there is a pathway that that can be done. And it's not it's not so overwhelming. And there's assistance there because I think that's what has been missing, I think over of the years, is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of assistance for officials to go to get into the sport and, and grow in the sport. So for sports, I think that one it will help get people into the sport and if we can create that community of officials as well, which again, is sometimes missing then, people will stay. We like have social groups. As humans, we need our social groups. So therefore people will stay in the sport longer. So participants, I would just go, sorry because I say for participants is I say that we're having fun and it's enjoyable, then they're potentially going to want to join in the fun, join in, you know, not just be on the other side. So I think it will help across the board. In terms of all of that,
Brooke Kneebush [00:39:48] Thank you. Thanks Desiree. I'm going to hand over to Cam to to bring this all together to to wrap us up here.
Cam Tradell [00:39:57] Yeah thanks Brooke and thanks everyone. I think the perspectives are really important and I think it really highlights and gets to the foundation of the shift that we've made from, what used to be, if I can say quite transactional, how to, information to the things that really matter with regards to, especially with modern society about how we communicate, how we connect. So first of all, they all three Peter, Kay and Desiree spoke really well of of the different ways that their sports are looking at, engaging and, and and driving a new way to support officials and and moving them away from being robotic, which I think is a really key piece here. Peter talking about the way that, that the community demand really drove the, the requirement for change and adaptability of not just their, their products and the way that you interact with the sport, but but the key role that the officials were playing in creating that environment so that they, so it wasn't here's the promise of a new format and it gets, undermined by an, an official that isn't on the same page. So I think a really key piece there. And again, the official officiating, Essential Skills really talks to that lens into that area. Kay speaks of, the requirement for self-awareness and self-reflection to ensure that you're okay. And this is the really key point, is the fact that we want this to be an enjoyable experience for you, as an official. So having that ability to remove yourself, to reflect on what just happened, to understand we're not going to get everything right, and that that we've got to sort of look after ourselves, but also really focusing on the fact that really we do 98% of everything really well, and yet the 2% of things that maybe went wrong is what we focus on and what really drags us down. It’s the ability to look objectively and subjectively at a to then ensure we're okay, and then get a deliberate plan in place to look after ourselves. So where are our support mechanisms? Who do we lean on? Where do we lean on, and where do we go for help becomes really important, for us to ensure that we've got a healthy officiating workforce and to ensure that it's a really, happy place for us to sort of go. And Desiree speaks about the the importance of connection and alignment for consistency with regards to who's in front of us. How are we going to all work together to make sure that we we provide the best environment for these people who are in front of us and understanding who they are and how we collectively, as a, an officiating group, go to support these people in this environment, I think is a really key point, to, to ensuring we're getting clarity as I say, as well as the consistency. Tailoring also your communication based on who's in front of you, how they want to receive the information, understanding you may have a child that you need to communicate differently to, but that doesn't change when you get to adults. You might have an adult that you need to speak to a little bit differently from potentially a performance environment, to someone who's just having a go that wants to to have a crack. And keeping in mind the connection with the coaches becomes critical, for you, as a, as a, as an official and, I think there's a, there's a key piece from all of this as you drag it all together. If we get this right, we get these communication connection points and the ability to deliver on the promises of sport with regards to being a sport for all, so that, all motivations, all abilities are serviced, we've got the opportunity of creating, something really special, in, Australian sport. So coaching and officiating being two sides of the same coin so that we really remain connected, that we remain on the same page with what we're doing and why we're doing it. And starting to look at some of the research in the reasons why people leave sport and the, the relationship between, the environment, being one of the top five reasons why people leave. What if it was the number one reason why people stayed? And this is the power of doing something like the Officiating Essential Skills, which can get you on the journey to playing your role in how we can create amazing environments for people to thrive in quality sporting experiences.
Brooke Kneebush [00:44:58] Fabulous, Cam. Thanks very much. And I want to thank all of our panel members for sharing their time and insights today, and for their support during the development of the Essential Skills Course. It's been, a lot of fun, and we've had some challenges on the journey to developing the course. And these panel members and many others have been, involved in supporting that. It is thanks to the significant collaboration and contributions of sports officials, coaches and participants that this course has come to life, offering new and existing officials accessible learning, practical guidance on how to apply a modern approach to officiating in their own unique environments and contexts. So thank you everyone, and enjoy the rest of your day.