Rugby

The concept of the gentleman amateur was, and remains, an important aspect of upper and middle-class Victorian and Edwardian male identity. Although he remains a significant literary presence, the form and length of time the gentleman amateur remained a cultural influence in society is contested.                                                     

This article examines one realm of this social constructs influence - sport - in terms of the social and philosophical origins of these titles, what they meant in practice and the repercussions their use had on class cultures, British (English) sporting values and success. It proposes that the gentleman amateur - despite the long-term damage inflicted by such men - remains a major philosophical, ideological and physical influence upon British sport today.

Racial inequalities in sport resulting from apartheid in South Africa are well documented, and they are evident in the participation (or non-participation) levels in the various sports. More than a quarter of a century after the end of apartheid, inequality still exists to some extent in sports such as rugby and cricket where historically, people of colour were excluded from participation at any representative level. However, there has been comparatively limited work conducted in recent years on the place and role of sport in post-apartheid South Africa. This systematic review examines articles published on the history of sport in South Africa since 1994 and the transformation process required for inclusivity. This forms the criterion for the inclusion and exclusion of articles. The bulk of the literature was been retrieved from searches on Google Scholar and SCOPUS' databases, and complemented with comprehensive sports-related documentary reviews. This review is focused on professional sport in South Africa, with a particular focus on the three most popular ones, i.e. soccer (football), rugby and cricket. The main aim of transformation in sport has been to develop a unified and successful nation that competes internationally with teams that are accepted by the whole nation and representative of the demographics of South Africa. Sport (rugby and cricket in particular) needs to implement tangible solutions in response to the transformation trajectory, not because government imposes quotas on teams or threatens to ban a federation from international competition, but rather because transformed sport, both on and off the field, will make the 'rainbow nation' a force to be reckoned with in the international sporting fraternity.

Sport annually mobilizes millions of people across Europe: as practitioners in a wide variety of competitive, educational, or recreational contexts, and as spectators, who are physically present or following events through the mass media. This book presents original research into modern sport funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Its aim is to examine the distinctive contribution made by this complex phenomenon to the construction of European identities. Attention is focused on sport's social significance, as a set of mass-mediated practices and spectacles giving rise to a network of images, symbols, and discourses. The book seeks to explore, and ultimately to explain, the processes of representation and mediation involved in the sporting construction, and subsequent renegotiation, of local, national, and, increasingly, global identities. It offers a survey of key developments in sporting Europe - from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, and from the Atlantic to the Urals - presenting findings by acknowledged international experts and emerging scholars at the level of individuals, communities, regions, nation-states, and Europe as a whole, in both its geographical and political incarnations. Its focus on representation offers a broadly conceived, and consciously inclusive, approach to issues of 'Europeanness' in modern and contemporary sport.

Men of Pacific Island descent in Australian sports have gone from a near invisible minority to making up nearly half of all players across junior and senior rugby football codes. Despite their prominent position, exploitation, misunderstandings and stereotypes remain rife. Drawing on my work with rugby-engaged Pasifika men in Sydney, I look at how 'hypermasculinity' discourse is used to both degrade and commercialise Pasifika rugby players, and I discuss the different ways Pasifika men and their communities engage with these stereotypes. By drawing on the recent and increasing body of literature on indigenous masculinities, I argue that the 'noble savage' stereotype persists in the commercialised 'hypermasculinity' of rugby football in Australia but that it is manipulated by Pasifika peoples in creative and diverse ways.

This study investigated the professional duties of a professional rugby league Academy Manager (AM) with the explicit aim of identifying bespoke development needs through the operation of the Talent Development Self Navigation Framework (TDSNF). This study adopts an original embodied pedagogy approach grounded in a critical realist view of the participant’s Talent Development domain. The paper presents a full description of the framework’s application as a case study example of the TDSNF in practice. Findings acknowledge how the facilitated TDSNF helped the AM reflect more fully on his ‘real world’ and ‘foundational wants and needs’ to co-create both an individual learning plan for himself and a TD development plan for his Academy team. Feedback on the framework’s content, structure, process and outputs was extremely positive. Significant implications in adopting this approach more widely for coach education and learning are then presented.

"Women have had a long history of participation in modern sporting activities though they have faced countless barriers to sporting competition, particularly in ‘contact’ sports. As we
move into the twenty-first century, many more doors are opening for the sporting woman, and games previously thought to ‘belong’ to men are becoming attractive options for women. One
sport that is enjoying increasing popularity amongst women is rugby union. Since the 1970s women have taken up rugby union and significant numbers of women now play the game in
the British Isles, Europe, North America and Australasia.

Although many may delight in the apparent breakdown of the masculine exclusivity that traditionally has been maintained
within rugby, a thorough investigation of the emerging female rugby culture reveals a sporting site that still reinforces and echoes historical, masculine-orientated stereotypes. This
case study examines women’s rugby culture through an analysis of an Australian rugby club and the culture that surrounds the women’s team, as well as the questioning of the culture that emerges around the playing of such a hyper-masculine sport. This will be done in an attempt
to understand why women are playing football when they face strong societal opposition based on historical, social and physical perceptions about the relationship of women tocontact sports."

El estudio midió los efectos del entrenamiento a jugadores de rugby con espacios reducidos. Se realizó con 27 jugadores pertenecientes a dos equipos de la Liga Antioqueña de Rugby, con edad de 22,4 (±3,66) años, peso de 78,76 (±11,93) kg. y talla de 176,06 (±5,97) cm. Para medir los efectos de la planificación con espacios reducidos se utilizó una fase de un programa modelador (Agudelo, 2012), lo que constituyó la variable independiente. Para verificar los posibles efectos, como pre pruebas y pos pruebas, se utilizaron los 30 m para velocidad (aceleración), los 3000 m para resistencia, y la adaptación de un test de pase realizado en Australia, lo que permitió verificar, a través de estadísticos no paramétricos seleccionados, qué tan significativo fueron los cambios. Verificados los resultados, se puede afirmar que el juego con espacios reducidos, aparentemente propicia un excelente medio para entrenar de forma integrada, ya que facilita el incremento del componente condicional, especialmente en cuanto a la resistencia, y mantiene la velocidad, a la vez que permite el desarrollo del componente técnico.

The study measured the effects of training on rugby players with reduced spaces. It was made with 27 players belonging to two teams of the Antioquia Rugby League,  with age of 22.4 (± 3.66) years, weight of 78.76 (± 11.93) kg. and size of 176.06 (± 5.97) cm. To measure the effects of planning with reduced spaces, a phase of a modeling program was used (Agudelo, 2012), which constituted the independent variable. To verify the possible effects, such as pre-tests and post-tests, were used the 30 m for speed (acceleration), the 3000 m for resistance, and the adaptation of a pass test carried out in Australia, which allowed us to verify, through selected nonparametric statistics, how significant the changes were. Once the results have been verified, it can be affirmed that the game in reduced spaces, apparently propitiates an excellent means to train in an integrated manner, since it facilitates the increase of the conditional component, especially in terms of resistance, and maintains speed, while at the same time allows the development of the technical component.

O estudo mede os efeitos de treinar com espaços reduzidos a jogadores de rugby, realizou-se em 27 jogadores pertencentes a duas equipes, de une-a Antioqueña de Rugby. Tinham uma idade de 22,4 (±3,66) anos, um peso de 78,76 (±11,93) Kg. e uma talha de 176,06 (±5,97) cm. Para medir os efeitos do planejamento com espaços reduzidos utilizou-se uma fase de um programa modelador (Agudelo, 2012) o que constituiu a variável independente, utilizaram-se como pré-teste e pós-testes para verificar "possíveis efeitos" 30 m. Para a velocidade (aceleração), os 3000 m. Para a resistência e uma adaptação de um teste de passe realizado em Austrália, o que permitiu verificar através de estatísticos não paramétricos selecionados que tão significativas são as mudanças. Verificados os resultados pode ser afirmado que o jogo em espaços reduzidos aparentemente propicia uma excelente maneira para treinar de forma integrada já que facilita o incremento da parte condicional, especialmente quanto à resistência e mantém a velocidade, enquanto permite o desenvolvimento do técnico.

The Lebanese Rugby League was formed in 1997 in Sydney when a team comprised of Australian-based players of Lebanese descent participated in an international tournament. The Lebanese national team later qualified for two rugby league men’s World Cups (2000 and 2017). The case demonstrates how diasporas can shape sport development. The accomplishment of the Lebanese team has also given the small country some exposure at the global level. Additionally, since 2002, a new sport has been established in Lebanon, making the country one of the few cases in the world where rugby league is more popular than rugby union. This paper examines diaspora issues including the assimilation of Lebanese emigrants into Australian sporting culture and strategic uses of citizenship. Furthermore, the research sheds light on the ‘glocalized’ development of rugby league in Lebanon by its establishment at private Lebanese universities while it is known in Australia for its working-class origins. There is a relationship of mutual dependence between diaspora and homeland: without its diaspora, Lebanon could not participate in the World Cup, and without domestic development in the sport (which includes, since 2015, also women’s teams), the diaspora would not be permitted to participate in global championships.

"Dans l’étude du sport, l’étude d’un événement de l’envergure d’une Coupe du Monde (la coupe du monde de rugby est le troisième événement sportif mondial derrière les Jeux Olympiques d’été et la coupe du monde de football2) permet d’appréhender toute une série de conséquences possibles. Malgré les difficultés d’approche d’un tel événement, il est impossible de nier qu’il a inévitablement eu des effets sur toutes les strates du rugby, d’autant plus quand on observe l’ampleur de la manifestation3. Quelles sont ces complications ? Les discours la concernant sont autant variés que subjectifs, et ce genre d’événement ayant tendance à être largement mis en scène autant par les médias que par les acteurs, il est sans aucun doute difficile d’en saisir tous les tenants et les aboutissants. Cependant, une de ces strates n’est que très peu évoquée par ces médias et ces acteurs, c’est celle du rugby amateur. Celui-ci est pourtant essentiel dans le monde du rugby puisqu’il en constitue la base ; c’est le lieu où naisse des talents, mais aussi des passions". C'est ce rugby amateur qui est évoqué dans ce mémoire, par le prisme des acteurs même de ce milieu, interrogés pour l'occasion.

In the game of Rugby, percussion is a fundamental play to break the line of defense of the opposing team and thus reach the goal and score points. However, this play is not always performed efficiently biomechanically speaking, which generates losses of the ball and disadvantage in the game. Therefore, we studied and evaluated the kinematic pattern of the technical and sports gesture of players of the Rugby team of the University of Santo Tom´as Seccional Tunja (Boyac´a - Colombia), through videometry, with the aim of determining (qualitatively and quantitatively) the trajectories, critical angles and articular kinematic curves of athletes performing percussion routines, with were designed and implemented corrective interventions of the movement of the athletes in the descent of the axis of contact, to generate a more efficient percussion and ergonomic during the game.

Abstract

The present study explored professional rugby players’ lived experiences of career ending injuries through a loss perspective. Participants comprised of 10 males between the ages of 23 and 35 who had retired from professional rugby due to injury. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, face-to-face interviews were undertaken, audio-recorded and subjected to IPA analysis. Participants reported a number of losses associated with their experience with the most salient being that of identity. Participants utilised a range of coping strategies throughout the transition, including the use of pre-retirement planning, social support and pursuing a new focus that provided them with a renewed purpose. The majority reported using techniques such as social comparisons and cognitive re-appraisal in order to find some benefit from the experience. Some participants reported that they were able to use their loss experience as an opportunity for growth. The findings have important implications for both athletes and clubs.

Keywords: premature career termination, injury, loss, coping, growth

Kiwis like all other sport loving nations love to think themselves as a sporting nation.
The type of sports played in New Zealand mostly reflects countries British colonial
heritage. All most every sports played in here also played in British Commonwealth
countries. Most popular sports in New Zealand are Rugby, Football, Cricket and
Netball.

Il nostro studio si propone di ricostruire la storia della lingua e del lessico nella prima metà del Novecento in riferimento ad un aspetto specifico: la terminologia degli sport di squadra giocati con la palla.
Il primo Novecento è per tutti gli sport un momento piuttosto magmatico in cui non è chiaro quale sia, tra i piaceri all’aria aperta, quello più gradito al pubblico e alla stampa, tanto che le pagine sportive della fine dell’Ottocento e dei primi due decenni del Novecento sono costruite in modo da dare uno spazio molto ampio a tutti gli  sport: le corse ippiche (che raramente mancano), quelle automobilistiche e motociclistiche (meno frequenti), il ciclismo, gli sport atletici, la lotta, il sollevamento pesi, il nuoto, la scherma, lo yachting (molto frequente), il canottaggio, talvolta anche il tennis, la
boxe, la marcia, il cricket, il golf, il tiro a volo, il tiro al piccione e finalmente anche, con molta timidezza, gli sport di squadra con la palla, dal water polo al basketball.
Il contenuto di questo studio è suddiviso in due parti. Nella prima sezione abbiamo articolato un percorso che procede, in un certo senso, in ordine crescente di popolarità. Nel primo capitolo si propone una ricostruzione della storia dei nomi di alcuni sport di squadra di origine inglese, minori per successo popolare e con una vita, almeno nei primi decenni, piuttosto grama: baseball o pallabase, basketball o pallacanestro, handball o pallamano, volleyball o pallavolo. Nel secondo capitolo si approfondisce il  rugby o pallaovale, a cominciare dalla denominazione stessa dello sport e dall’influsso inglese e francese sulla sua terminologia, che negli anni considerati appare già ben formata. Il terzo capitolo tratta la storia linguistica del calcio dalla fine dell'Ottocento al 1943; il football è, senza confronto, lo sport più popolare in Italia e in Europa, e per forza di cose, le cronache del calcio occupano uno spazio di grande rilievo, e, a partire dagli anni Venti, dominano incontrastate nelle pagine dei giornali generalisti e sportivi.
La seconda parte del libro è invece una lettura onomasiologica della terminologia dei due sport più importanti, il calcio e il rugby. Uno spoglio delle fonti dell’epoca consente oggi di dimostrare l’esistenza di una terminologia strutturata e matura, soprattutto per il primo (le fonti primarie relative al calcio sono, senza confronto, più abbondanti e dettagliate, e dagli anni Trenta anche il tasso tecnico si alza notevolmente).

Although the Basque Country has been historically divided between France and Spain, the long-standing collective identity of the Basque people endures. Football, a foreign sport which was perceived with suspicion by the incipient Basque nationalist movement, became a pillar of differentiation with respect to Spain. It clearly surpassed the traditional Basque game of pelota as a collective affirmation, pelota referring to a variety of court sports played with a small ball in different ways. Pelota has been a central symbol in the construction of Basque identity. But true differentiation is produced by measuring oneself against other collectives, as occurs on the football field. Related to the Basque land, football did so firstly through a style of play forged in the imagined strength of the Basques. Later, especially in the late twentieth century, through the unusual autochthonous composition of the most important clubs like Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.

This presentation will seek to capture the historical importance of football in the contemporary Basque Country as a complex patriotic vector and the difficulties that the absence of a Basque state involves for that objective. Basque clubs maintain the roots that link the community and football, in the absence of a national team validated by the FIFA that would jointly unite the two aspects. Moreover, this paper also deals with the marked division in the sports field between the Spanish Basque Country and the French Basque Country, where Rugby became the sport that unified collectives. This reality increased the division between the two parts of the Basque territory and limited the power of the symbol of football to the Spanish side alone. The presentation is based in the content of an article recently published in the Soccer & Society journal.

Este libro invita a una reflexión sobre el campo de los estudios sociales del deporte en Argentina. Tal como sostiene Carolina Spataro en su prólogo, los artículos que componen esta publicación analizan un tema clásico como es el cuerpo, haciendo foco en un eje evidente pero no siempre estudiado: la condición de género y sexuada de esos cuerpos; no solo para estudiar de qué manera se performan los roles de género en el fútbol, el rugby, el boxeo y el running, sino para reflexionar sobre los modos en que las marcas sexogenéricas de quien investiga moldean las interacciones en el trabajo de campo.
¿Es lo mismo ser una mujer cis hetero que un varón cis hetero para hacer campo en el terreno del fútbol masculino? ¿Y en el fútbol femenino, cómo juega ser un investigador varón? ¿Puede un varón cis hetero hacer una investigación sobre transmasculinidades? ¿Qué dimensiones de la propia masculinidad se ponen en juego al estudiar las masculinidades de los otros? ¿Cómo interpretar una escena de “levante” a una mujer hetero cis en el campo? ¿Cómo opera la propia experiencia como deportista para analizar el campo del deporte? ¿Qué sucede cuando una marca deportiva importante posa su mirada en el trabajo de una antropóloga? Estos interrogantes se entremezclan con las incomodidades y dudas que surgen durante el trabajo de campo para dar lugar a una vasta cantidad de datos que complejizan las etnografías sobre deporte.

In 2010, 40% of the French professional rugby workforce were foreigners. Though some reasons for, and conditions of, such large-scale migration are common to all players, South Africans deserves specific interest if only because since the early 2000s, over 300 of them have plied their trade in France, which makes them the largest foreign contingent in the French leagues, way ahead of New Zealanders, Argentines, Georgians and South Pacific Islanders. In 2009, no less than twelve South Africans even played for a second division team at Aurillac, a small town in Cantal, a rural district in central France, and a most unlikely place for so many 'Saffies' to settle. Some rugby union supporters consider that it is the easy way out for clubs to buy a South African for half the price and the trouble of grooming a local boy up from the youth categories, not to mention the shallow commitment to le maillot, the club colours, and the accusation of mercenary motives. The aim of this paper is to look into the specificities and paradoxes of this migrant workforce, both in contrast to other nationalities and in respect of the links which unite the French and South African rugby cultures, against the backdrop of professional rugby.

"Rugby league's history in the Lockyer Valley of Queensland in Australia has been characterised by challenges and changes over time that are emblematic of wider trends in Australia as a whole during the first century of Federation. Little has been written about sport in rural Australia and less still is known about the Lockyer Valley, an area that has produced many great players. The main town of the Lockyer Valley is Gatton, which lies 100 kilometres west of Brisbane. The larger centres of Ipswich and Toowoomba lie 40 kilometres to the east and 30 kilometres to the west respectively.

The story of rugby league in the Valley is emblematic of the changes that have taken place in Australian sport over the past century as leagues grew within local communities during the first half of the century, only to fall victim to increased migration to the capital cities, depressed rural economic conditions, sport on television, and the perceived shrinking of distance through improved transportation infrastructure."

Welcome to Volume 14 (2020) Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies (JQRSS) comprising papers from first-time authors alongside more experienced writers, all wishing to share their ideas stemming from primary research or through critical discussion articles. A glance down the contents page reveals a range of contributions which may be informative and thought provoking for people at different  points on their journey through education and/or research experience. Reviewers’ comments have been incorporated at the end of papers with a view to stimulating further discussion about a given topic. I hope readers will gain as much from browsing the experiences of others formulated through these pages as much as I have enjoyed working with the authors and editing this volume. Below, an Overview of [current] submissions is followed by the JQRSS Qualitative Researcher Award for the previous year. Then an explanation of the Scope and purpose of the journal is followed by an Open call for papers and JQRSS Operational guidance, which provides both an invitation to submit work and further advice to potential authors. In closing, there are summative comments and editorial acknowledgements.

Notice: The discussions, statements of fact and opinions contained in the articles of The Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies are those of the respective authors and cited contributors and are set out in good faith for the general guidance of student supported research and the promotion of pedagogical discussion in teaching and learning contexts. No liability can be accepted by the Editor, Editorial Board, Advisory Board, the reviewers or the authors/submitters for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying upon particular statements made or circumstances outlined in this journal.

Many research theories and frameworks have been proposed to describe the talent development environment in a variety of sports and other high-performance domains. None of these, however, have suitably described the context the first author had experienced in high level rugby league during a career that has spanned 40 years as professional player, club and international coach / manager and more recently as a consultant and researcher. The paper presents current talent development literature in respect to common features that have emerged from this domain. A series of personal reflections then illustrate how these areas are operationalised in rugby league based on the first author’s experiences. What transpires is a clear mis-match between theory and practice and a glaring lack of appropriate support for those who lead in this domain. The paper therefore proposes the need for a new rugby league specific framework which can guide and support those who operate within the rugby league talent development environment.

Post-Tsunami Rugby: Kamaishi Stadium as a tool for post-disaster reconstruction?
On March 11, 2011, at 2:46 pm, the earth shook and the waters poured onto the coast of Japan.
Kamaishi, a port on the Pacific coast, was hit hard by the devastation.
A few months later, under the influence of former players of the local rugby team that was very famous in the 1970s, the city decided to bid to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
In August 2018, Kamashi Stadium, the only stadium built for the occasion, emerged on the site of the destroyed middle and high school. This event of international scale impacts the territories and their planning on a local scale. The investigation is thus an opportunity to understand this reconstruction project where economic, media, tourist and sporting interests are mixed, sometimes far from local concerns.
Resilience through rugby and its values? The resilience of a country that would be admired by the whole world? Resilience that hides a society's deepest ills?
This investigation is an opportunity to highlight the time of controversy through a project in the Anthropocene era.

This article is a case study of one of the few sports, rugby, that does not link national representation exclusively to citizenship. It discusses who may represent a country in major events and under which conditions. It analyses the consequences of the rules on different stakeholders; and discusses why the residency rule in particular is subject to much controversy. The author has conducted case studies of the 2019 rugby union and 2017 rugby league men's World Cups. Academic literature, international newspapers, and rugby-specific websites were reviewed. Other than secondary sources, the researcher also collected primary data through interviews. The interviewees included representatives of Rugby League International Federation and World Rugby. This research reveals that national representation without citizenship is widespread in both codes of rugby. It has also shown that the effects of the eligibility criteria go beyond simplistic rich/poor and center/periphery models. This article argues that the rational for the eligibility criteria is the limited global spread of rugby league and rugby union. Without those lenient rules it would be difficult to organize international competitions.

I have been involved with JQRSS since its launch in 2007 when I was teaching in Higher Education and since then I have enjoyed seeing the products of some practical research by students applied to real-life situations in sport. As a former academic and now having turned professional sport psychologist, I can say that the learning experiences shared within JQRSS are valuable to the student and may be of great interest to the practicing coach alike. Furthermore, that the journal has developed to a point where it might demonstrate a theme in its content, about rugby in this instance, is commendable not only for the links that may be realised between sport’s practice and sport’s theory, but, because it is a tangible resource that is aimed at student involvement in qualitative research. In this context I am delighted to be able to contribute a foreword from a rugby perspective.

Too often western sports studies perpetuate racial stereotypes of Pacific men, focusing on either ‘flair’ or remittances. Sport is often mentioned in lists of crucial Samoan phenomena, alongside church and family for instance, and yet understanding is limited and stereotypes are rife. Using a critical anthropological methodology, I explore how sports are presently practiced and perceived by Samoan people in two postcolonial ‘global-north’ cities, to not only understand the nuances of sport in the diaspora, but the role of sport in the postcolonial world more generally. Using a transnational framework, I explore how sports, indigenous values, and western values intersect for Samoans abroad and how sport can both affirm and transgress cultural values. I hope to contribute to greater understandings of the unique and pertinent place the Pacific can play in understanding the global proliferation of sport, and help edge sport closer to being a well-understood and utilised bastion of diverse human
interaction.

This chapter looks at rugby union in Lebanon, a country in the global south that has recently started to develop both 15's and sevens versions of the game. The sport is in the initial stages obtaining internal and external recognition. On the domestic level, Rugby Union and Rugby

Of the many important factors that underpin elite sports performance, well developed technical skills and decision making abilities may rank highly in the training priorities of both coach and players (Berry et al, 2008, Gabbett et al, 2009). Coaches spend many hours constructing practices that aim to improve the player in delivering certain kinds of behaviours consistently in competitions. However, the frustrating question that confronts many coaches may be why decision making and consistency of skills performed in competition deteriorates markedly when comparing it to practice situations i.e. when there could be a decreased sense of pressure and consequence. It is the aim of this paper to investigate possible reasons for this, by reviewing some relevant literature on the practice of skills and decision making and how players could be coached differently to enhance learning. Episodes of personal coaching experience are noted to supplement the discussion emerging from the literature. The paper concludes that by reducing the feedback that players receive during practices may allow them to learn new skills more effectively through a problem solving approach when a large cognitive effort is required from them. An ideal outcome would be that independence and autonomy in playing roles are developed which may increase their ability to make correct decisions during competitive situations.

The retention of sports referees is a critical factor in the ability of local, state and national sporting organisations to deliver community sport to its clients on a weekly basis. Previous studies have been dedicated to investigating the retention rates of coaches and players, however little work has focused upon the sports referee and why referees continue to officiate. Using data from interviews and material sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this research looked at the factors which influenced community based Rugby Union referees to remain involved in officiating. Results indicate that camaraderie amongst referees and level of enjoyment and success experienced were key elements in helping referees decide to remain. Results also suggest that factors such abuse and stress are not contributing factors in determining referees’ decisions to cease officiating.