28 WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2014 guardian Sport the Junior touch refs ready for the season By Kendyl Drummond A group of 20 senior primary school students have taken on the role as referees for the junior touch competition at Goodman Park after beginning their referee training. The year 7 and 8 students were coached by Moeke Paaka, who has long associations with the sport, including coaching the Motueka High School touch team for several years. Moeke took the students for two preseason trainings, and with the junior competition now underway, he will continue to train them and offer support throughout the season. “We had a great idea that we should train up senior primary school students so they would end up refereeing games here, with the long-term plan of ending up at the Riwaka competition to ref,” Coach Moeke Paaka says. “And who knows where they will end up – just like Tim Lucas, an ex-Motueka High School student who became the third top touch referee in Australia”. Two of the students, Kyle Harrison and Connor Wilkins, already referee at the Riwaka Touch Competition, and have both been asked to referee at an upcoming tournament in Nelson. “We’ve learnt the rules, the game play and the hand signals refs need to use too,” says Fletcher Packworth, who has also The year 7 and 8 junior touch refs: (back row) Tristan Griffith, Conrad Savage, Kayden Richards, Kyle Harrison and Blair Hamilton. (Front row) Elliott Frampton, Fletcher Packworth, Campbell Fry, Pa Ikin, Ryan Hay, Sophie O’Cain. been training for the Nelson Bays U15 Boys touch team alongside Connor and Ben. “It’s fun and it’s cool to see some of the teams moves,” he says. Conrad Savage says he barely knew anything about refereeing when he began the trainings, but now he feels more confident and “it’s about having a good attitude.” The students ref anywhere between one and four games a week and also get paid a small amount for each game, which is an incentive to stick at it. The district’s Primary School touch competition is on a Tuesday afternoon for juniors and Wednesday afternoons for seniors, and with the Riwaka Touch competition on a Thursday evening, Kyle and Connor have been busy three nights a week refereeing at all three of the competitions. Moeke hopes that starting the students from a young age will encourage them to develop their skills throughout high school.