Looking for a low-stakes way to kick off your 2025 season? Youth rugby is an excellent opportunity to give back to the game, and they are always looking for volunteers. While unpaid, these festivals and scrimmages are a great way to test your knowledge of the law and game management (read: youth-wrangling) abilities! Not to mention getting to meet and work with other referees.
If you’re newer to refereeing, Rugby Illinois is a good place to start. These kids are often new to rugby as well, so it’s a great way to practice your communication and practice building rapport with players of different ages and experience levels. The Shared Document is open for editing – Youth Rugby Festivals – Google Sheets; but please also send a note to Jason Lanthier (jlanthier@rugbyillinois.us) as he and a club official will be assigning matches.
NOTE: There are some caveats to refereeing youth rugby. The team has put together this helpful presentation to review the main points, but it’s always a good idea to double check with coaches the day of your matches.