A referee recruitment crisis in Tyrone has become so critical that the very future of gaelic games in the county is at risk.
Competitive action could be forced to cease within five years, Referees Administration Committee chairman Shane Dorrity has warned.
A dwindling pool of officials is made up of an ageing cohort, many of them in their sixties, with just a trickle of new recruits prepared to take up the whistle.
“The numbers clearly show that a sizeable portion of our games are being refereed by men in the 60-plus category and this is completely unsustainable, Dorrity says in his report to tonight’s (Tue) annual convention.
“In the next five-ten years, we will not have referees to cover our games.
“If we were to compare this to a club and player model, we would simply be withdrawing from competitions and not be able to field.”
He reports that a total of 1,746 games have taken place to date this season, with 70 active referees officiating.
“With the advancement of the average age profile of referees within Tyrone, it should be a cause for concern for all clubs that our referees are being asked to take part in a games schedule that no player would be expected to perform in.
“It has been a tough season for appointments to games and we wish to offer our sincere thanks to all volunteers who have offered their time to officiate throughout and often at short notice.”
Dorrity paints a bleak picture of a challenging future for the Competitions Control Committee, which is responsible for organising fixture schedules and appointing referees.
“The Referee’s Committee can see no alternative than Tyrone CCC having to stop providing official competitions/games for our young people in the near future if clubs do not live up to their responsibilities.
“We owe our young people a better future, we owe it to the generations of Gaels that passed the torch to us, and we owe it to ourselves to leave our Tyrone in a healthy state.
“No one wants to see the decline of competitions on our watch, but what is the alternative?
“Either clubs provide more referees, even to do ten games a year, or our competitions do not run as they currently do.”
The refs chief is particularly critical of a handful of clubs who do not provide any referees to the county panel.
“The Referees Committee have carried out an audit on referees and clubs this year to highlight the long-standing problem of a deficit of referees.
“There are two major issues facing Tyrone GAA – the ageing demographics of the current refereeing panel and the increasing number of games and competitions.
“Whilst every member recognises the positive impact of the development leagues for our young people, we are being completely negligent by failing to plan for the officiating of these extra competitions.
And while the supply of officials continues to decline, demand has increased due to the introduction of under-age development competitions.
“The introduction of development leagues have been a great success for our clubs to offer more children the chance to take part in our games and I’m sure we all wish for this to go from strength to strength.
“With this in mind, it is important that we consider, when planning fixtures, the strain that is placed on the small pool of referees that have tirelessly worked to ensure these games were a success.”
The situation is particularly worrying for club hurling within Tyrone, with referees from other counties called upon to help out by taking charge of games.
“It has been a tough year for hurling fixtures due to a lack of officials being available resulting in Tyrone requesting five referees from Derry, two from Fermanagh and one from Armagh in order for competitions to go ahead.
“A serious question hangs over the sustainability of Tyrone providing hurling competitions.
“Clubs need to prioritise recruitment as we only had referee representation from four hurling clubs.
“Fixture congestion and fixtures outside the county were some of the factors, but six hurling clubs need to look at referee recruitment.”
