This month on Tuesday September 16th, the MIRTH Main Event welcomed James Shanahan. He was here to give a talk about his experiences as a community Rugby Union referee of 25 years standing.
As James introduced himself, we all noticed a wall of numbers behind him. 20-40-60, 14+2=16, 15, 22 and so on. What did they all mean? We were about to find out!
The talk was set up in an interactive style with MIRTH members selecting numbers/sets of numbers and trying to guess what they related to.(They were all connected to rugby in some way!). Some of the audience were very knowledgeable, while others fell a little short!
James had a very relaxed but informative style of communicating and revealed that this was part of his style and ethos as a referee. His aim was to be firm but fair while always being clear that he was in charge on the pitch!
The numbers I mentioned earlier?
15 – number of players in a team
22 – the maximum length in metres allowed between the try line and dead ball line
14+2=16 – the number of flags visible at a rugby match, either as markers or being held by touch judges
20-40-60 – A fitness test including running these distances in metres between certain points.
At the end of the talk, there were still plenty of numbers left on the board.
Maybe James can return and let us in on a few more tales of ‘ Surviving As The Man In The Middle’.
I am sure he would have a captive audience!
MIRTH 