thirty-two - issue 3

thirty-two TOUCH MAGAZINE | WINTER 23

ISSUE 3

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table of contents

photo Susi Baxter-Seitz

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16 photo Susi Baxter-Seitz

photo Warren-Chapman Photography

22 photo Loopi

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Palm Tree Invitational

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USAT Nationals

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Seattle Women's Inevitable Debut

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Fijian Cup

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Pacific Games

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The Story of State Cups 2023

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Phoenix Touch in QLD

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Māori Touch Nationals

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Passion—Touch in South Africa

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International Touch

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Touch World Cup

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The Role of Communication in Refereeing

photo Trinity Pakau

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photo SATA

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photo Susi Baxter-Seitz

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n the first issue of thirty-two I wrote that 2023 was going to be a very good year for Touch. Now, as we reach the end of the year, we can say that statement was not wrong. Domestically (in the USA), there were lots of tourneys organised across the country. USAT Nationals was great, not only due to the number of teams participating but also the quality of touch.

There were also plenty of tourneys happening around the globe. It makes me really happy that some of you are willing to share your experiences with the rest of us. This issue of thirty-two would not have been completed without the collaboration of some amazing touch people. 7th Touch is the gift that keeps on giving, and if you aren't following them on Instagram, or haven't bought their merch, are you even touching?

Not only is their touch content excellent, but they also have all of the contacts. It's the reason that, for this issue, we get a bit of Fijian Cup, Pacific Games, touch in South Africa and the amazing QLD and NSW State Cups.

As I write this I realise we are 205 days from the start of the World Cup. It will be interesting to see how the preparations go. Developing touch nations might see a decrease of domestic tourneys as players will be saving for the big dance. For players going to the TWC, 2024 is going to be a great year for touch. For those who aren't, it could be a less intense year. We shall wait and see. —susi.

Big thank you to all those who submitted articles to the magazine, who will give it a read, and who have generally shared in Susi’s labor of love.

As an editor, I am deeply distracted by the inconsistent use of the Oxford comma across our different regions, but as a reader and writer I am delighted to have a way of archiving all that makes our sport special across the globe.

Most importantly, a big thank you to Susi for launching thirty-two, and letting me be a part of it. Your undying commitment to Touch is frankly unbelievable, and is not lost on me. LUMI ! —saph.

PALM TREE INVITATIONAL Written by Rama Mohtadi Photos Susi Baxter-Seitz

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n August 19th 2023, the San Diego Touch Rugby Club hosted the Palm Tree Invitational tournament. With Hurricane Hilary looming and threatening to make landfall, one would think it would deter teams and players from making the trip.

Thankfully, there was no shortage of teams and players that showed up from all over the country to a beautiful Saturday in sunny San Diego!

decide who would take home the coveted Golden Palm. This format allowed Women’s Open teams to play against Mixed Open teams and Mixed Open teams to play against Men’s Open teams, exposing teams to different styles of touch.

Winning each match earned a team 3 points in the standings, and points were additionally awarded for the try difference in a game.

With USA Touch Nationals just 6 weeks away, you could tell these players and teams were already The Palm Tree Invitational was performing at a very high level. The indeed an “Open” tournament gameplay through all the matches with no restrictions on teams. San was fantastic!

Diego and Los Angeles entered two Women’s Open and two Men’s Ultimately, the home team, San Open teams each. To round it out, Diego Men’s Open, captured the there were two mixed teams from Golden Palm. The consensus from Austin Touch Rugby and one mixed this tournament was that it’s a 'can’t team from Denver. In total, seven miss' touch event. Great format, teams played in a round-robin to great weather, and great socials!

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USAT NATIONALS

By USA Touch Photos Susi Baxter-Seitz

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he decision to head to Oklahoma City for the 2023 USA Touch Nationals came by way of accident. After several years of Nationals in California, and a return to the East Coast in Orlando in 2022, the plan was to bring the event to Arizona—until the facilities became unavailable. We were forced to pivot to another option—and fast. Between the potential growth of the game in Oklahoma City, and OKC Touch's unwavering pleas to consider their facilities, it was obvious they were committed to hosting our best Nationals yet. Plans were made, dates were selected, and we made our way to the Sooner State with nine Men's Open sides, seven Women's Open sides, a massive 14 teams in the Mixed Open division and six teams in the Over 35's (Master's) division.

The Wendel Whisenhunt Sports Complex would host 3 days of competition, followed by a FIT Test Match the next day between Team USA Mixed Open and Cayman Mixed Open. This would be the first Test Match held on mainland United States soil. Competition began early on Thursday, October 12th, with our referees initiating first rounds at 7.10am in cold and windy conditions. Given the large draw, the days were long, with final whistles not blowing until 7.30pm. The strong winds carried through most of the event, only serendipitously subsiding before the finals on Saturday afternoon. The weather would continue to warm through the day, but the wind continued to keep teams on their toes all throughout the day. Our livestream staff couldn't even get their lift to a height above 10 feet safely due to the conditions. Despite the weather, we saw some excellent Touch played through the days leading into the finals.

Master’s Division

Mixed Open

Along with defending champions Dallas, the Master's division graciously hosted the USA Men's 50's side as part of their preparation for the World Cup in 2024. New York, Ft. Lauderdale, Vipers and Seattle rounded out the division. At the end of 2 days of intense competition, the usual suspects started to rise into playoff spots with a few surprises in the mix.

The Master's division saw a New York v. Vipers final, with the Vipers coming out on top to take home the gold and Seattle securing the bronze medal. Our USA Men's 50's side was able to compete as a team for the first time together, and Coach Richie Walker was able to round out his final selections for the World Cup. With this invaluable competition time, Coach Walker feels the team is in a good position to hit the ground running in Nottingham.

After Denver took the championship in Orlando last year, the Mixed Open division saw the return of Galaxy DC, who had missed the 2022 event, hungry to reinstate themselves. Canada and Cayman both ran deep at the event with two teams each. Not to be outdone, Austin Touch also returned with two sides in the competition after narrowly being beaten in the final in 2022. Chicago, Portland, New York, Ft. Lauderdale and New Orleans rounded out the largest division at US Nationals this year.

The mixed competition saw some of the closest results in the pool with countbacks and head-to-head results coming into play, ultimately seeing Denver come out on top in Pool A, and Cayman taking top spot in Pool B. They would play Galaxy DC and Canada respectively thirty-two

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in the semifinals—the first time a Canadian team has been eligible to play for the finals, thanks to their commitment to join FIT and ensure all players are eligible to represent Canada, per FIT requirements.

Canada's path to the semifinals was a testament to their hard work in their lead-up to the 2024 World Cup. Galaxy DC and Cayman would narrowly win their semifinals, pitting a younger Cayman side in the final against the experienced Galaxy players. DC ultimately prevailed after a nailbiter game, showing the depth of their seasoned crew. This win would return the title to a team that has pretty much owned the Mixed trophy since 2012.

Men’s Open Our Men's Open competition brought 9 total teams to OKC. Two-time defending champions New York led the charge, with 2022 finalists Vipers looking to reach the final whistle. Perennial powerhouse Los Angeles, nearing a decade of fielding a Men's Open team, came looking to reinstate themselves, along with a young Portland side out to prove themselves. Seattle and San Francisco also returned, and after missing last year's Nationals, Oklahoma City returned to represent at their home tournament. We also welcomed new teams from New Orleans and San Diego into the competition.

Our Women's Open division brought defending champs, New York looking to dispel any rumors of a fluke. Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco and the Vipers all returned from 2022, and Seattle submitted a Women's side for the first time in their club's history.

The quality of our Women's competition continues to improve year after year, with existing teams getting stronger and clubs newly investing in their Women's programs each year. This year saw Seattle join Portland, New York and Los Angeles in the semifinals, a space familiar to the latter 3 teams since we began the division in 2015. The Vipers, San Diego and San Francisco exhibited valiant efforts, and left the competition with a wealth of important experience, especially for those players working towards the World Cup next July.

The division ended two days of competition with Portland and New York at the top of each pool.

Both teams earned a rest in preliminary finals, which saw Los Angeles square off against Vipers, and San Diego against San Francisco for a shot at the final. LA would defeat the Vipers to face Portland in one major semifinal, and San Diego making a huge comeback to defeat San Francisco, and meet defending champs New York in the other major semi. In two extremely physical and close games, we saw Portland beat out LA and a resurgent San Diego team taking down the back-to-back champions. Two brand new finalist teams, Portland and San Diego are no strangers to this competitive caliber as they were the major weapons for the early years of USA Touch—putting on a tight final, with excellent attack from both sides, that saw the kids from Portland take the Men's Open Championship from New York for the first time in years.

The first semifinal saw New York take down the LA Royals in a repeat of last year's final, with the Royals giving all they had and showing some real grit despite a terrible injury toll. The other semifinal was a tight affair that saw a Seattle team ground down by Portland, looking to reverse their pool round defeat by their Pacific Northwest neighbors. The final between Portland and New York started as a back and forth affair, with both teams working their strengths to their advantage. A display of disciplined rucking and defensive pressure paid dividends for New York, who gradually built their lead over Portland struggling to make a comeback. In the end, New York were deserved winners claiming back to back championships.

Officiating in over 120 games over the weekend, we can't give enough credit to our referees, led by Referee Director, Jay Alston and Referee Manager Uncle Al McNew. A special note to all the clubs as well, who worked tirelessly to invest in and provide referees for the event. We saw a record number of referees at this year's Nationals, with a host of new referees officiating in their first ever Touch Nationals. This commitment to referee development has produced a group of 6 referees who will be traveling with the US teams to the World Cup in Nottingham, UK next summer. The referee panel has massive plans to increase education opportunities through the year as we work towards the World Cup, and other international events beyond.

Women’s Open

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MVPs Each division named the top two players per position at the end of the tournament, as well as the Men's and Women's Open MVP. The USA Touch coaching staff assisted Tony Trad in selecting these players from the tournament, with focus on the final day of competition.

Masters All Star 6

Women's All Star 6

Middle - James Gillenwater - Ft. Lauderdale Middle - Peter Owens - Vipers Link - Graeme McPherson - New York Link - Sean Bell - Vipers Wing - Micah Johnson - Seattle Wing - Luis Camacha - New York MVP - Peter Owens - Vipers

Middle - Laura Patterson - Los Angeles Middle - Chloe Mann - New York Link - Zarima Greco - New York Link - Anayi Merrill - Portland Wing - Erica Legaspi - Seattle Wing - Kat Sicat - New York MVP - Chloe Mann - New York

Mixed All Star 6

Men's All Star 6

Middle - Jason Sinclair - Cayman Middle - Andre Van der Merwe - Galaxy DC Link - Nike Roberts - Galaxy DC Link - Tina Sinclair - Cayman Wing - Abby Guistatis - Galaxy DC Wing - Coco Windsor - Cayman MVP - Nike Roberts - Galaxy DC

Middle - Simon Walsh - Portland Middle - Anton Hones - San Diego Link - Roy Tialavea - San Diego Link - Brandon Murray - Portland Wing - Austin Vandiver - Los Angeles Wing - Nick Molloy - New York MVP - Simon Walsh - Portland

Closing Remarks

The work they've all done outside of our National event, planning identification and development camps all over the country, is a testament to their passion and commitment to our game. Our High Performance team, led by JD Stephenson, continues to build pathways and systems to grow the sport in the United States.

As our last major event prior to the FIT World Cup, we had some invaluable competition and massive learnings both on and off the field—showing the USA's commitment to compete seriously in Nottingham next July. Our goal following the 2019 World Cup in Malaysia was to take 3 open sides to the UK, along with Men's 30's, Women's 27's and Senior Mixed. By the end of 2022 Nationals, we knew we would far exceed this goal—and have since added Men's 35, Men's 40's, Men's 50's and Men's 55's teams to the 2024 campaign. This will be by far the largest contingent from USA Touch to attend a World Cup to date, and many thanks go out to all the coaches who have worked over the last five years to bring these teams together.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to each and every member of USA Touch, and the clubs they are part of, for being the building blocks of our sport. Each successful event is only as good as the participants who prepare for months to make it the highlight of the Touch calendar each year. We look forward to the World Cup next year, and to seeing you all on the field at the 2024 USA Touch Nationals. thirty-two

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“It was as simple as sharing the love of the game with amazing athletes and even better human beings” – Isaiah Chinen

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SEATTLE WOMEN’S INEVITABLE DEBUT

By Carly MacKinnon Photos Susi Baxter-Seitz Not-so-hot take: Seattle is no stranger to rugby.

For decades, contact teams throughout Washington have been raising their hands on the pitch to help establish a “don’t sleep on teams from Seattle” brand.

Men’s and women’s fifteens and sevens have been bagging title-after-title in the Club scene, there’s nationally ranked boys and girls high school programs, coveted varsity scholarships at Central Washington University for the Wildcats, and two-time Major League Rugby Champions, the Seattle Seawolves, call the Pacific Northwest home. But what about touch?

Bess Hampsch. Then, eventually more women started coming. Tiffany Mallick. Vix Folayan. Jenny Pohly.

And eventually, more women started playing touch competitively. Winter Saturday mornings FIT rules sessions started taking off in 2016 (give or take) during the Club competition break. A co-ed Spring league in 2022 on Friday nights. A youth touch team even assembled and traveled post-COVID. More of the contact women started coming to touch sessions of any kind. And by 2023, men and women of all ages were training together three times a week preparing for USA Touch Nationals, as Seattle entered three teams into the 2023 competition for the first time.

Breaking a Stigma

Seattle Touch went from one- or two-men’s teams to Now, casual, pick-up touch has been occurring a proper ‘Club’ offering space for Men, Women, and religiously on Sundays at the sole proper rugby pitch Masters. in Seattle for almost as long as those programs I mentioned above have been growing and competing.

My experience with my solely Washington-based rugby Let the Girls Play career was that touch is used for skill development, As Americans, as women, we need and want all the extra fitness, and good laughs with teammates and new minutes on the field that we can get. Eventually, the people of the community alike. But eventually, I met intrigue and potential of having another avenue to folks at these Sunday sessions who had retired from grow and compete whetted the appetite of more and contact rugby and were playing touch competitively. more numbers.

But the thing that stood out to me was that this demographic was mainly 1) composed of men and 2) had retired from contact. Meeting these people in my early 20’s, ‘retired from contact’ was something far from my interest or desire, so touch remained as a pick up game in my mind.

Just became a mom? Come play. Concussions ended your contact career? Come play. Interested in pursuing a National team opportunity? Come play. Want more fitness and skills during the sevens season? Come Play.

Told you weren’t the top choice by another team?

Well, you’re a top choice here.

Amongst those players were a few trailblazers though, So, with plenty of convincing and effort from the as only a handful of women were running with the leadership group, the numbers locally bought in. Under Sunday group consistently. Lish Adsit. Julie Groves. the coaching helm of Isaiah Chinen, the long-time thirty-two

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coming Seattle Women’s Open team became a reality in a positive environment.

“It was as simple as sharing the love of the game with amazing athletes and even better human beings,” said Chinen, Seattle Men’s Open player and freshly minted Seattle Women’s Coach. “I’ve been lucky enough to train with a lot of them through sevens and fifteens, the work ethic and professionalism they bring to their craft, would carry over to touch once they had seen how competitive it can be. In the US, casual touch is often a muck around warm up with loose rules and unfortunately often leads to a lot of women getting pushed aside despite their pedigree of achievements in the game.”

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose Bringing a well-rounded group of 16 players together, a recruitment that stretched across the group’s rugby network, the first-ever Seattle Women’s Open side was stacked with a core of contact players ready to mold themselves into touch players from the Pacific Northwest. Rounded out and led by touch experience both locally and around the country, veteran USAT Women’s 27s player Tiffany Mallick was one of those Seattle-based players who had been working towards this moment for a long time.

“It was everything I could imagine for our first attendance at USAT nationals,” said Mallick. “Our success and performance was an outcome of development and emphasis on culture. Establishing an environment where new faces were able to shine, providing a positive experience while playing at a competitive level, and, most importantly, a culture where all the women felt supported, uplifted, welcomed, and valued no matter what level/type of rugby they have played. I wanted everyone to know they had an important role in our team’s success and ensure that each player’s strength was utilized to its fullest.”

Everyone flew in. Kit was handed out. Final strategic remarks for Chinen were given in the hotel lobby with cones on the ground. Antonia MacNaughton and Nikki Kenyon were announced tournament captains. And we were ready to take on San Diego in round one, day one.

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Chinen, Friend, Fernandopulle, Legaspi, Kitsch, Mallindine, MacNaugton, Mallick, Folayan, Lewis, Pohly, Kenyon, McCravey, Tarau-Peehikuru, Breyre, MacKinnon, Baxter-Seitz (not pictured Ferris and Groves)

Which, we won.

individual efforts to learn a new sport—we were able to finish much higher than expected.”

And then, we went 4-2 in pool play as the ‘New Kids on the Block’. The potential came to fruition, and the “I want to make a huge shout out to the players on confidence in the squad grew as eyebrows raised across the team who had prior touch experience because they the entire tournament. were integral to our collective growth leading up to Nationals. I was humbled to have been named captain “Our goal was to compete and have fun as a new team, because every person on the team displays leadership so to make it to the semis and be in the hunt was whether that be through knowledge, an eagerness to surreal” said Chinen. “But when you look at the way learn, or a competitive edge. It was truly a pleasure the girls fought for each other and created a winning, to be a part of this debut—but better believe that 4th supportive foundation—it made sense, and leaves me place has left us hungry for the upcoming season.” speechless and excited for what the future holds.”

Finishing the tournament 4th and just shy of having a medal around our necks stung a little less for most of the team, as players left with a newfound love for a new code of the game—or rejuvenated the passion that already existed.

“Being that Nationals was the debut of Seattle’s WO team—I think we walked away extremely proud,” said Seattle Captain and USA Mixed Open player Nikki Kenyon. “With a coaching staff that created a competitive learning environment, the belief and support of the whole Seattle touch community, and

XOXO This group helped break the stigma. For me, for my teammates, and hopefully this story can help break it for others.

Touch is not what you expect it will be—in the best way possible.So, scoop up a ball, forget the laws of whatever code you come from while carrying over your skills, and give it a proper go.

You might just fall in love with rugby all over again.

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FIJIAN CUP By 7th Touch Photos by Warren-Chapman Photography

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he Fijian Cup is quickly becoming one of the biggest and fastest rising tournaments anywhere in the Pacific. Up to seven days in paradise with three days of Touch in between, the tournament has historically attracted some of Touch Football's biggest names (think the likes of Dylan Hennessey, Mita Graham, Emily Hennessey, Ifor Jones and Toni Rasmussen) and biggest clubs (think Wairere, Royals, Az1, 2Fresh, Outkast and Free Flow) from across Australia and New Zealand.

The 2023 edition was again held at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka, with 32 teams across four grades (Men's, Women's and Mixed Open and Masters Mixed). The action on-field matched the heat, with temperatures hovering around 30°C and around 70–80% humidity. Being crowned Fijian Cup champions is the only way to guarantee your entry in the following year's event, and so returning to defend their 2022 titles were Wairere (Men's), Bulletz (Women's) and 2 Fresh (Mixed and Masters Mixed).).

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Masters Mixed

Men's Open

In the Masters Mixed section, Taranaki (New Plymouth, NZ), Outkast (Hawkes Bay, NZ) and 2 Fresh (Brisbane, QLD) were the teams to watch—and they slogged it out in the knockout stages. In the end, 2 Fresh were too strong and successfully defended their title.

The blue riband event of most Touch tournaments around the world is the Men's Open, and at the Fijian Cup, this grade did not disappoint. There were many quality outfits in the competition, many of whom were capable of taking out the title. In the end, it came down to defending champs Wairere (Waikato, NZ) and Kickback (Gold Coast, QLD) who were attending their first Fijian Cup. In a hotly contested final, Wairere showed too much big game experience and locked away the Fijian Cup trophy for another year.

Winners: 2 Fresh Tournament MVP: Nate Wood (2 Fresh) Women's Open

Winners: Wairere The Women's grade was anyone's game, with some Tournament MVP: Tamatoa Ropati (Wairere) quality teams out to take the title off Bulletz. Royals (Gold Coast, QLD), headlined by former Touch Black Toni Rasmussen, snuck past Free Flow (Hamilton, NZ) The Fijian Cup is growing from strength to strength in the semifinal before disposing of Outkast in the final with plenty to offer teams, including staying at the to become Women's champs for 2023. picturesque Shangri-La Resort as well as the party Winners: Royals atmosphere. This year, it even attracted NRLW star Ash Quinlan to Fiji's shores, as well as former Super Tournament MVP: Ash Quinlan (Royals) Rugby players in Ryan Tongia, Jason Emery and former All Black Luke McAlister. It became the first Mixed Open Touch tournament in the world to be streamed live on Arguably the toughest grade of the tournament was three different television networks in three different the Mixed Open, where 2 Fresh, having won both the countries, including broadcasting giants Kayo and Sky Masters Mixed and Mixed Open titles in 2022, were Sport. So let's not mince words: the Fijian Cup is a big out to win them again in 2023. Standing in their way deal. And with limited spots available, the waiting list was local team Shadow, who were mostly made up of for 2024 is already longer than Fiji's Rewa river—and Fijian national team representatives preparing for the it's only going to grow.

2023 Pacific Games. The Fijians had won a dramatic drop off semifinal against B12 (Palmerston North, NZ) to qualify, but the task of beating 2 Fresh was a bridge too far in the final.

Winners: 2 Fresh Tournament MVP: David Sen (2 Fresh)

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PACIFIC GAMES By 7th Touch Photo Charlie Ando

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he Pacific Games have been held roughly every four years since 1963, and Touch has been part of the programme since 2003 (with the exception of 2011). Similar to the Olympics or Commonwealth Games, teams compete for gold medals as part of a collective medal haul for their nation. Something that is unique at Pacific Games is that the Men's and Women's start the tournament with two days of round robin play, before playoffs and finals on the third day.

On the fourth day of competition, nations combine their Men's and Women's sides to play the Mixed Open section for another three days. There are three gold medals in total up for grabs in Touch.

In the Women's Open final, it was a seesawing battle as both teams scored tries in bunches. The game eventually went to a 3-on-3 dropoff, with Samoan teenage sensation Charlize Fleming scoring the matchwinner.

The Men's Open final was a similar affair, with PNG shooting out to an early lead. Samoa slowly clawed their way back to level the game at 5-all before Tyreese PatiSialapae scored in the closing minutes to win Samoa's second gold.

With Samoa staring down the barrel of matching PNG's efforts from 2019, their Mixed Open side went toe-to-toe with PNG and once again came away with At the most recent Pacific Games in 2019 in Apia, a one-try victory, securing their third straight gold Papua New Guinea reaffirmed their status as the medal and becoming the second nation to win all three undisputed kings and queens of the Pacific, winning gold medals. all three gold medals in the Men's Open, Women's Open and Mixed Open (all against Samoa)—the first The Pacific nations are a proud people. With limited ever nation to achieve this feat. Add to that their 4th- resources, they still went all out trying to capture (Men's), 6th- (Women's) and 7th-place (Mixed) finishes the essence of the event for home supporters and at the last World Cup, and PNG were definitely the spectators alike, going so far as to live broadcast as many team to beat in 2023. games as possible on social media. They all represented their country and culture with the utmost pride and As is typical around this time of year in the Pacific, sportsmanship. The supporters who were able to travel temperatures soared and humidity reached almost to Honiara were relatively small but raucous, cheering 100%, making the tournament a challenge in every loudly for their countrymen. They'll bring some colour sense of the word. Across all three grades, Fiji, PNG to next year's Touch World Cup in Nottingham as well and Samoa were the form teams throughout pool play, as a strong challenge on the field as well. but the latter two were the ones who qualified for all three gold medal matches.

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Women's Open

Men's Open

Mixed Open

Gold - Samoa

Gold - Samoa

Gold - Samoa

Silver - Papua New Guinea

Silver - Papua New Guinea

Silver - Papua New Guinea

Bronze - Fiji

Bronze - Fiji

Bronze - Fiji

4th - Cook Islands

4th - Niue

4th - Cook Islands

5th - Niue

5th - Cook Islands

5th - Niue

6th - Solomon Islands

6th - Norfolk Island

6th - Solomon Islands

7th - Solomon Islands 8th - Kiribati

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THE STORY OF STATE CUPS 2023

By Mark Tipple Photos Glen Eaton/Aisle 5 Photography and NSW Touch (Chris Huang and Loopi)

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t’s Day 1 and the grass is freshly cut, with the fumes of the lawnmowers having barely subsided before the first participants of the day arrive to meet their teams at 7:00am. The sun is shining with bright paint on Field 1, to welcome the thousands of smiling faces that will witness the best Touch played in the world in the coming days. Welcome to ‘State Cup’! The annual premier events held in Australia by Queensland Touch Football and New South Wales Touch respectively make up two of the biggest and best touch tournaments in the world.

I, like many touch-lovers before me, truly fell in love with the sport after attending my first NSW State Cup in 2010. The energy, the location, the fields, the quality of play, the quality of matches you watch, the friendships forged; everything people come away from a Touch tournament raving about is heightened at a State Cup. The first NSW State Cup was held 35 years ago in 1988, and the 3-day tournament quickly became the Holy Grail of Touch, especially for those based in the state of NSW. The event now has a long and proud history with most editions of the tournament being held in the spiritual home of touch in the state; Recently, I was a part of a lucky group of people that Port Macquarie. were able to attend both State Cups held in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD) towards In contrast, the current version of the QLD State the end of 2023. They are not to be missed by fellow Cup first took place four years ago in 2019. Although touch-lovers if presented with the opportunity to similar events had been held previously, it was a priority attend at some point in their career! for QLD Touch to reestablish an annual State Cup for

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their affiliates (clubs), similar to their successful Junior State Cups. The QLD & NSW State Cups share a lot of similarities, both based on 30-minute fixtures, but each event has an identity and features unique to its host state and their people.

With 224 teams, 330 referees, and 888 games on 25 fields, the NSW State Cup is the biggest touch event for adults in the world. The QLD State Cup is growing each year and has become an important piece of the touch calendar with 128 teams, 177 referees & 1700+ total participants, using 15 playing fields and representing 25 affiliates this year. Each senior State Cup also features a range of divisions from age grades as young as Under 20’s to Over 60’s, and up to five different grades in some divisions, catering both to the elite player and the group of friends wanting to have a weekend away in a beautiful, coastal location with Touch as part of it.

Now that the world is open again and travel has become a top priority for people, State Cup is recommended to all touch-loving players, coaches & referees if you get the chance. It’s a lot easier to get involved if you have a contact at a club/affiliate or NSW/QLD Touch to ensure you or your team tick the right boxes to participate. The cost to participate is very reasonable, but the logistics of travel and accommodation should be a consideration. The weekend of State Cup (including uniform, registration, club levy with 4-nights’ accommodation) will cost most people around AUD$1000 (USD$650). The experience and friendships gained from the events, though, are priceless.

Personally, I believe that the State Cups for juniors and seniors are one of the key reasons why Australia is the leading nation in Touch. The experience gained from the high-quality matches is so important for players, coaches and referees. The multi-day format means that participants aged 6 to 65+ get used to the mental, emotional and physical toll that comes with the heat and intensity of State Cup play, and carry this with them to all other Touch events domestically and internationally.

You can imagine the buzz and energy around the grounds each day with these kinds of numbers. The burning of the legs and lungs can be easily endured when you get time between matches to visit food trucks, catch up with friends from other teams and watch players like Dylan Hennessey and Hayley Maddick showcase their talent on the main field.

I’m grateful that I’ve been able to attend both NSW and QLD State Cups for the past two years, and 14 senior With preparation for the Touch World Cup 2024 State Cups in total. Each year and each event brings reaching its final stages, many international teams with it new friendships, memories and life highlights. took the State Cups as a chance to gain important, I’m excited by the prospect of more players and teams quality match time before the year’s end. Club or full from around the world coming to experience these international teams from England, Singapore, Japan, events in the years to come. Highlighting the best New Zealand and Hong Kong, as well as players from things about our sport at this scale allows participants Ireland, France, Cook Islands, Chile, Samoa, China to take stories, learnings and love of the game back to and the USA (and many more) featured at one or both their communities. events.

To get a visual feel for what each event is like, check out Interestingly, Touch Football Australia has changed the recap videos on Youtube—the Field 1 livestream is the format of their National Touch League to the available to watch. Special shoutout to the NSW Men’s NTL Championships, which now also sees 30-minute Open A champions Central Coast Dolphins—I might matches held over three days in March 2024. I think have to write an article on their rise to the top in the this is great, given my love of the State Cup format, future! and it will be interesting to see the impact of this around the world as there are now only the Vawdon Cup and Metro Cup held in NSW and QLD that still feature 40-minute fixtures for adults. thirty-two

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PILLAR SPORTS PHOENIX TOUCH AT THE QLD SC

By Alex Tsang and Charmaine Wong Photo Pillar Sports Phoenix Touch and @12hertzhk

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ight years ago on a small astroturf pitch in Hong Kong, four friends sought to start a new touch club. It was a daunting task, but each felt like there was something missing in Hong Kong.

They wanted a club that best represented their mixed cultural backgrounds, their dreams, and their goal to create a high-performance club that would one day compete internationally, all while having a lot of fun along the way.

of being the first club to ever to win a Grand Slam— sweeping victories across all competitive divisions in its 2019 season. And now, it has fulfilled its ultimate dream: embarking on a tour to compete in Australia.

“From a player development perspective, experiencing high-level competition in a multi-day tournament is extremely valuable,” Ryoma Eguchi, Co-Founder and Chairman of Phoenix, says. “I wish to share this experience with Phoenix, for Phoenix players to fully This was the beginning of Pillar Sports Phoenix Touch. understand what the next level is, and then from there they can decide where they want to go in their playing Starting a new touch club isn’t for the faint-hearted. careers. You do not truly understand it until you As many readers of thirty-two can relate, nurturing a experience it yourself.” touch club, maintaining it and keeping players engaged already posed substantial challenges, let alone striving As preparations were underway for the Queensland for a high performance one in a landscape where the State Cup, excitement surged. Accommodation, kit, sport remained a niche pursuit. transportation, QSC registration and fees, staffing roles and a variety of tournament incidentals had been In a city like Hong Kong, cultivating high performance meticulously arranged over more than half a year. And sports at the amateur level is rare due to a number at last, the moment had arrived! of factors unique to the city. Being one of the most expensive cities in the world, the high cost of living As the last shirts and equipment were distributed at limits the populace’s numbers and the time that they the final training session before the Queensland State can commit to sports. Long working hours stretching Cup, the two teams reaffirmed their objectives. from 9am to 7pm, along with frequent overtime or “The key goal for us is to enjoy ourselves, leave no international conference calls extending late into the regrets and to make ourselves proud when we return evening are not uncommon. Additionally, low interest to Hong Kong” declared Alex Tsang, Co-Founder and from the local population in Hong Kong translates to Secretary of Phoenix. scarce sponsorships and broadcasting revenue, thus limiting the resources available for a high performance Days later, as the teams drove towards the fields at program.

Coomera, rows of maroon flags fluttered in the morning breeze against the blue sky. Taking in the venue, we But after 8 years of continuous and tireless work and were amazed by the vast fields, the bustling tents and unyielding dedication, Pillar Sports Phoenix Touch the record number of spirited touch participants in finally pulled through. The club had earned four Hong action (players and referees alike). Palpable anticipation Kong Championship titles, including achieving the feat coursed through the air.

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“The key goal for us is to enjoy ourselves, leave no regrets and to make ourselves proud when we return to Hong Kong” – Alex Tsang

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Familiar sensations of excitement and nervousness gently reminded the referee, prompting a moment of built as we settled into our tent and began preparing for collective embarrassment from our team (as we tried our first game. Basking in the warm Australian sun and our best to hide it). soaking in the moment, animated remarks circulated.

Yet, as the Chinese idiom 出奇制勝 (to win by “So this is what over 10 touch fields in action at the same surprise) goes, we capitalized on that element of time looks like!” surprise to quickly gain a 3–0 lead, scoring in quick succession before the opposition realized that we were “REAL GRASS! NO ASTROTURF BURNS!” no amateurs to touch.

“I wonder what first impressions will be when we play?”

Our opponents came back at us hard, exposing us to a And soon enough, the whistle sounded, and our debut level of touch that we had not previously experienced. game in the Mixed Open category started with Phoenix It wasn’t necessarily the game’s fast pace that caught us off guard; it was our opposition’s ability to effortlessly tapping off. pass 4v3 long balls and their ability to challenge us in a However, nerves seemed to have gotten the better of way where we had to constantly be at 100% to keep up one of our players, who mistakenly rolled the ball to that was the most striking difference. Ultimately, we start the game. thankfully managed to hold on to our lead, securing our “Sir, here in Australia, we start the game with a tap,” first victory in Australia with a 6–5 score.

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As the tournament progressed, so did our performance.

Our proudest achievement lay in our ability to step up and compete. Scorelines were respectable. Opposite teams voiced their surprise on how both Phoenix teams played, and ultimately, shared their admiration of our go-getting attitude towards each game.

At the end of the tournament, Phoenix’s 1st team secured 2 victories out of 6 games, while Phoenix’s 2nd team claimed 1 win out of 5. Games were undeniably grueling, but they have given us many invaluable lessons and experiences to bring back home to Hong Kong.

Beyond the game experiences, we were also able to reunite with friends from Japan, Singapore and the Philippines, forge new connections and meet players in person whom we were previously only able to fawn over through YouTube. We also took our jersey exchanges seriously, bringing the Hong Kong hustle mindset to

Queensland. Whether our banter was received with appreciation or seen as a nuisance, we truly hope our presence was felt and appreciated in Queensland.

As tears streamed down our faces at the tournament’s conclusion, we shared our gratitude for the experience of a lifetime and celebrated this historic milestone for our club. Pillar Sports Phoenix Touch had finally realized its long-standing and cherished dream of successfully competing in the Queensland State Cup. This team of touch nerds from Hong Kong are happy to say that we have fundamentally changed for the better through this tour, and we can look back on it with our heads held high.

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MĀORI TOUCH NATIONALS— 25 YEARS STRONG!

By Pat Spellman Photos Trinity Pakau IG @paks.picss

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I need to preface this article with a disclaimer. I’m deeply involved with this kaupapa and event—so you’re about to read a very one-sided, positive review of what I believe to be one of the best events of the season. Yes, I’m well aware that the season here in NZ has only just started—but let’s not get caught up in technicalities.

In 2023, we celebrate twenty-five years of Māori touch.

We can’t do that without acknowledging those who worked so hard, and gave so much to create the pathways we now walk to engage and enjoythis event each and every year. To Gerrard and Carol Ngawati, and the countless others who championed having a dedicated space for Māori to play touch— I say thank you.

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2023 Bunnings Māori Touch Nationals

2023 Bunnings Māori Touch Nationals Over 60 teams, representing their whakapapa māori Grade Winners & Taonga Recipients (ancestry) descended on the Rotorua International See below details of grade winners and Taonga recipents Stadium for two full days of touch football. The event from the 2023 Bunnings Māori Touch Nationals. is the biggest Māori Touch Tournament in the world, Referees certainly the longest running and marks the start of Referee of The Tournament: Poko Mani the National season in New Zealand.

Youth Referee of the Tournament: Bob Korau In addition to the touch on field—one part of the Taonga donated by Bronson Marsh whānau tournament that differentiates it from any other is the formal performance, featuring items from each rōpū (contingent) participating at the event.

Youth The pō whakangahau was held on Saturday evening to Taitamatāne (U17 Boys) Champions: Maniapoto mark the special “quarter-century” milestone of Māori Taitamāhine (U17 Girls) Champions: Tainui Touch NZ’s launch in 1998.

21 Hanumi (21 Mixed) Champions: Tauranga Moana Rangatahi Player of the Tournament: Maxwell Kara We do it every year, it’s our one thing that brings our (Maniapoto) people together. As much as our sport brings everybody together on the field, we bring everybody together off Taonga donated by George Rogers Whanau & Waitakere Maori Touch the field and just indulge in what it means to be Māori and do kapa haka and waiata, karakia, manaaki. It was truly something special.

Masters The event was our biggest in a decade. We have a 55% increase on team numbers, some promising growth with our rangatahi (youth) grades and steady numbers for our Open and Masters grades. There was also a massive turn out of spectators supporting their teams throughout the weekend.

Pakeke Hanumi (Senior Mixed) Champion: Te Raki Paewhenua 30 Tāne (30 Mens) Champion: Tamatoa Kirikiriroa 40 Tāne (40 Mens) Champion: Tāmaki Makaurau

This year we reintegrated hauora (health) messaging and activations, a Māori marketplace, taonga tākaro [traditional Māori games], the opportunity for our tamariki to come and be involved in a Māori environment without even having to play touch.

Wāhine (Open Womens) Champions: Tainui Hanumi (Open Mixed) Champions: Weraroa Tāne (Open Mens) Champions: Ngāti Hine Female Player of the Tournament: Hylan Potts (Waikato Tainui) Taonga donated by the Stone Whanau Male Player of the Tournament: Sean Law (Ngāti Hine) Taonga donated by the Ngawati Whanau Overall Taonga: Maniapoto The iwi/rohe that demonstrates outstanding contribution to the Māori Touch kaupapa

This year was also the first in a long time we had talent ID take place from our newly established Māori Touch NZ Pathways and Performance Panel, led by Rod Walker.

The upcoming NRL Touch Football All Stars game between the Australian Indigenous and the Māori All Stars will feature NZ based players, all selected from this years event.

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Opens

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PASSION— TOUCH IN SOUTH AFRICA

By Jayde Symons: director of instagram page @shortside.scoop Photos Easterns touch association jbmedia & south23 and TYME Media

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f you were to ask me what encapsulates touch rugby in South Africa, I would say: passion! A passion that wakes you up in the early hours of the morning for a quick game before work or on a Saturday. A passion that drives you to go to training on weekends when you just want to rest after a long week. A passion that makes sitting in hours of traffic to get to a social league on a Wednesday or Thursday night after work, school, or university so worth it. A passion that stirs you to raise as much money as you can to play in a provincial tournament, or even more, a passion that your parents would take out a second bond for to afford sending you to play for your country on the other side of the world.

A passion that makes you play your heart out on the field for just 40 minutes of a game. Well, no, it is not just a game; it’s a part of who we are!

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The official game of touch rugby is relatively new in this country. Most people are not as accustomed to the 6-down rules compared to other forms such as 1-touch or 3-down played by most rugby players.

This official game is played in school leagues, social leagues, and national tournaments around the country throughout the year. The sport is governed by the South African Touch Association (SATA), which runs two national tournaments, a junior and senior, in either March or September. Although the pandemic affected player development and participation, this year saw a successful Junior National Tournament hosted in March in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The tournament had over 30 junior teams and over 35 referees participating, with the host association, Easterns Touch Association (ETA), providing 12 teams and 21

referees. In October of this year, the Senior National Tournament took place in Durban North, Kwa-Zulu Natal, directed by SATA itself, with over 20 teams and roughly 20 referees participating. Although not as successful as the junior tournament, the introduction of two new associations (SWD and Eden Touch), as well as a Masters Ladies team who competed in the Ladies Open division, was exciting.

These National tournaments are the second-highest achievements one could make in their touch rugby career, representing their provincial side. You will find the most entertaining display of touch in the country, as the best players fight to take the trophy and bragging rights home. This three day tournament consists of crazy talent, skill, and strategy, but it would not be a national tournament without blood, sweat, tears and massive rivalry, either between Western Cape Touch Association and Western Province Touch Association or Easterns Touch Association and Gauteng Touch Association.

In July of this year, South Africa sent five junior sides and four referees to participate in the Atlantic Youth Touch World Cup in Nottingham, England, with four out of five of these teams bringing home a medal.

For young touch players, representing their country at its highest level and seeing how others around the world play is an experience of a lifetime. In addition to being an unforgettable memory, the Youth Touch World Cup has also created a pipeline of players into our senior sides, with some young ones hoping to make an open sides for the next World Cup in July 2024.

Two referees were also sent to officiate at the Euros in Vichy, France in August of this year.

Although South African Touch has made a name for itself on the global stage, it still faces significant challenges, such as financial barriers, tournament frequency and player development resources. Touch in this country is a self-funded sport, on both a national and international scale; due to a lack of funds, many players are lost as they cannot afford to play or travel to tournaments. SATA does not currently have the investment, sponsorship, or status that they would like to offer players, which means they can't compete in World Cups with as large of a contingent. Players need to raise around R60k (USD$3300) for international tours and necessary National training camps. At the Youth Atlantic Cup, South Africa had to merge their 18 and 20 boys to field a complete side, with some players on the team meeting in Nottingham for the first time ever.

From a development perspective, a single tournament a year does not suffice for players intending to compete at the international level, which in turn keeps them from valuable exposure to high-level touch. Moreover, the referee program in South Africa is young, with folks earning Level 1 or Level 2 at the national tournaments. improvements are underway to set the standards for these tournaments as referees develop. thirty-two

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South Africa is geographically isolated, which negatively impacts its development on an international level as compared to countries who participate in regional competitions such as the Euros or the Trans Tasman tournaments. Young players often only start playing at the age of 13 or 14 when they join one of the few touch—playing high schools—and can only keep improving once they join a provincial team. Social leagues around the country have also been facing issues as other social sports such as indoor soccer and paddle have created an increased demand for sporting facilities.

North and Durban have run successfully, bringing more juniors into the provincial setup. Companies such as Altron South Africa and Umbro South Africa sponsored kit for the Girls 18s and 20s teams that competed in Nottingham this year, and there are talks about more investments and sponsorships from other companies in the future. Trials for the next World Cup campaign were hosted in Johannesburg in early November, with a huge presence of men and master’s ladies who intend to compete in one of the eight teams that SATA plans to send to the UK, along with a number of esteemed referees.

Yet there is hope—hope that more people will learn about this sport, want to play, and invest. A few primary schools have started offering Touch RugbyTouch Here Academy, based in Eastern Gauteng, has pioneered a school league for these youngsters. The high school leagues run in Gauteng East, Gauteng

So yes, there is hope for this sport in this country. With passion and execution, overcoming these challenges will remain a focus for SATA in the next few years, as it charts a course to find new investors and create connections that can offer more opportunities for its players.

Upcoming events: Senior National Tournament – Cape Town, March 2024 Touch Rugby World Cup – Nottingham, England, July 2024 Junior National Tournament – Cape Town, October 2024

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USA x Cayman Islands test match

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INTERNATIONAL TOUCH— GIVE US MORE! By 7th Touch Photo Susi Baxter-Seitz

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ne thing I've loved about Touch in 2023 has been how chock full of International Touch it has been. From April's Trans Tasman right through to the impending Pacific Games in November/ December, our sport's best has been on display. This amount of international competition is so exciting for the growth of our game and actually pretty important for a whole heap of different reasons.

And what I've enjoyed seeing over the last few World Cup cycles is the slow but steady improvement and development of other member nations. Sure, they're not smashing down the door to every grade of every World Cup final (yet), but they're at the stage where they're at least respectfully knocking.

Cook Islands caused a massive boilover in the Senior Mixed grade of the 2019 World Cup, beating New Zealand in the semi-final. At the Asia Pacific Youth Touch Cup earlier this year, the Philippines also knocked New Zealand out at the semi-final stage in the U20 Mixed grade. Add to that the margins of defeat for some nations that have been consistent attendees at Touch World Cups, which have drastically shrunk.

Touch has, since the dawn of time, boiled down to Australia vs New Zealand. In fact, from 1988–2019, all 68 World Cup trophies belong to either of those two countries. Only six other nations have ever qualified for a World Cup grand final, and even then, four of those grand final appearances were because New Zealand hadn't entered a team in that grade. Australia And that’s why consistent game time for our nations have qualified for every single World Cup final in every is so important. Since April, a whopping 27 nations single grade. have had exposure to international level Touch in Now that's not to take away from either of those two 2023. That number will grow to 35 by the end of the nations. To qualify for over 95% of all World Cup finals year. Regular international game time allows nations is an incredible achievement in itself. But the side to test themselves against international competition, effect is that a two-horse race isn't exactly a recipe for to implement different tactics and strategies, to take growth. And if there's anything that is proven in other away learnings and lessons for them to analyse which codes, it is that competitiveness at the international in turn helps them to develop and improve. And who level is vital to the growth of the game itself. knows? Maybe there’s a handy sponsor or two that might turn an intrigued eye and a lending hand to help Look at the recent Rugby World Cup. All quarter finals those nations, which can only be a good thing as well. were decided by 12 points or less. Strong nations such as Australia and Scotland missed out on the knockout So, more opportunity for International Touch I say! stage altogether. It makes for compelling viewing for Whether it’s the Trans Tasman, Euros, Asia-Pacific diehard and casual fans alike, drawing in viewership, and Atlantic Youth Touch Cups, Pacific Games, Asian growing the reach of rugby and inspiring the next Cup, International friendlies or, of course, the World generation of up-and-comers to pick up a ball and join Cup, bring it all on and let’s see who will be the first their local club with the hopes of one day playing at a to be banging down the doors of the Emus and Touch Rugby World Cup. Blacks. thirty-two

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TOUCH WORLD CUP As players and NTAs start their preparations for the 2024 Touch World Cup, we’ll take a small dive into past Touch World Cups (Part III).

Source (including images): Thompson’s Touch Almanac The fifth Touch World Cup took place at Kumagaya, Japan, from May 24th–28th 2003. With 27 teams from 10 countries (Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Wales and USA) competing in five divisions: Men's, Women's and Mixed Open, Men's 30 and Men's 35, thia represented a significant decrease in participation compared to 1999.

All of the finals were between Australia and New Zealand, with Australia emerging victorious from all of them. This would imply Australia completely dominated the tournament, which was not entirely the case. In the MO division, New Zealand finished the preliminary rounds top of table after drawing against Australia and scoring 80 tries to Australia's 76. The grand final score was 5–4 to Australia. The XO division saw a battle of (future) legends: Benji Marshall for Australia versus Peter Walters for New Zealand. The grand final score was 6–5 to Australia, but what a game it must have been. The M30 division also had New Zealand finishing top of the table, but Australia ultimately emerging victorious 4–3 in the grand final. In the M35 division, New Zealand beat Australia twice in the rounds before losing the final.

The final standings per division: MO

WO

XO

M30

M35

1. Australia 2. NZL 3. South Africa 4. Japan 5. Scotland 6. Wales

1. Australia 2. NZL 3. South Africa 4. Singapore 5. Japan

1. Australia 2. NZL 3. Japan 4. South Africa 5. USA 6. Singapore 7. Thailand

1. Australia 2. NZL 3. South Africa 4. USA 5. Japan

1. Australia 2. NZL 3. Singapore 4. Japan

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Stellenbosch, South Africa, hosted the 2007 Touch World Cup, which took place on January 17th–21st.

15 countries (Australia, England, Fiji, France, Japan, Jersey, Lebanon, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, USA, Wales), and 41 teams competed across six divisions: Men's, Women's and Mixed Open, Senior Mixed, Men's 30 and 35.

In the MO, Australia and New Zealand got to the final without losing a single game—their preliminary round match ended in a draw 5–5. Australia went on to win the final 8–5 and take the division title. The Australian WO continued to show their dominance by beating NZ 9-3 in the final. Throughout the whole tournament, the australians conceded only 8 tries, 6

by New Zealand and 2 by Japan. New Zealand took the title in both Open and Senior mixed divisions, beating Australia in the final 6–4 and 8–7 respectively.

The final standings per division: MO 1. Australia 2. NZL 3. Lebanon 4. Japan 5. South Africa 6. England 7. Scotland 8. Wales

WO 1. Australia 2. NZL 3. South Africa 4. England 5. Singapore 6. Scotland 7. Wales 8. Japan

XO 1. NZL 2. Australia 3. South Africa 4. England 5. Jersey 6. Switzerland

M30 1. Australia 2. Samoa 3. South Africa 4. Fiji 5. USA 6. Japan 7. Wales 8. Switzerland

X30 1. NZL 2. Australia 3. South Africa 4. England 5. USA 6. Scotland 7. Singapore

M35 1. Australia 2. South Africa 3. France 4. Australia M40

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THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATIONS IN REFEREEING

By Matthew Boesen Photos Susi Baxter-Seitz

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n my youth, I refereed a dozen sports. Without a doubt, Touch is the sport with the highest communication workload for referees, and by a wide margin! I wondered why this is true, what impact referee communication skill has on the game, and what specific sub-skills maximise that impact.

Flow In some sports, including NFL, tennis, volleyball or golf, the game features pauses between each action sequence. Time is not a factor in delivering a ruling, which provides time for consideration and deliberation.

The official’s role is to act as Judge after the fact. In the pause that is created, the official judges the guilty party and applies the appropriate penalty.

Sports with continuous action require a different approach. Think of rugby, basketball, netball, or martial arts. An action sequence can often continue regardless of an infraction occurring, so the official is tasked with interrupting and stopping the play. Interruptions are not appreciated by players or spectators - often being considered to interfere with a flowing match. It is commonplace for players and spectators to imagine a referee able to carry out the conflicting tasks of avoiding interference while somehow being able to also enforce the rules. This paradox is an impossible ask of the officials, and yet forms the basis of many peoples’ expectation, with an unavoidable bias for non-interference for the home team, and strict enforcement against the visitors.

There are two ways an experienced referee can address this paradox. A referee can defer an interruption, seeking advantage to get an in-play result that matches or exceeds the infraction’s appropriate penalty. This is like a legal court recognising ‘time in custody’, but without all the fuss and expenses. Deferral works only with the co-operation of both teams in continuing their actions without pause. If either team stops to identify (or complain of) the infraction, the opportunity to use deferral has been lost. This is why Touch referees focus on “Play On” opportunities because it keeps the option of deferral in the toolbox. The second technique is avoidance. The referee issues instructions to players to anticipate possible infractions, and thereby encourage the players to avoid the infraction.

The simplest example is warning an offside player, and allowing them to fix their situation before play is impacted. If performed effectively, avoidance directly reduces the number of infractions, and creates a better flow in the game. To the novice observer, much of this effort by the referee is invisible. To the novice player, some of this effort is wasted due to the inability to understand or react to the instruction.

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To the experienced Touch player, the effort invested in avoidance is massively appreciated, and creates a game where players can be more certain of their status, play closer to ‘the edge’, and still get a low penalty count, flowing game environment. To most referees and players, avoidance is the preferred outcome, deferral the next best option, and interruption the last resort.

Avoidance is hard. There are distractions elsewhere on-field, and focus is hard to gain or maintain. Any time you invest in this area will always be appreciated by players and should be the focus of learning for midrange referees in their development pathway.

Today, we will take a dive into some specific sub-skills, and give a few tips to get a better impact in that highpressure environment.

Time Stops for No One Time is of the essence. A delayed communication is less effective—always. Referees ‘pre-load’ to get a player reacting before their behaviour becomes timecritical. The referee is guessing what might happen, and avoiding poor behaviours that could create a penalty.

This allows the commands to come earlier, which gains time, but it doesn’t fit every opportunity.

Sequencing can create delay. Competing communications need to be prioritised according to their importance. Prioritise these things: announcing the touch count, nominating onside as being the “Line”, or designating an offside player. Many learning referees will follow the sequence as written, but the ideal is the completely opposite order. An offside player has an immediate impact on play which the attack need to know right now—loss of time will impact play. The “Line” command is strong guidance for many defenders, but players have eyes and could have managed themselves. Touch count is seldom a priority when under pressure. Sequencing matters.

Individual words can be sequenced too. Why is “Link, here” more effective than “Here, Link”? Few parents say “Clean your room Chrissy”, because Chrissy heard “blah blah Chrissy”. They more usually say “Chrissy!

Clean your room”. Attention-getting preceded the

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instruction to create better recognition, at the cost of a little time. If you ever had to repeat an instruction, chances are your timing or sequencing lacked the ability to create recognition and reaction. Change your comms!

Lengthy communication delays reaction—always. A two word command is reacted to faster than five words.

The example “Five more steps please link” is a killer. By the time it is spoken the link is already back, or the chance to react is long gone. This is a literal waste of time and breath. “Link, here” is a better time-critical version, with the desired reaction to begin a retreat.

The location of retreat is by comparison unimportant, can be delayed a few seconds, and spoken with a congratulatory tone.

Words Ain’t Words Word selection can either clarify or confuse. “Forward” can mean many things—a pass, the direction up-field, a movement away from something, a scrum member, or a forthright comment in a bar. There was an example where a referee yelled “Forward” to a Defending team, but to the referee’s surprise the Attacking team carefully handed over the ball and retreated ten metres assuming they had made a forward pass. An alternative is the word “Advance” which specifically means the movement choice, and also handily shares roots across several languages with latin origin. Strangely, it doesn’t seem to work with any reliability across teams and countries. The old standby “Move Up” remains the most effective version, for no easily-explained reason.

Watch professional medics, defence personnel, traders, and you will find standard language in every time-critical theatre. Sport is no different. It should be the objective of any referee of international ambition to be able to standardise their command language so as to provide all players on either team an equal and high likelihood of reacting. Whilst it is generally desirable for referees to develop ‘softer’ language and interaction skills such as rapport, style and free diction, these behaviours are harmful in time-sensitive situations when compared to standardised commands.

Referees should not reinvent something that works.

Don’t change it locally. Don’t customise it to meet your individual style. Players hear from a lot of different referees in a day, and three referees per game. The entire community should recognise the standardised formats, using the same words every time, over and over again until it gets into people’s brains and becomes an automated response. You are speeding the cognition sequence, adopting best word selection and order, and improving the reaction efficiency by doing so.

Best Seats in the Show Front row seats rock, but the volume doesn’t have to stay at twelve. Use volume wisely. A quiet tone narrows to the closest audience in a non-urgent fashion. A raised tone adds urgency or danger, while a shout demands immediate action. The best referees mix volume, short/long content, and both positive and negative/directive commands. You mix rock and roll with ballads to bring a contrast, which helps a player’s ears recognise the difference.

Word selection and tone matter alongside volume. A shout can mean urgent, it can be intended for someone far away, or it can be intended for a few people. In Touch, it needs to be short, or else it is just noise. A simple example: yelling “Line” is designed to speak to all scoreline Defenders equally, and is short enough it costs little breath, saving vocal fitness over a five day tournament.

In a different situation, “Hold” indicates Defenders must wait for the Half. You might use “Wait” but you will find it also causes the Half to delay playing the ball. A quiet “Hold” avoids impacting the Attackers, and calms Defenders away from hard touches in their enthusiastic sprint forwards.

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On’ call is for the Attacker and the covering Defenders to let them know that even if Ten claimed a Touch, it Sometimes, you need to switch audiences mid-stream. is ignored because they are offside, and so the game Consider an offside player and the following stream of is continuing. You want the players of both teams to communications: “Ten here. Ten no. TEN. OFFSIDE continue to play.

PLAY ON”. Break it down, because there are five commands and three audiences.

Some complain that this thought pattern is too complex, that the sequence carries too much information, and Ten was not yet onside as a preload. Ten remained that nobody can react to it reliably. Try it, discuss it with offside and advanced. Ten became critical to the play. people, and you will discover that players react better All these had Ten as the audience (sorry to all the as you hone skills like word selection, tone, volume number 10s out there by the way, I pick on 10 a lot). By and timing. Mixed with physical signals indicating the time the shout is there, you are starting to include the offside player, and a presence in the attacker’s the attacker and the covering defenders into the vision, your impact on player’s use of Advantage will situation. The attacker needs to know that they have a increase. In an ideal world, the referee’s Avoidancesituation available, and when the ‘Offside’ call comes, based communications will fix offsides before they the audience is no longer the Defender. The audience impact play, but at some point the Attackers need is now the Attacker, to let them know an Advantage the referee’s help to reliably gain a benefit. Switching situation is available to them for exploitation. The ‘Play audience is necessary to maximise Advantage.

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Good Communications Don’t Rely on English Fluency

Where to Go From Here?

Communication is the highest priority tool for Our sport continues to demand that English is the impacting situations in an Avoidance technique. It primary language of refereeing. That decision is is the mechanism by which players understand what flawed, lamentable, but perhaps inevitable. The classic actions they should take to remain in good standing, sequence in communications is: and thus avoid an interruption. Great referees use communications sub-skills like a Swiss Army knife— each tool has a place and a use, with the wrong tool [speaker] compose » vocalise » doing a worse job than the right tool. [listener] process » react No matter your vocal capabilities, the techniques described here will help participants understand In a multi-lingual environment, it is more complex: more about what is going—in a faster manner, with a more specific meaning, and with enough time to be [speaker] compose » translate » vocalise » able to react. We all love a flowing game, with a low [listener] translate » process » react penalty count,and few surprises. People’s expectations are less disrupted and conflict is lowered with good communication. These outcomes are within your The translation steps create a bias in favour of English command (yes, a pun right near the end). natives. Globally, this bias harms precisely those nations who need every table-levelling behaviour we There’s a lot to unpack in this article, and you won’t can muster against the dominant powerhouses of the get it all at once. Some of it may seem like minor adjustments, but they can have major impacts. Good Antipodean nations. luck on the field, and keep running (and talking of The sport’s largest multilingual environment, Europe, course)! teaches a standard command list—colloquially known as the two-word-drill. Every time-sensitive communication in Touch can be delivered in two words or fewer. Longer communications are fundamentally less respectful of time, not to mention creating more labour in the translation and processing steps. Want a copy? Ask a European.

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