Welcome to the Officials section of the Volleyball England website. 

Referees are an extremely important element in the development of Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Disabled Volleyball throughout the country, at all levels of ability and at all ages. This section of the Volleyball England website is designed to assist not only Volleyball England referees in each branch of the sport but also scorers, line judges, coaches, club members, organisers and anyone interested in the promotion and development of the game. Every effort has, and is, being made to provide relevant, up to date information and as much support as possible. If you have any comments about the web pages in this section, would like to share your ideas or good practise with colleagues, or would like to see something specific included, please do not hesitate to contact Staff Referee Commissioner Denis Le Breuilly (dleb@psilink.co.uk).

A number of resources are available for download by registered referees, all of whom have been issued with passwords, and some useful links have been added. Please note in particular the Welfare section of the Volleyball England site and that Government legislation now requires that all officials are CRB checked.

We hope you will find this section of the website of assistance in providing the information and materials for which you have been searching, or aiding your understanding of the pathways available to you.  Hopefully any increased knowledge will be of benefit whatever your role and you will take advantages of the courses on offer.

Please visit the section regularly and keep yourself up to date.

The essence of a good official lies in the concept of fairness and consistency:

1. to be fair to every participants

2. to be viewed as fair by the spectators

This demands a huge element of trust - the refeeree must be trusted to allow the players to entertain:

1. by being accurate in his/her judgement

2. by understanding why the rule is written

3. by being an efficient organiser;

4. by allowing the competition to flow and by directing it to a conclusion;

5. by being an educator - using the rules to penalise the unfair and admonish the impolite;

6. by promoting the game - that is, by allowing the spectacular elements in the game to shine and the best players to do what they do best: entertain the public

The ‘ART’ of refereeing needs to be continually practised and refined. Should clarification or rules and situations not be possible from the Guidelines or FIVB Casebook, referees are encouraged to seek guidance from Referee Commission via the facility available on the Volleyball England website.

As can be seen from FIVB’s Philosophy statement and other related documentation, Refereeing does not consist solely of conducting a match by using the Rules of the Game as the basis for all decisions. Refereeing cannot and must not be the mechanical or automatic application of the Rules. The referee cannot carry out his/her tasks just by looking for faults in teams’ and players’ techniques or behaviour and applying the corresponding sanction.

The good referee remains in the background. The bad referee hampers the game by wanting to play a leading role in the match. He/she must reward the players and teams for spectacular and exciting actions in the spirit of the Rules. It is essential that the referee maintains an excellent relationship with the player/coaches, etc., and that his/her behaviour is exemplary.

During the match he/she must be able to distinguish between normal human expressions of feelings made under the stress of the game and real conscious unsportsmanlike behaviour. He/she should not punish spontaneous expressions of feelings such as standing up to cheer for excellent playing actions or for encouragement, etc. However, conscious negative expressions or incorrect gestures to the opponent or protest against the referees’ decisions are strictly forbidden and should be sanctioned.

The referee’s role is not to ‘POLICE’ a volleyball match, but to act as a neutral facilitator, arbitrator and educator in a game of sport. Care must be taken to ensure that matches are well managed so that players, team personnel, other match officials, and spectators gain the maximum enjoyment from the sport of volleyball.

To register as a referee please visit:

http://www.volleyballengland.org/Membership/How_to_Join.php

For the list of member benefits. please visit:

http://www.volleyballengland.org/Membership/Benefits/Referees.php

If you require advice about your development as a referee please contact Referee Development Commissioner – Diane Hollows dihollows.volley@btinternet.com

Forgotten your password? Contact Membership Officer – Richard Belton r.belton@volleyballengland.org or 01509 227722

For any other queries, please contact Referee Development Officer – Holly Fairclough h.fairclough@volleyballengland.org or 01509 227722