Information for current members 2026/2027

The return of community rugby for season 2026/27 is near and the reason you are receiving this
email is that the North Midlands Society of Rugby Football Referees have you recorded in their
records as either a Referee or Advisor. If you have decided to retire or no longer want to receive
emails from the society, please email NMadmin@northmidsrefs.co.uk and we will amend our
records.

Requests for referees are rolling in and it would help the appointments team if you would
post your availability for August / September on ‘Who’sTheRef’ (WTR) as soon as possible.
Tracy Pettingale will continue in the role of Finance / Administration Officer. Tracy’s email address is NMadmin@northmidsrefs.co.uk and part of her role will be to ensure the WTR database including fixtures and appointments are recorded correctly.

A few reminders PLEASE READ:

Payment and claiming Match Day Travel Expenses
Following the government announcement and the increasing of the allowance for business
mileage, Match Day travel will this season rise to 50p per mile. I will review this figure mid-season, potentially increasing it further if there remains continued pressure on the cost of fuel.

Guidance on how to submit this through WTR can be found in the ‘Support Hub.’ Click
‘Organisational Admin’ then ‘Core Functionality’ where you will find instructions on ‘Entering
Expenses’ and ‘Submitting Expenses.’ You need to follow both processes.
The planned reimbursement timetable is as follows –
Summer, September and October appointments – paid in November.
Interim opportunity to claim – paid February
Final and season end payments – paid in May.

If you feel for personal reasons you need to submit claims outside these dates, please save them
up and let me have them at the end of each month, not after every game. I will then arrange to
reimburse you as soon as practical, hopefully within a few days.
WHERE I HAVE THE INFORMATION, I WILL BE REIMBURSING DIRECTLY TO YOUR BANK
ACCOUNT.
IF SINCE YOUR LAST CLAIM YOU HAVE CHANGED TO A NEW BANK OR IF YOU ARE A
NEW MEMBER OR RETURNING REFEREE AND HAVE NOT EMAILED ME THESE DETAILS,
CAN YOU PLEASE DO SO.
I will then confirm receipt of the email via text to the mobile number you have registered with WTR.

Referee Protocols and Cancelled Matches
Clubs have been advised that they should confirm matches with the referee at least 72 hours
beforehand.
Confirmation could be a phone call, an email or text message. You should reply to texts/emails to confirm receipt.
If the club does not confirm your appointed game, please contact the appropriate appointments
officer for further guidance.
‘Who’sTheRef’ is an integrated appointments package used nationally across all referee
societies and relies upon the accuracy of the information contained within the database.
Through its system, we issue Match Fee invoices directly to the clubs. This income is used to
reimburse your travel expenses and help with the running costs of the society.
Therefore, if after accepting the game, it is subsequently cancelled, PLEASE as soon as
convenient notify the appropriate appointments officer and email the administration officer at
NM.admin@northmidsrefs.co.uk.
If you do not, it will likely mean the club invoice is incorrect causing us additional work.

The society appointments team for season 2026/27 are: –
Saturday Appointments – Mike Jones – telephone 07887 354916
Email – appointments@northmidsrefs.co.uk or bridgnorth93@gmail.com
Saturday Reappointments / 7’s & 10’s Tournament Appointments
Callum Crouch 0749 634 8481 Email reappoint@northmidsrefs.co.uk
Saturday Exchange Appointments – Neil Reid Warrilow – telephone 07907 108849
Email – reidwarrilow@btconnect.com
All Sunday Appointments – Alex Nock – telephone 07736 051752
Email sundays@northmidsrefs.co.uk
All Mid-Week Appointments – Phil Monaghan – telephone 07999 444930
Email midweek@northmidsrefs.co.uk
If after confirming the game you travel to find the match has been cancelled and the club has not
notified you, again inform the appointments officer and send an email to Tracy
NM.admin@northmidsrefs.co.uk and copy to me at finance@northmidsrefs.co.uk
You are eligible to claim expenses when this occurs. This is important as we notify the club so
they can investigate what went wrong and where appropriate a surcharge will be added to the
clubs invoice.
REMEMBER DO NOT TRAVEL UNLESS THE GAME HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AND IF YOU
HAVE AN ADVISOR OR WATCHERS APPOINTED TO YOUR GAME LET THEM KNOW.
Also, if for any reason after the game has been confirmed you find you are unable to fulfil your
appointed fixture, please advise the appropriate Appointments Officer and the society
Administration / Finance Officer on the email addresses above.
Law 6 which covers guidance on pitch inspections due to adverse weather is available on the
society web page. Primarily it applies to League and Cup matches but the basic principles apply to all games.
In the case of a League game, clubs should initially seek guidance from their League Secretary
when these games are in doubt before involving the referee.
In respect of all other fixtures in the first instance, it’s the home club’s responsibility to decide if a
pitch is fit and then the captains of both teams.
In both cases, the referee makes the final decision on the grounds of player safety.

Subscriptions
If you have not yet paid your annual subs of £25, please arrange to do so ASAP. Please
check your bank accounts to make sure it’s been paid.
Pay to:
Lloyds Bank Plc
A/C North Midlands Society of Rugby Football Referees Limited
Sort Code 30-80-34
A/C No 41541860
Members in full-time education are free, also new members will have their membership fee waived
for the remainder of the season in which they join.
FINALLY, AND VERY IMPORTANT it has come to my notice that some clubs are starting to
ignore appointment protocols and contacting referees direct if they do not have an appointed
official for their game. This results in the society being unable to claim its match fee from clubs.
BE AWARE THIS SEASON IF YOU ARE NOT APPOINTED TO A GAME THROUGH WTR BUT
CONTACTED BY THE CLUB COACH / CAPTAIN AND CHOOSE TO REFEREE THE GAME I
WILL NOT PAY YOUR TRAVEL EXPENSES.
If you receive any requests to referee a game directly from clubs, you should point the person to
the appropriate reappointments/appointments manager.

Society Kit.
Kit is again available from Paladin and links allowing you to order new kit will shortly become
available via the Society web page. Members are entitled to a discount on any order they place.
If you have any questions on any of the subjects in this email, please let me know.

Ian Moreton
Treasurer North Midlands Society Rugby Football Referees