Rugby referees in Fiji will gather for the second Fiji Rugby Referees Awards in 2029.
This, according to the interim chairman of the Fiji Rugby Referees Association, Talemo Waqa, when moving the vote of thanks at the inaugural ceremony last Saturday in Suva.
“The next awards for the Fiji Rugby Referees Association will be in four years’ time,” he announced at the Vodafone Arena.
Waqa said the awards will be held in 2029 to give the current lot of young rugby referees the chance to build up their level of skills and experience in the profession.
He added his hopes of seeing a Fijian referee officiate in the Super Rugby Pacific competition by then.
“That’s the objective, that’s the aim,” he emphasised.
Calls for Fijian referees to be part of the Super Rugby Pacific competition have been sounded on recent occasions by notable figures such as Swire Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson and international referee and performance analyst Rasta Rasivhenge.
Jackson sounded the call during the Fiji Rugby Union’s symposium in August this year, held at Albert Park in Suva.
Rasivhenge shared similar sentiments in an interview with Times Sport on the sidelines of the awards.
Meanwhile, in his vote of thanks, Waqa also acknowledged the support of the ceremony’s sponsors and organising committee in helping bring the event to life.
The sponsors varied in their service and speciality, and the organising committee was made up of referee officials from the various rugby referee associations around the country.
