HON. LAISENIA TUITUBOU
Minister for Youth and Sports

• Oceania and Fiji Rugby officials and representatives
• Facilitators
• Provincial referees, participants
• Invited Guests
• Ladies and Gentlemen

Bula vinaka, Namaste, Salaam aleikum and good morning to you all.

It is indeed a pleasure to address you all at this opening of the World Rugby Match Officials 7s and Performance Reviewer course.

I take this opportunity to thank Oceania Rugby for facilitating this course aimed at upskilling Fiji Rugby Union provincial referees and referee educators. This will indeed allow our local referees an opportunity to expand their expertise through learning from the facilitators during this workshop.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fijian Government has pledged its commitment in hosting the Oceania Rugby Championships for the next three years. This is a true reflection of the recognition and dedication of the Government, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, to develop sports in the country, hosting international tournaments and bidding to host a HSBC 7s leg in Fiji. We were very clear with Oceania Rugby that we want to ensure the development of officials and coaches in Fiji. In the unlikely event that our team is not in the final, we want to ensure that we are represented with a Fijian referee. This is one part of our approach and with the continued development and support from many internal and external stakeholders, we will be able to achieve our collective goals.

On a similar note, it is also the responsibility of my Ministry to support all our national sporting organisations to access international coaching expertise or organise training and workshops in the development of their technical officers. Obviously 7s rugby is viewed as our national sport; however the Government and the Ministry are committed to ensure that all sports are inclusive and receive support appropriate to their needs and our budget.

Recently we have seen an increase in Fijian athletes successfully participating in several international sporting events such as weightlifting, swimming, body building, chess and many more on international stage. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not limited simply to participating but these athletes have been able to provide a challenge to their competitors and a handful of them have been able to win medals for our country.

On the same note, such workshops also help us to improve our officiating standards – objectively raising them to meet international standards. We are continuously improving in competition and need to focus on officiating. As we prepare teams to represent the nation internationally, they need to be assured that the referees locally apply the rules in the same way as referees at an international match – otherwise they will give away penalties on ground unnecessarily. I encourage you all to make the most of this workshop as it will definitely assist you while officiating local or international matches – more than that, it will assist our teams.

Further, to our local referees participating in the match officials’ course I wish you all the best and hope you draw on the experiences shared by the facilitators. Ask questions, engage in discussions and share insights based on your local experience. This will greatly assist you in understanding the standards required on the international stage and will further assist you all in applying your knowledge and experience to our local context. Many a times we hear grievances from spectators on the performances of our match officials, some of whom are intimidated by the spectators. This is something that will continue to exist until you become confident that you know the rules and how to apply them without fear or favour. Making quick and correct decisions is key together with supporting each other on the field and gaining the respect and trust of the players and coaches. This course will strengthen you and enable the FRU in providing quality match officials for the various local tournaments we have throughout the year.

I hope that the facilitators will enjoy our hospitality and the tournament that is ready on our doorstep as some teams have already arrived. I hope you all enjoy this introduction to Fiji and will be ready to return to Fiji in the near future as facilitators or on vacation.

With those words I wish you all the best.

Vinaka, Dhanyavaad, Shokran and thank you all.