I’ve been a member of the St. Helens society twice, the first between 1986 & 1992. I was a child leaving school and there weren't many young referees in them days, the society took me under their wing and taught me everything about RL officiating. The society is fantastic!

In my 1st term, they helped me through my exams! Tough in them days! They assessed me regularly and helped me progress through good training. I then traveled and had kids over the next decade or two but always knew I wanted to come back in the middle. What helped me and impressed me the most during my 2nd term was last year when I lost my father in law. I’m not as dependent on the Society as I once was but I was low. I had a call from the Society just to ask if I was ok. This was massive to me and helped me no end with my grief. What I’m trying to say is this Society is there for help, guidance and support in the game but its there for you on a personal level as well.

I have been a member of St. Helens RLRS for 4 years. My referee career has gone from under 10s and 11s on a Sunday morning to being appointed to pro games on a weekly basis and has also seen me referee and touch judge finals and get to officiate at amazing grounds around the country and also meet some amazing and interesting people. I know more than most this couldn't have been achieved with out the great support I have received from everyone at the society. I have made friends for life and look forward to hopefully many more years of the same. In such a short time I’m now part of the committee and hope to give something back to help the Society with the great work it does.

My experience of being a match official has been helped massively by the support I have received from all of the members of the St. Helens Rugby League Referees Society. I was watched on my first 3 games by experienced match officials who gave me feedback on what I did well and what I could improve on. The whole team makes you feel included and it is clear that the support given to me will help with my progression to becoming a graded referee.

Being part of the Society is more than just saying hello when you see each other. Recently a certain member was due to be watching another game and witnessed an incident in my game beforehand. He took it upon himself to come to me after the game to help and advise me on the protocol to follow and went further out of his way by coming into the clubhouse to support me. This is a small part of what being a member of the St Helens Society is about, members of different ages and experiences helping each other when they can.