Open meeting – October 2011

This month we are delighted to welcome back Ed Stone as our guest speaker. Ed’s session is all about using our refereeing skills to have a positive effect on the game. Be prepared for plenty of participation!

Ed was one of The FA’s Regional Managers for 8 years and led many of the advances in referee instruction we have seen over the past few years. Now an active Level 5 referee in local football, Ed also assesses at Contributory and Supply League levels, as well as still being heavily involved in referee development through his work locally and nationally as a Level 4 Tutor. Of course, we like to think of Ed as one of our own as he qualified as a referee in Reading in 1990 and began his refereeing career on the local Reading leagues. After a move to Coventry in 1992, he progressed to Contributory League line and became increasingly involved in instruction, attending the National Course for Referee Instructors in 1999 and 2000. In 2000 he became County Training Officer for Birmingham County FA, before joining The FA in 2001.

Our new website is now up and running thanks to a great effort from Simon Dow. It’s packed with interesting content and useful links – check it out at http://www.readingrefs.org.uk