No Complaints for NSW Women Referees

The six women, all aged between 16-22, are the result of the hard work being done at the Elite Development Panel for the past three years which provides the referees with professional weekly training and the opportunity to referee Premier Youth League matches across NSW.
Melinda Bell, Surrey Hodges and Amelia Shorter all took charge in the U/15 tournament, while Katie-Louise Patterson, Samantha Ockerby and Elizabeth Shorter held the reigns in the U/17 competition.
With the FFA Youth Championship being a prestigious tournament which gives coaches the chance to select for the Young Matildas and the Matildas for the following year, excellent referring was essential.
Gary Power, the man responsible for the Elite Development Panel, credited the referee?s response to adapting to the new officiating methods being taught.
?This tournament was a great success for the referees,? he said.
?It was obvious that the girls [referees] had responded positively to the new approach and had practised what they had learnt.
?This resulted in vastly improved standards of refereeing and minimized possible areas of friction during games as a result,? he stated before adding that ?not one complaint was made during the whole week.?
Power also added that ?coaches, parents and managers only had positive things to say about the referees throughout the tournament.? 
Another official who was quick to praise the referees was FNSW Coordinator of the Referees State Technical Committee (STC), Steve Fenech. He labelled the six referees ?amongst the most talented officials in Australia?.
Praising FNSW General Manager, Ian Homes, for setting up the State Technical Commission, Fenech believes such success has never been seen before.
?The work being undertaken by the STC is providing a degree of success that has not been experienced under previous administrations,? he stated.
?The STC remains committed to the ongoing coaching and development of grass roots match officials on behalf of FNSW and we look forward to continuing that process in the coming months and years,? he added.
As for the six referees from NSW who represented their state in such a professional manner, they will continue working hard for the huge opportunities for female refereeing all around the world. With the previous Women?s World Cup refereed by an Australian, there?s no reason these talented women can?t strive for such success in the near future also.
– Caetano Lima