Paralympian visits Granville District Football Referees Association

Granville District Football Referees Association held its monthly General Meeting of Members at Merrylands Bowling Club on Thursday, 13 June with special guest NSW Workcover Palaympian John Marshall visiting the premises.

Over 65 Members attended the Meeting in what was an eye opening presentation made by Marshall.

The Paralympian discussed many things including his incident that occurred resulting in him becoming a paraplegic as well as his recovery on he decided to join the sport of archery where he competed as an athlete at the Paralympics for Australia.

Granville District Football Referees Association Treasurer James Dolahenty was delighted to have had Marshall attend in what was an enlightening experience for all members involved.

“We had the pleasure to hear from Mr John Marshall from the NSW Workcover Paralympian Speaker Program.

“John came along to talk to Members where he discussed his incident that occurred resulting in him becoming a paraplegic from the chest down.

“Since John’s accident, he discussed his recovery and how he decided to join the sport of archery. John competed at the Paralympics for Australia. Whilst John normally focuses on physical workplaces in his talk, there is quite a similarity between that and safety on the field when refereeing.

“John had a key message for referees. Referees should acknowledge the unique skill that they have, and they should not go out assuming that everything will be routine.

“It was somewhat a very routine day for him many years ago that resulted in his incident.

“If a referee prepares themselves fully to officiate their match, then this is one of the major contributors for everyone to enjoy their day of football.”

GFDRA Members officiate primarily on Granville & Districts Soccer Football Association and Football NSW competitions.

There are approximately 200 matches on a Saturday and 50 on a Sunday to cover.

GDFRA currently have just over 265 Members – Current Members of GDFRA are involved from the lowest divisions of community football right up to the top level football in Australia.

Details about The NSW Workcover Paralympian Speaker Program can be found on the NSW Workcover website www.workcover.nsw.gov.au