Il y aura des matchs les dimanches suivants pour la ligue Junior AAA. Nous avons besoin d'arbitres, alors laissez-moi savoir au plus vite les dimanches qui vous intéresses.
Vous serez rémunérés + frais de déplacement.

Dimanche
27 juin : Ste-Julie (9h00 à 17h00)
Arbitres: Chris Pam - Mel Tranchemontagne - Onie Laflamme - Mathieu Côté - Olivier Fortin - Alex St-Bonnet
Évaluateur: Pierre Drolet

4 juillet : Ormstown (9h00 à 16h00)
Arbitres: John Weller - Peter Poupart - Olivier Fortin - David Redpath - Alex St-Bonnet
Évaluateur: Chris Assmus

11 juillet : Ste-Anne-Bellevue (9h00 à 17h00)
Arbitres: Olivier Fortin - Onie Laflamme - John Weller - David Redpath - Mel Tranchemontagne
Évaluateur: Chris Assmus

1er août : Québec (11h30 à 17h00)
Arbitres: Olivier Fortin - Onie Laflamme - François Vachon-Marceau
Évaluateur: Clive Gibson

8 août : Sherbrooke (10h00 à 17h00)
Arbitres: Chris Assmus - Olivier Fortin - Onie Laflamme - Gérard Verschaeve - Phil Côté - Julien Rainville
Évaluateur: Clive Gibson

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There will be matches next Sundays for the Junior league AAA. We need referees, then let me know as quickly as possible Sundays which interest you.
There will be payment + traveling costs.

Sunday
June 27th : Ste-Julie (9am to 5pm)
Referees: Chris Pam - Mel Tranchemontagne - Onie Laflamme - Mathieu Côté - Olivier Fortin - Alex St-Bonnet
Assessor: Pierre Drolet

July 4th : Ormstown (9am to 5pm)
Referees: John Weller - Peter Poupart - Olivier Fortin - David Redpath - Alex St-Bonnet
Assessor: Chris Assmus

July 11th : Ste-Anne-Bellevue (9am to 5pm)
Referees: Olivier Fortin - Onie Laflamme - Mel Tranchemontagne - David Redpath - John Weller
Assessor: Chris Assmus

August 1st : Quebec (11.30am to 5pm)
Referees: Olivier Fortin - Onie Laflamme - François Vachon-Marceau
Assessor: Clive Gibson

August 8th : Sherbrooke (10am to 5pm)
Referees: Chris Assmus - Olivier Fortin - Onie Laflamme - Gérard Verschaeve - Phil Côté - Julien Rainville
Assessor: Clive Gibson

Simon,

I have discussed a couple of interpretations of Laws 15 and 16 with coaches, players, Martin Cormier and Trevor Arnold. I have also looked carefully at the IRB Law Clarifications page on the IRB site (http://www.irblaws.com/EN/clarificationsbylaw) and found nothing new or unusual. The main problem appears to be whether or not the people arriving at the tackle situation are allowed to play the ball before the ruck has formed and when the ball can be picked out of the ruck.

It seems that some referees (in Quebec and at the NWL finals) are saying that the first person arriving can play the ball but the second can’t or that the first (or second person arriving - the reports on this are not clear) must not play the ball but step over it and assume a position setting up in a ruck. The former is not consistent with Law 15 and the latter could also be considered an obstruction or off-side, depending on whether the player in question is in front of the ball or not.

The bottom line is that after having studied all the available information, I have gone to CRQ practices to clarify Laws 15 and 16 with the players so I do not want to provoke any errors. The interpretations about which I have heard reports seem to discourage the playing of the ball at the first opportunity or encourage the setting of rucks where the contest for possession is limited or eliminated. Frankly, I believe that any interpretation of the Laws which does not respect the principle of continuity and the contest for possession as stated in the Charter should be corrected as soon as possible.

I am well aware of the tendency of some coaches to use dynamic phases like static phases by slowing down the ball but this only stays within the spirit of the game, from what I can see in the Laws, if the contest for possession remains possible at the tackle. I might suspect that some referees favour these interpretations if they themselves wish to slow down the game and/or are having trouble getting in position to see the tackle situation properly. However, when the referee is questioned on penalties awarded according to this kind of interpretation, they seem to improvise something resembling Law or a new interpretation on the spot. This only creates even more scepticism on the part of players and brings a referee’s credibility into question when IRB Educators (like me) have to stretch our diplomatic capacities (!) when having to explain the Laws or avoid comment about a referee or another in particular.

I am not sure what to do about this but I am open to discussion as to what could be done.

Regards,

Bill

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the note. From my perspective, the issue of who can play the ball and when is a fairly clean cut situation, especially after the interpretations that have been issued. The latter questions about when the ball is out of the ruck is one that causes more issues. In law it is ill-defined and is probably subject to the most variance of interpretation amongst our referees.

From the reviews of referees that I've made this year, the biggest problem is fitness resulting in them not being able to correctly assess the tackle situation and then penalizing subsequent actions resulting from an unseen initial infraction.

I'll talk to Martin and the team about sending out a communiqué regarding this issue so that all University and CEGEP referees can start the new season with a clear understanding of what we expect. The FRQ league will adapt but there are too many club referees who don't keep current to be able to effectively ensure a consistent standard for all games.

Regards,

Simon

Encore une fois, qu'elle expérience de 3 jours à Saranac. Depuis plusieurs années, j'entendais parler de Saranac avec un nombre incroyable d'équipes (une centaine) et je n'avais jamais eu la chance d'y participer comme joueur mais maintenant j'y suis depuis 3 ans. Je me considère très privilégié d'y avoir été invité la première année par Dave Hardy et depuis j'y retourne avec enthousiasme. Évidemment, il y a moins d'équipes qu'auparavant (une soixantaine) mais le calibre de jeux dans les division Premier et Clubs est assez relevé même que je pourrais dire un peu supérieur à notre division A. Cet année nous étions une vingtaine et plus d'arbitres dont 2 d'Écosse, 1 Français et naturellement 3 french canadien.

Tous les arbitres logent au même endroit soit au Motel Adirondacks et comme depuis 3 ans, nous avons nos petites habitudes. Même chambre, même lit et même colocs (Peter Poupart & Sean McKenna de NY). À tous les matins nous sommes debout à 6h00 pour se rendre au petit déjeuné au resto pour un superbe buffet américain. Rien de très santé. Où sont les fruits et le lait ???

Après avoir essayé de manger, car 6h30 c'est de bonne heure pour moi de déjeuner, nous recevons un petit carton avec nos assignations de la journée. La seule chose que l'on souhaite c'est de ne pas avoir el premier match soit à 8h00. Tous angoissés, nous regardons notre carton et OUI, juste à 10h00. Quel soulagement. Je suis très heureux car j'ai une super journée en commençant avec un match masculin Brockport vs President XV. Brockport était un club de Premier il y a 2 ans et je les avais arbitré en grande finale. President XV de même mais l'an passé. Donc ça commençait fort. 14h00 un match féminin Albany vs Morris que fût également très intéressant pour finir ma journée avec une ½ finale masculine Clubs opposant Mystic River vs Ditches & Caves à 17h00.

S'en suit le BBQ vers 19h30, les discussions, les comparaisons, quelles équipes qui ont les plus belles filles et ou on va sortir les soir. J'ai eu le droit à un retour de discussion avec un Assessor USA qui avait regardé mon premier match. Petite rancoeur contre Rugby Canada, mais j'ai eu une excellente évaluation et selon ses propos, habiter aux États-Unis, je pourrais être sur le Focus Group américain. Au Canada, je suis trop vieux et je demeure au Québec selon leur propos de l'an passé.

Finalement nous décidons de sortir un peu ... beaucoup mais comme à l'habitude, je rentre très tôt. Pas parce que je suis vieux mais je suis 1 des 3 représentants du Québec et je dois faire bonne figure. J'ai laissé le soins à Stef Kuch de s'occuper des filles et de la boisson. Et de toute façon, vous le savez, ce qui se passe là-bas reste là-bas. Désolé....

Heureusement que j'ai été sage car le lendemain matin à 6h00, juste à regarder le buffet le coeur me remontais à la gorge. Ha oui, c'est le temps des cartons. Tous les arbitres sont impatients de savoir qui aura la grande finale Club de 15h30. On commence à recevoir nos cartons et on s'échange les yeux afin de connaître le chanceux. Ce n'est pas Peter car il y a un match à 10h00 et Stef il a reçu une Finale WOW !!! les Over 45 ans. Je vois en lui, un regard perplexe et très inquiet. Si vous ne savez pas mais les Over 45 et 50 ans sont très rock 'n roll à arbitrer car ils jouent le vieux rugby des années 80-90.

Finalement il ne reste que moi et je retourne mon carton et tout ce que je vois c'est 15h30. Je le retourne et j'attends. J'étais très content et pendant 5 minutes j'essayais de passer ma nervosité par l'intérieure sans faire trop de chichi. Un coup que la majorité des arbitres ont reçu leur carton, plusieurs d'entre eux sont venu me féliciter et j'étais très content.

Après un petit dodo supplémentaire le matin, la journée fût extrêmement longue jusqu'à 15h30. Attendre au gros soleil et regarder les autres arbitres performer, tu sens la pression augmenter à chaque demi-heure. Enfin 15h30 mais pas de match car il y a un retard de 20min. sur l'horaire. Encore du stress. Oups ! j'ai oublié, il y a une cérémonie d'avant match, placer les 2 équipes sur les lignes et les arbitres au centre pour 1 minute de silence pour les soldats américains et ensuite les 2 hymnes nationaux. Au centre avec Peter Poupart et Sean McKenna comme juges de touche j'en avais des frissons et surtout très honoré. On ne s'habitue pas à cette sensation mais on en veut toujours plus car je l'avais vécu en 2008 en faisait également la grande finale.

Bref, le match opposait Mystic River vs Buffalo. Mystic a gagné le match 30 à 5. Malgré le pointage, ce fût un match extrêment rapide dans un chaleur torride. J'ai tellement couru vite et souvent que j'en ai eu un méchant coup de soleil au visage. Sans farce, je crois avoir bien performé durant cette finale sauf que les 10 première minute ont été difficile physiquement. Je sentais mes jambes lourdes et peu rapide. Une chance, cela a duré seulement 10 minutes. J'ai rarement vu des rucks aussi clean et bien fait. Seulement 2 pénalités pour avoir plongé au ruck et environ 5-6 pour avoir joué au sol. J'ai utilisé les trucs de Pierre Drolet tout au long du tournoi (entre autre) en mentionnant aux capitaines qu'ils avaient 3 privilèges par demi pour venir me poser des questions sur les appels. Je vous le jure, ça fonctionne et même très bien.

Sur ce, je tiens à féliciter Peter et Stef car tous les deux ont très bien performé tout au long du tournoi et je suis convaincu que Stef a appris beaucoup de ce tournoi et qu'il pourra dès maintenant mettre en application ses nouvelles expéreiences. Peter merci de m'accompagner depuis 3 ans à Saranac en tant que juge de touche et ton aide, tes conseils et ton soutient moral est primordial pour moi durant ces moments de privilèges.

Martin Cormier

Saranac Lake 2010,

Once again I the privilege of being chosen to take part as a referee in the 2010 Can-Am Rugby tournament in Saranac Lake/Lake Placid. I arrived at the Adirondack Motel around 4 PM on Friday, After checking my room, I found out my roommates would be Martin and Sean McKenna, the same roommates and the same motel room as the last two years, there is something to be said about continuity. Sean arrived a few minutes after me and within an hour Martin and Stef showed up at the motel, we had enough time to get settled and to ask Stef how his games went on the day, and it was time to head off to the local watering hole for a meal and drinks with the other referees and organizers of the tournament. It was nice to catch up with the referees that had returned from the previous years, but by 8:30 I knew it was time to head back to the motel as the 6:00 Am wake up call comes pretty fast and Saturday is a long Rugby day. At breakfast the next morning I received my assignments for the day, Mens Social at 10:00 am , Club playoff 1:00 pm and a 3:00 Womens game. My first game was Hartford Vs Keene State, a hard fought match that had to go into sudden death overtime, which Keene state won 15 – 10. I then had just enough time to race back to Saranac Lake to see the last half of Ormstown Vs Old Blue from New York city (any other year and old Blue would have been in the Premier bracket ) Ormstown put up a good fight only being down 5-0 at the half , but the wheels came off in the second half and they ended up losing 29-3. My second game saw Caves and Ditches ( from Philadelphia) Vs Burlington VT, both team had won their respective games in the morning. This was a hard fought, fast paced match that saw Burlington score their second try with no time left and only needing the convert to win, the kicker missed and they lost 14-12. The last match of the day I refereed Saranac Lake Ladies against the Belleville Bulldogs, by this time the players were playing their third game of the day and play was considerably sloppy , Belleville won the game 10-7. I was done for the day and burnt to a crisp, I guess I should listen to my better half and use sunscreen, anyway this year I packed my golf clubs, so right after my last game finished at 4:00, I rushed back to the motel showered and managed to play 9 holes before the scrumptious BBQ that evening. After a meal fit for a king and some whiskey courtesy of Sean and a brief kangaroo court, it was off to the Watering hole on the main street, I think almost every referee was there, Before I knew it, it was midnight and 6:00 am was coming fast, so back to the motel and to my lumpy pull out bed. At breakfast the next morning we could tell who came home early and who didn’t. During breakfast we received our last assignments for the tournament, I got the Club Consolation Final, the President’s XV (a team made up of members of the US Army) vs Long Island, Stef got the Over 45 final and Martin received the best one the Men’s Club Final. My last game was the best game of the weekend it was fast paced with hard clean tackles and precise kicking, the first scrum in the game happened nearly 17 minutes into the first half. The game was won by Long Island 29 to 14. I then had to wait until later in the afternoon to run touch along with my roommate Sean for Martin’s game. It was an amazing game to watch, well played and very disciplined there was not one foul that I could see on my side and I think that speaks volume of the work and ability of the referee to manage the contest. So congratulations to Martin (even though the announcer called him Martine) for his selection and congratulations to Quebec rugby referees who received three Finals on the last day. Until next year in Saranac.

Peter Poupart

New town, new teams, new friends...
This was my long awaited return to Saranac lake after having played there 15 years ago. It was very different returning as a referee and without a doubt a better experience for me. I started out a day ahead of Martin and Peter and arrived Thursday night in preparation to work the Old boys games on Friday. It was a great opportunity to meet the 10 refs who came early to do these games including my room-mate, Neal from NY, who arrived on his Harley at 2Am.
Thursday morning breakfast was at 7:00am where we received our games for the day. Having not been here as a ref before I really had no idea what to expect. My first game was a 35+ game between the vandals(17) and blackthorn(5). My second game was the real challenge. A 50+ game between Mystic river (34) and wild Oats. I knew this game was going to be filled with some interesting play when the first scrum had the ball stolen out of it by the opposite side flankers hands. These guys had their own set of laws and add in unlimited subs at any time and you get the general idea. I admired their spirit and enthusiasm and tried not to smile to hard when one player limped past his opposite number who just pulled his hamstring and fell over in front of him to make a slow motion try. My favourite moment of over 50 rugby.

Friday night Started out at "Captain Cooks" with a reception for the referees to be continued at the "Watering hole" later. Peter and Martin headed off earlier as they both knew 6AM comes real fast and no one wants to be late for assignments the next morning. I stayed out a bit later to keep the Scottish refs, the French ref and the guys from Toronto (Eric and Marty) from getting too crazy.
My matches on Saturday stared out at a civilized hour of 10AM. Fast paced clean game between Rutland(31) and Hibernians(10) out on the Lake placid fields. Game 2 of my day was in the Blackfly division. A mixed bag of late registrants. The game went to a dramatic sudden death overtime between
Union(17) and Worchester(12) with the try being scored with no time left in the overtime. With that excitement over I went back to the main field to watch Martin's game before heading back to the hotel for a swim and much needed beverage.

A BBQ dinner was put on for all the referees by the New England referees society. Nice tradition to be followed by kangaroo court for any miss-deeds on or off the field over the weekend. This was a great time to once again meet fellow referees and make connections before once again heading in to town to visit the Watering Hole. Both martin and Peter again left me there to drink with the Scots and Other refs as both of them hoped for Sunday finals games and I had no such worries so stayed a bit longer....(or so I
thought)

6am came around very fast once again and you could tell at breakfast few had made it an early night. Martin received the Big Final with Peter getting one himself. CONGRATS! I was very surprised to receive a card, the over 45 division final at 11AM....Myths & legends, Scotty's team playing their Rival White Plains. Lucky for me my 2 Scottish friends (Colin and George) volunteered to touch judge for me after some convincing. These guys proved great to have on the side lines and were great for my confidence as well as allowed me to worry about other aspects of the game. It would make the game much easier to ref if we in Quebec could always rely on competent and unbiased touch judges.
The game started with speed and never stopped. I have not run that hard for any game in a long time. Fantastic hands and despite what I expected it was a clean game with the ball rarely if ever getting stuck. Final score Myths & Legends 55 and White Plains 0. It was a privilege to ref such a fun game in front of a big crowd.
As all of the players slowly left town 4 of us decided to stay the night and were invited by the mountaineers to their party. Fun night out again that ended in the wee hours of the morning. The next morning, Neal (NY), Eric(TO), Marty(TO) and I said our good-byes. Seemed like I was leaving old friends and a town we came to know.

Stef.

Voici les assignations pour les finales féminines qui auront lieu à Québec cette année.

Date: Samedi 21 août
Lieu: Plaines d'Abraham
Région: Québec

Division A
Heure : 15h00
Arbitre : Mélanie Tranchemontagne
TJ #1 : Bill Lapierre
TJ #2 : Christian Brosseau
Arbitre #4 : François Vachon-Marceau
Évaluateur : Martin Cormier

Division A-Réserve
Heure : 13h30
Arbitre : Olivier Fortin
TJ #1 : Charles Goode
TJ #2 : Bill Lapierre
Arbitre #4 : François Vachon-Marceau
Évaluateur : Martin Cormier

Division B
Heure : 12h00
Arbitre : David Redpath
TJ #1 : Christian Brosseau
TJ #2 : François Vachon-Marceau
Arbitre #4 : Martin Cormier
Évaluateur : Martin Cormier

LA TENUE VESTIMENTAIRE POUR LES SÉRIES FINALES EST OBLIGATOIRE. MAILLOT ORANGE ET SHORT NOIR. SI VOUS N'AVEZ PAS VOTRE MAILLOT ET SHORT, SVP EN EMPRUNTER UN OU VOUS INFORMER AUPRÈS DE MARTIN CORMIER. À DÉFAUT DE VOUS Y CONFORMER, VOUS SEREZ REMPLACÉ LORS DE VOTRE FINALE.

FÉLICITATIONS !!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Find the assignation for the women finals at Quebec city.

Date: Saturday august 21st
Field: Plaines d'Abraham
Region: Quebec

Division A
Hour : 3pm
Referee: Mélanie Tranchemontagne
TJ #1 : Bill Lapierre
TJ #2 : Christian Brosseau
Referee #4 : François Vachon-Marceau
Assessor : Martin Cormier

Division A-Reserve
Hour : 1.30pm
Referee : Olivier Fortin
TJ #1 : Charles Goode
TJ #2 : Bill Lapierre
Referee #4 : François Vachon-Marceau
Assessor : Martin Cormier

Division B
Hour : 12pm
Referee : David Redpath
TJ #1 : Christian Brosseau
TJ #2 : François Vachon-Marceau
Referee #4 : Martin Cormier
Assessor: Martin Cormier

PROPER ATTIRE FOR ALL FINALS IS MANDATORY; ORANGE JERSEY WITH BLACK SHORTS. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THESE ITEMS, PLEASE BORROW FROM FELLOW REFEREES, OR LOOK INTO PURCHASING WITH OUR SUPPLIER, MARTIN CORMIER. IF YOU DO NOT CONFORM TO OUR STANDARDS, YOU WILL BE REPLACED FOR THE FINALS.

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

Depuis 1 an, le nouveau comité de l'AARQ fait beaucoup de changement dans l'organisation et sa façon de faire. Nouveau moyen de communication, système administratif en place en j'en passe. Il était normal pour nous que l'image projettée avait besoin d'être mis au goût du jour et être représentatif de Rugby Québec. C'est avec fierté que nous vous présentons ce nouveau logo.

Prenez quelques secondes de votre temps pour nous donner votre impression via le sondage ci-bas.

Votre comité exécutif

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For a year now, your new AARQ Executive Committee has been implementing many organizational and policy changes. New communication channels, administrative systems, just to name a few.
It was a must for us to improve our standards to project the proper image, to respectfully represent Rugby Québec.
It is with great pride that we present you our new logo.

Please find the time to complete the survey below.

Your Executive Committee

The national championship tournament was a huge developmental success. Not only did I benefit from having four high performance referee coaches working closely with me and several other high performance referees from around the country, I also was fortunate enough to work closely for the second time with Jason Lees of the Queensland Referees Society. In addition to working as the 5th official for the CRC men's game between the Wolfpack XV and the BC Bears, I also refereed a total of five games and was involved as an assistant referee for many others. My fitness was truly put to the test as I was appointed to the only match that followed the 2400m fitness test (on grass). I finished the fitness test first of the Canadian referees (only behind the Australian whistleman who bettered my time by 10 seconds). Two hours following the test, I refereed a fast paced U18 boys match between Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. On the last day I was appointed to assist Derek Stoltz in the U18 men's final between BC and Ontario.

On another note, I have been offered the 2nd v. 3rd place semi final of the Bardon Premiership in Ottawa this coming Saturday. This appointment will definitely assist in my development as I will implement much of what I have learned in my game plan. Much of what I learned at nationals was acquiring the base of the tools that I need to reach the next level of refereeing. The bulk of these tools are to do with self evaluation and non-verbal communication (cognitive).

Chris Assmus

Voici quelques photos de la journée.