THERE are a few places available for anyone interested in becoming a referee on a course starting in November.

The course commences on Friday, November 18, at the Worcestershire FA Headquarters, De Salis Drive, Hampton Lovett Industrial Estate, Droitwich. It runs from 7pm to 9pm on Fridays for ten weeks.

The first three weeks are on basic law, with an exam on the fourth week based on the multi-choice principle.

Successful candidates can proceed to the second part of the course provided they commence refereeing 11-a-side matches. This would mean that someone could be refereeing in the New Year.

The second part of the course will commence after the Christmas break, and is based on the practicalities of refereeing with the use of video, the penultimate week of the course is another examination. Successful candidates will receive a certificate and be registered as either a level seven or level eight referee. The final week of the course is for those under the age of 18 to take a child protection course.

For those over the age of 18, on successful completion of the course, there will be a need to attend a three-hour child protection seminar, dates for this will be supplied at a later date.

Candidates must be over 14 years of age by the time of the final examination

The cost for all courses is £30 for over 16s and £20 for under 16. In both instances, the full fee will be refunded after 10 11-a-side matches have been refereed and an in-service training evening has been attended. In addition there is an affiliation fee of £10 payable on passing the first examination and being registered as a level 9 referee.

For any further information, please contact the Worcestershire County FA referees' co-ordinator Bill Allsopp on 01299 826654 evenings or the Worcestershire FA on 01905 827137 (office hours).

THERE was a splendid attendance at last Sunday's meeting of the Malvern Referees Society.

The clock appeared to be turned back as 19 referees listened to top referee Alan Wiley talking about bridging the gap between parks and premiership.

Malvern RA chairman George Silverman said: "It must be at least 10 years since we accommodated so many people. Included in the audience were a number of recently qualified referees, which must be an encouraging sign for the long term future for football at all levels in the area."

The next meeting will be on Sunday, November 20.