IRB Launches Programme to Fast-Track Female Disciplinary Officers

The IRB Women's Disciplinary Conference to be held in Dublin on February 16-17 will bring together a group of 16 northern hemisphere Union representatives from the legal, rugby judicial, playing and match officiating fraternity who have been identified as having the potential to perform at domestic, elite and international level.

Many are already involved within the judicial systems of their home Unions and will be hoping to hone those experiences to expand their practices further afield.

The top candidates will initially be fast-tracked to support flagship IRB events such as the Women's Rugby World Cup, Women??s Seven World Sevens and International Women's Rugby for elite level exposure and experience.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "Women's Rugby is one of the world's fastest-growing team sports with more than one million women and girls actively participating. The IRB has ambitious plans to double that figure by the time Women's Sevens debuts at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and central to that mission is the participation of women in all facets of the sport."

"With such phenomenal growth comes the need for greater administrative support at all levels and this important initiative will identify a raft of new talent that will ultimately benefit women's and men's elite Rugby and deliver the next generation of disciplinary officers that will protect the integrity of the Game."

Mirroring similar programmes successfully run at the IRB Junior World Championship and IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy events and in selected Unions, the conference is intended to provide a springboard into international Rugby, while delivering the consistency and best-practice required for the integrity of the Rugby disciplinary process.

During the two days candidates will be exposed to an interactive programme of best-practice technique training and education by the IRB disciplinary.

The Conference aims are further supported by the appointment by the IRB Judicial Panel Chairman and IRB Chairman of Kim Boreham (Hong Kong) to undertake the role of Judicial Officer at the IRB Women??s Sevens World Series in Guangzhou during 30-31 March 2013.

Ms Boreham is a lawyer and former Rugby player who represented Hong Kong in 2007 and 2008. She has previously had international disciplinary appointments in Hong Kong and Asia and this will be her first IRB appointment.