Sport Ireland & Sport NI Technical Officials Survey

The purpose of this survey is to develop a technical officials development plan (TODP) which will set out and inform future initiatives for technical officials.

The overall objective is to increase the number and quality of TOs who support and deliver sport in Ireland. As per the Sport Ireland Statement of Strategy 2023-2027 (page 52), the definition is:

‘Any person who controls the play of a competition by applying the rules and regulations of the sport to make judgements on rule infringement, performance, time or ranking. A technical official acts as an impartial judge of sporting competition (e.g., referee, umpire, line official, scorekeeper, statistician, judge, etc).’

This survey is being delivered alongside an extensive consultation process. The data gathered by both will inform the production of a TODP for Ireland. It is, thus, vital that a large number of current and former TOs respond and we would strongly urge you to do so. A high number of responses will allow us to:

> Acquire a more in-depth understanding of the views of those previously or currently in officiating roles.
> Fully investigate the social, physical and practical obstacles that technical officials face in respect of becoming match officials, staying in and/or progressing in these roles.
> Consider what officials themselves consider to be important in respect of their needs and requirements and the options they have to improve and develop in the role.

The findings will help Sport Ireland/Sport NI to assist all sports to recruit, inspire and support the next generation of TOs and inform the future work of national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) and local sport partnerships (LSPs).

Individual survey responses are confidential and will be analysed by KKP. The results will be used by Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland internal units and key partners. Your data will only be processed for the purpose of conducting this research - it will not be used for any further purpose(s) or communicated publicly. The report may quote statements made by respondents but only on a strictly anonymised basis. Responses and individual data are retained for 18 months and then destroyed. Aggregate data is held longer to track changes over time.

The information above should be read in conjunction with Sport Ireland’s privacy policy https://www.sportireland.ie/privacy-policy.

This survey is intended to cover all main officiating functions, for example, referees, umpires and match officials, tournament referees, third umpires, table officials, scorers, TMOs, timekeepers etc. (We have used officials and officiating as the all-encompassing terms).

The survey does not have to be completed in one session. You can, if you wish to, save your responses at any given point. It can then be re-loaded and you will be provided with a link to do this.

To really help gain as accurate a picture as possible, we would be grateful if (in addition to completing this questionnaire) you would be willing to make yourself available to participate in a focus group or a personal consultation. If you are willing to be contacted to provide further information about your officiating, please supply your email address at the relevant point in the survey. If you have any queries about the survey, you can email: christopher.horner@kkp.co.uk.