“RISE oh fallen fighters, rise and take your stance again; he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day” were the closing words of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Referee Instructor Peter Prendergast as he wrapped up the Referees Assistance Programme (RAP) yesterday in Georgetown. 

He was addressing the 21 graduates of the RAP programme who were involved in five days of classroom sessions, simulations, a fitness test, a written test and evaluation, at the National Raquet Centre in Woolford Avenue,
The session closed under the backdrop of a renewed call for personal development commitments in an attempt to return Caribbean referees to the echelons of officiating, after it was recognised that since 2006, the region has not had an official at the World Cup.
Prendergast said, “The ball is in your court to do more and receive more. We are not only talking about finance here, we are talking about better facilities, better opportunities, professionalising the environment in which we operate. This is what we want to create, a better environment, a better atmosphere.”
He reminded them to stay clear of the politics of member associations and charged them to be the ‘judges’ in the sport.
Alan Brown, FIFA Referee Fitness Instructor, indicated that 80 percent of the participants passed the fitness test with all of the 21 persons completing the 12-lap requirement, which represented an increase over the years from 70 percent.
President of the Guyana Football Referees Council, Alfred King, noted while the one-week sessions saw commendable and even exceptional performances in some cases, the referees must guard against complacency.
He continued, “I don’t know that sometimes you are that committed beyond this (programme), I’d imagine that with this new vigour and energy and this experience that you would have gained over this last week, you’d now use this momentum to go on with our local trainers and instructors.”
Maurice Skeete who gave the vote of thanks indicated that the sessions were informative and she will put the knowledge gained into use. (Stephan Sookram)