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Guys . WETS . Here's a reminder for all of you who were contemplating joining a gym to help rid yourself of the holiday induced sloth. W(ednesday) E(vening) T(raining) S(ession) is back in action following the holiday. No expensive gym membership to be paid as it's all free to those who've paid their subscriptions to join our brother(sister)hood! (Nor do you need to wear lycra and deodorant...........) .For new members, WETS is an opportunity to get together with your fellow whistlers for a fitness session lasting an hour, followed twice monthly by a technical session. It kicks off at 6.00. It is intense and it's also hard work, but it gives us a chance to get together, keep fit and share experiences, and it's fun. (AND since we bought a rugby ball, we also get the chance to be players again for a while and shout at referees.....it doesn't get better than that does it??) .Seriously, the more the merrier, hope to see you tomorrow evening.

Well, last week we held the ERRS Annual Quiz- there were the usual steward’s inquiries about some of the answers and, more importantly, over Graham Allen’s “dodgy” scoring systems, but that all added to the fun of an evening that was also marked by the consumption of large quantities of curry. On reflection, I was glad we didn’t combine our curry night with the quiz last year, given that the weather prevented all but a handful of us making it to Meggetland that time round. Of course, the passing of the quiz means that 2012 is almost upon us, and hopefully you’re all set for however you plan to spend Christmas and New Year. There are only a handful of matches between now and then, but it is perhaps a good time to reflect on the season to date. We’ve lost a few games to the weather, though thankfully few compared to last year (remember the snow?!?!?). The league reconstruction seems to be having a clear effect with teams now jostling for position for next year. The transition was always going to be difficult, but the structure from next year will be in place for a considerable time to come, so we should have more than a passing interest in how things are stacking up. As has been discussed at several Society meetings, we’ve had more referee abuse reports this season than I can recall from any other year – this could be because the message is getting through that we’ve been too tolerant in the past, or it could be that things continue to get worse. Either way, we’ve had positive responses from the clubs we’ve contacted and we have now established an ERRS Discipline panel to consider future reports, so hopefully this will be less of a problem in future. It’s been good to see ERRS referees out in force in the Premiers, but even more so that we’ve had several involved in Pro-12, Heineken Cup and various IRB appointments. Of course, we’ve got the annual dinner coming up at the end of January – 28th January, Teviot Row from 19:00, speakers are John Gordon and Ian Barnes – get your tickets from Alex Pratt and start thinking about what prize you’re going to donate for the raffle…! So, is 2011/12 the Season to be Joyful? We’ll see! There’s a long way to go and a lot of refereeing to be done and it’ll be good to see how you all get on! All the best for the festive season!

BOOK YOUR TICKETS FOR THE 2012 ERRS ANNUAL DINNER The ERRS Annual Dinner will be held at Teviot Row Union, Edinburgh on Saturday 28th January 2012, 7pm for 7.30pm The speakers have been booked, Ian Barnes - yes, your chance to laugh at him and John Gordon both of whom are great after dinner speakers and are very entertaining. The usual great food, drink and atmosphere will prevail so dont delay make sure that you contact Alex Pratt: prattalex@hotmail.com OR Gordon Grant: jg.grant@blueyonder.co.uk OR myself: grahamallen@me.com to book your tickets now!

"Well, the World Cup is over and, amazingly, for the first time in 24 years, the All Blacks didn't choke. Of course, they ALMOST didn't do it, thanks to a pretty impressive performance from France, and (as usual) some controversial refereeing, but there can't be many people who think the wrong team won the tournament. In spite of not making the quarter finals, Scotland retained their place in the World's top 10, albeit by the skin of our teeth, and we can now build our hopes for a more successful 6 Nations in a few short months' time. Meanwhile, we can now focus more closely on rugby closer to home. One of the big issues for me is referee abuse. I can't believe that the flak received from the touchline isn't a factor in some of the decisions people have made recently to walk away from the game - it certainly detracts from the pleasure of a Saturday afternoon's rugby. It has featured as a topic of discussion at each of the Committee meetings so far this season, with 5 referee abuse reports received already, and apparently an increasing willingness for coaches, player and spectators to demonstrate their ignorance both of rugby laws and of basic civility towards other human beings. Referee abuse is something that we can't tolerate, something that will sooner rather than later drive even more referees away from the game. We had a brief discussion about this at the October Society meeting, the main conclusion being that we are much too patient (or thick skinned) with people who behave inappropriately towards us. If we're going to solve this problem, and stop rugby from starting on the slippery slope towards football attitudes, we need to make sure we report incidents. These reports aren't so much for your own benefit, but to protect the poor sod who comes to the same club next week, and the week after that, etc., etc. The Society will always support anyone who has been on the receiving end of inappropriate language or behaviour, but we can only act on it if we know about it. Finally, I'd just like to remind everyone to keep their availability calendars updated. We've been having problems with some matches being called off at the last minute, and sometimes without the referee even being told, but we're also struggling with numerous late call offs by referees. Help us all by doing your bit to keep Iain Goodall happy!"

FREE PHYSIO TREATMENT! Yes, every member of the ERRS has the opportunity to have free physio sessions on a Wednesday evening during WETS. You can either book a session in advance or if there is a free slot, be treated on the night. This offers another excellent reason to attend WETS which is dedicated to helping you with both fitness and technical sessions.

From time to time we all need physio treatment for pulls and strains. The FASIC Sports Medicine Centre which is part of the Edinburgh University Centre for Sports and Exercise based at 46 Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ Tel: 0131 650 2578, offer members of the ERRS a £10 discount on the normal treatment rate of £38 thereby reducing the price to £28 per session and every session thereafter. To receive this discount, simply state that you are a rugby referee and a member of the Edinburgh Referee Society when you call to make an appointment.