The close season is a very busy time for Referees' Societies.

During June, seven candidates who had taken the referees training course with the Darlington Referees' Society passed their examination with Durham Football Association.

Some of the new referees then gained valuable refereeing experience by officiating in a number of local junior six a side Tournaments during the summer. Most of these new referees are under the age of 16.

Two other young referees, aged 16 and 17, both from the Darlington Referees' Society were invited by the English Schools Football Association to attend a Young Referees Training Course at Keele University for a week during the summer holidays. Referee Training Instructors from the Football Association in conjunction with the ESFA give valuable help and assistance to these youngsters by showing video clips of games, giving presentations on the Laws of the Game and assessing their refereeing during a number of games.

This initiative, run by the English Schools Football Association, is to encourage young referees and assist with their training. Two other youngsters from the Darlington Society attended last years course at Keele University and both gained valuable experience in the early years of their refereeing career.

As we start a new football season, local Referees' Societies will be organising Referee Training Courses for new candidates. Courses are available to anyone over the age of 14 and they normally last for about eight to ten weeks. At the end of the course candidates are required to sit a written examination as well as a question and answer exam at the Durham Football Association.

If you would like to attend one of these courses, contact details of the local Referee Societies are available on the Darlington Referees' Society web site, www.darlingtonreferees.freeserve.co.uk.

The Darlington Referees'Society has a new training course starting shortly and any one who wishes to become a referee can contact me,telephone (01325) 281359. The course will be starting at the end of September. It is also open to anyone who would like to learn the Laws of the Game.

Finally, I am still interested in hearing about amusing incidents that you have come across at games you have played in or been at. Please log on to the Darlington Referees' Society web site to contact me, www.darlingtonreferees.freeserve.co.uk.