Western News: October 02, 2018

14 Tuesday October 2 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
•From page 1
Sian won the allround
title in her level
at the Singapore Prime
Invitational last year and
also took out a title at
last year’s New Zealand
national champs. She
has just recovered from a
broken foot.
“The preparation hasn’t
been ideal with
my broken foot slowing me
down, especially since
I kept training on it for
three weeks before
being diagnosed,” she
said.
Luke is a level eight
gymnast and is the
Canterbury champion for
his level. He has represented
Canterbury for the past five
years.
Luke is also coaching
junior gymnasts.
Cole finished second at
the Canterbury senior
gymnastic competition
in August and won the
• By Zahra Shahtahmasebi
THERE’S A history behind
Lyndon McKendry’s
referee whistle.
It was originally her
father’s. He started
refereeing in 1958
before passing
down the little
silver device to
McKendry. It has
now been in action
for about 60
years.
McKendry is the
Canterbury Rugby
Football Union’s
referee education
officer.
Like her, she
says women who grew
up watching their fathers
control rugby games often
pursued a refereeing career.
In spite of this, in the
Canterbury region there
are only four female referees
out of a total 200.
As the referee education
officer at the Canterbury
Rugby Football Union,
McKendry’s responsibilities
include recruitment
training and development
for all referees from Cheviot
through to Dunsandel.
She says the CRFU
would love to see more females
picking up a whistle.
“Rugby is a game for everyone
– gender shouldn’t
Lyndon
McKendry
SPORTS
Gymnastic siblings head
to national champs
TALENTED: Luke, Sian and Cole Stevens at the
Christchurch School of Gymnastics.
pommel horse and parallel
bars.
Both Cole and Luke hope
to make the finals in at
be a barrier,” said McKendry.
To increase female
involvement next year,
the CRFU plans to target
women who have played
this year, as well as former
players.
It will also
emphasise the
introductory
referee
programme You
Make The Call,
which offers
participants
eight level three
NCEA credits
in Christchurch
schools,
particularly girlsonly
schools.
McKendry says there
were many reasons why
men and women chose not
to referee, such as work
and family commitments
or feeling like they didn’t
know enough about the
game.
Koini Buli, one of the
four female referees in
Canterbury, said being
a referee was tough. She
still gets nervous before a
match, especially “if it’s going
to be a hell of a game.”
She says many people
didn’t understand that a
referee was actually an
athlete. Buli trains two to
three times a week with
a mixture of cardio and
least one apparatus.
Cole also helps his
brother to coach junior
gymnasts.
Encouraging women
to become rugby refs
weight sessions.
“It’s a full-time job.
You’ve got to train right,
eat right, and prepare
yourself mentally and
strategically.”
Buli has been hassled
by players and spectators
as a referee but said this
was part and parcel of
the game, regardless of
whether the referee was
male or female.
“They don’t expect you
to know anything. A lot of
the time it comes down to
their age rather than their
gender,” said Buli.
As a referee, Buli has
travelled the world,
including to Russia for the
women’s sevens World Cup
in 2013.
She would love to
referee test rugby one
day and aspires to take the
field alongside the Black
Ferns with her whistle
in hand. “If you can’t get
into the provincial rugby
teams, you can make it as a
referee. It’s not any less of a
position to be in.”
With the likes of former
Black Fern Rebecca
Mahoney now refereeing
the men’s Mitre 10 Cup,
there might soon come a
day when we see a female
refereeing in the rugby
World Cup.
•More sport, page 17
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