PART III: THE EXAMPLES
IT was fitting that for the next part of the process, a gaggle of potential referees – 43 had now become 10 – found themselves sitting in an upper-floor room at the new Peacock Gym in Epping, their thoughts disturbed by the sounds of punchbags being struck by boxers beneath them. It was there that each of them would wait, on high, and from this vantage point later look down from the viewing gallery and see everything: the boxers hitting the bags, the boxers sparring in rings, and any of the other seemingly minor details which are more important for a referee to spot than anyone else.
Prior to that, the 10 candidates sat around a table and listened to not only the sounds of hard work coming from below but also the advice given to them by three referees licenced by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC). This, having come through the initial interview stage of the process in December, was for most of them their first introduction to the club; the first time, that is, they will have heard a professional referee speak and tell them about their own journey.
It was vital to hear such stories, too, particularly given the arduous and extensive nature of the process, explained to them at length by Dennis Gilmartin (Southern Area Secretary) and Robert Smith (General Secretary) back in December. Marcus McDonnell, a Star-Class referee who will retire this year at the age of 65, and Mark Bates and Lee Every, two referees who went through the same process as this latest batch seven and a half years ago, give the wannabe referees some insight, but more than that, a template, a roadmap, something
