SIXTEEN of the best young referees in Suffolk were put through their paces on Sunday.

The match officials, who are all aged between 14 and 25, attended a Suffolk Centre of Refereeing Excellence (SCORE) Development Day.

They had all passed a selection weekend before being invited to take part in the event held at Copdock & Old Ipswichian Cricket Club.

The Development Day involved a Level 5 to 4 refereeing fitness assessment which included two 40-metre sprints each inside 6.2 seconds followed by 40 interval runs of 75 metres each.

They then took part in various sprints and dynamic movements before being exposed to making decisions under pressure and possible duress.

Suffolk FA Referee Development Officer Ben Bowles watches as referee Harry Eastick sets off on one of the 40-metre sprints. Main photograph: Suffolk and EFL Match Official Alan Dale (centre) leads off on the 75-metre interval runs.

The group moved indoors in the afternoon for a session on Handball run by Suffolk and EFL Match Official Alan Dale.

This was followed by Clip Analysis on the motion clips they had seen during the earlier practical session, before finishing with a reminder and revise quiz on the Laws of the Game.

Suffolk FA Referee Development Officer Ben Bowles said: “The purpose of the group is that Suffolk FA will recommend half-a-dozen candidates to The FA to become part of their Centre of Refereeing Excellence.

“The CORE scheme is designed for match officials with the potential to operate within the professional game.”

Suffolk FA Chief Executive Richard Neal (left) and Referee Development Officer Ben Bowles (right) look on during the 40 interval runs of 75 metres each

Ben, who took up his post at Suffolk FA in June, said: “One of the big draws of the job was to be able to put on events like this and make a difference to young people’s lives.

“I want to get together a young group of match officials with the ability to serve within the professional game.”

Anyone who is interested in becoming a match official should contact Ben Bowles by calling 07890 587228 or emailing ben.bowles@suffolkfa.com