Australian Oztag and etrainu partner to streamline referee accreditation and training

October 8, 2024

Australian Oztag has partnered with etrainu - an innovator in online learning solutions - to launch The Hub, a new digital platform designed to streamline referee accreditation and training.

This partnership will standardise accreditation for referees within Oztag.

Oztag is the original non-tackling version of Rugby League/Rugby. Founded in 1992, Oztag is now played Australia-wide with over 150,000 players across every age group and gender.

Through its brand identity and partnership with the NRL, Oztag has solidiﬁed its place in Australia's sporting landscape.

With this growth came the need for a more efﬁcient and scalable training and accreditation system.

Previously, Australian Oztag used a manual, paper-based system to manage referee accreditation, which involved administrators printing and marking face-to-face assessments, then uploading and storing results. As Oztag continued to grow, they recognised the need for a more scalable, efﬁcient solution to support their expanding referee base.

In response, Oztag sought a partner to help modernise and streamline their training processes.

After meeting with the etrainu team at the National Sports Convention and hearing about their successful work with sporting organisations around the globe, the decision to collaborate was clear.

etrainu's expertise in digital learning, combined with their track record of building ﬂexible, hybrid training solutions, positioned them as the ideal partner to modernise Oztag's accreditation process.

Introducing The Hub—A Referee Accreditation and Training Platform
The Hub will initially focus on referee accreditation, launching Level 1 and Level 2 courses designed to deliver both theoretical knowledge and practical assessments via etrainu’s Assess App.

With over 3,000 referees set to use the platform, Oztag will seamlessly combine on-ﬁeld assessments with online learning, all while streamlining the referee accreditation process.

Luke Manahan, General Manager Oztag New South Wales enthused “we are thrilled to partner with etrainu and announce ‘The Hub’ training & accreditation platform to our Oztag community.

“This represents our commitment to enhancing the development and education of our ofﬁcials. We aim to provide our referees with the highest quality training resources and accreditation opportunities, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and knowledge to excel on the ﬁeld.”

Cam O’Riordan, VP of Sales at etrainu added “from our initial meeting at the National Sports Convention, I knew etrainu had a solution that could help Oztag with their referee accreditation. The launch of The Hub will not only help the Oztag team streamline and standardise processes, but it will also be an absolute game changer for their internal team - saving them so much time on training. This partnership is set to take Oztag to the next level and modernise their processes across the board.”

In the future, Australian Oztag plans to expand its offerings within The Hub, with coaching accreditations on the horizon and the potential for more courses to be developed in partnership with etrainu's Studio team.

For now, the initial focus is on migrating existing referees to the new platform and ensuring that every referee completes Level 1 accreditation and, ideally, exploring more learning pathways to develop their skills further.

This partnership represents a critical investment in the future of the sport, providing a streamlined, scalable solution that will support Oztag's continued growth in Australia and beyond.

Oztag Referees can access The Hub now

Founded in 2007, etrainu is a leader in community education solutions and has grown to over two million learners beneﬁtting from hundreds of industry-tailored courses.

etrainu has partnered with some of the largest sports organisations in the world, including US Youth Soccer (USYS), American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), PGA Tour, Hockey Australia, Gymnastics Australia, and Surf Life Saving Australia.

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