In a world of sport where there is male domination, a woman is always celebrated when she gets to rub shoulders with men and more so when she continues to climb the ladder.
Today, we celebrate Aimee Barrett – Theron the first female referee in history to be included on the South African Rugby Referees’ Association’s National B panel. When asked about the achievement, she said, [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”It has been an incredible year in my refereeing career and being the first female to appear on a men’s national panel and to have the honor of officiating my first Test is the cherry on top.”[/perfectpullquote]
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said, “We are very proud of Aimee. She is setting an example for referees across the world and her achievements prove that anything is possible with the right attitude and determination. He added. “One of our objectives at SA Rugby is to continue to produce top-class referees and Aimee has certainly lived up to those standards as she advanced through the ranks over the last few years. She also has to meet the same fitness standards as her male counterparts, and she does so with ease.”
The achievement means that Barret- Theron will be eligible to officiate matches in the SA Under-21 Championship, a big step-up from last year when she was included on the women’s panel.
The 29-year-old is a former South African rugby union player who played as a fullback, centre or fly-half and played in various forms of the game – 15-a-side rugby union, rugby sevens and touch rugby.
She later took up refereeing, joining the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series circuit. From the time she took up referring, She has been named as the only female South African referee to officiate matches at the 2016 Olympic Games, named on the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series referee panel, and has served as an Assistant Referee in a Currie Cup match between Boland and the Sharks in Wellington.
Barrett-Theron also took charge of the SA Rugby Women’s Inter-provincial final between Border and Western Province in East London in September.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”These are certainly great achievements. However, the most important factor is that I am living my dream and I hope to build on this in the years to come.”[/perfectpullquote]
She said. The South African will be making her Test debut in the Women’s World Cup Qualifier between Japan and Fiji in Japan on Tuesday, December 13.
Featured Photo: EAST LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 17: general view of action with Referee Aimee Barrett during the 2016 Women’s Interprovincial Section A Final between Border and Western Province at BCM Stadium on September 17, 2016 in East London, South Africa. (Photo by Richard Huggard/Gallo Images)
