Welcome to GAA Handball's Referee Education page. See below for full details and links to our Referee Pathways.
Pathway Overview:
- Bronze - Online Refereeing exam to qualify one onto the Local Referees Panel.
- Silver - Attending National Refereeing Clinic to qualify one onto the Regional Referees Panel.
- Gold - Awarded to those who have refereed consistently at local and Provincial level & qualifying them to the National Referees Panel.
- Platinum - This will have two pathways, first those nominated by their provincial council from proof of consistent refereeing at a high level within the province, and those recognised by the National Referee’s Panel committee, and Ard Comhairle.
Overview:
Certified levels of Refereeing standards have been drafted, through four levels.
- Bronze – Online Refereeing exam to qualify one onto the Local Referees Panel. Follow the link below, to register an account and perform the online exam.
https://learning.gaa.ie/HandballRef/Bronze
Bronze enrolment key = BronzeHB
The exam can be done as many times as is necessary, and questions will change each time you sit the exam.
The questions are a composite of 75 randomly selected questions, out of 115 total questions, with a pass rate of 90%, with a time limit of 45min.
Having completed the exam and passed a digital certificate will be issued.
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- Silver – Attending National Refereeing Clinic to qualify one onto the Regional Referees Panel. Prerequisite for this course is to have completed the bronze level online exam, then follow the link below, to register for the upcoming courses, and use the below enrolment key for each course.
https://learning.gaa.ie/HandballRef/Silver
- Tyrone enrolment key = TyroneSilver25
- Connacht enrolment key = ConnSilver25
- Kilfane enrolment key = KilfaneSilver25
- Longford enrolment key = LongfordSilver25
Having attended and completed the Clinic a digital certificate will be issued by admin.
For those who attended the Silver Level Referees Clinic back as far as 2023, please click the link above and enter the below enrolment key:
- Pre May 2025 Enrolment key = SilverPre25
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- Gold – Awarded to those who have refereed consistently at local and Provincial level & qualifying them to the National Referees Panel. An invitation link will be forwarded to complete the Gold Level online exam.
The exam can be done as many times as is necessary.
All 115 questions must be answered, with a pass rate of 90%, with a time limit of 60min.
Having completed the exam and passed a digital certificate will be issued.
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- Platinum – This will have two pathways, first those nominated by their provincial council from proof of consistent refereeing at a high level within the province, and those recognised by the National Referee’s Panel committee, and Ard Comhairle. These individuals will qualify to the International Referees Panel. An invitation link will be forwarded to complete the Platinum Level online exam.
The exam can be done as many times as is necessary.
All 115 questions must be answered, with a pass rate of 100%, with a time limit of 75min.
Having completed the exam and passed a digital certificate will be issued.
- The rules & recommendations have been accessed and passed by CCCC and rules advisory and now need a final check mark from Ard Comhairle before one booklet will be drafted and circulated to the clubs nationally. This booklet will comprise “GAA Handball Guide to Refereeing”, guide to using the KnowTheScore refereeing App, the Constitution, the Regulations, the Playing rules, Forms relating to the processing of referee’s match reports, and the GAA Code of conduct.
- Clubs, Counties and Provinces are reminded to register their interest in hosting a referee’s clinic to their Provincial Administrator and Cc competitions.handball@gaa.ie for conveyance to CCCC & the National Referees Panel. There is no associated fee currently, until such time as the full certification, apparel, and booklets are completed.