The below content is taken from Erewash Voluntary Action Newsletter. The full newsletter can be found here.

During the past year everyone’s mental health has been challenged by the lockdowns and insecurities. Coming out of what we hope will be the worst of the pandemic, questions, concerns and anxieties remain. This Men’s Mental Health Week we should look at: how can we move forward?

The CAN DO Challenge
There are five days in the working week and there are five ways to wellbeing. The Men’s Health Forum are calling, asking and encouraging everyone to choose a different activity for wellbeing on each day of Men’s Mental Health Week. At the end of the week if you enjoyed it you can always continue with it.

John Bradwell, in his tenure as President of the Society, has been instrumental in driving the agenda of mental health & well-being for all our referees.

This has allowed a group of volunteers in the Society to formulate advice and guidance for our Society and our referees from our work or life knowledge and experiences.

Whether you’re just interested in how to foster resilience in everyday life, after a chat about the ins and outs of mental health or really needing someone to open up to about difficult circumstances or situations, we hope we can help.

We are all volunteers and understand the limitations of our ability and skill-set, however we are here and we want to make it clear you could talk to us if you needed to.

In the next few weeks we hope to publish generic advice and guidance and later on signpost for routes to more expert advice, if required.

Most important of all, we aim to ensure our referees can feel supported and assisted in all aspects of their refereeing journey, whether you are just starting out, returning to refereeing or changing roles.

Whilst John Bradwell has been essential in driving this forward, other volunteers are: Tom Wiles, Steve Whiteside, Paul John & Gary Platts, so please feel free to contact any of us via WhosTheRef.com contact details as and when you need to.

From John Bradwell, NLDRURS President:

“I am are sad to share that Nigel Baxter has a rare form of cancer and this has resulted in him having to have a leg amputated and part of his hip. He is now at home having been in Birmingham hospital for many weeks and is now a lot more comfortable.

“If you go to Meden Vale Rugby Club, you may well meet him as he intends to go down to watch the matches when he is able and when rugby has resumed.

“I am sure many of the experienced referees who know him will be getting in contact with him by email. It’s easier for him to respond to email than answer his mobile as with all cancers they make you feel very tired at differing times of the day. It will be a boost for him to know that many of you are thinking about him and his family.”

John Bradwell – NLDRURS President

We have created a page to keep track of COVID-related training and resources, which will be updated as more guidance is published.

https://nldrefs.com/covid-updates/

NLDRURS have committed to not charging clubs for referees until at least March 2021. This will be reviewed in February 2021 to see if this can be extended for a longer period of time or until the end of the 2020-21 season.

Members are encouraged to support the community game by making themselves available to referee (if they feel safe to do so) and by reducing the amount of expenses claimed for the duration of this policy, should it be possible in their individual circumstances.

This initiative was announced to members in this letter.

I’m pleased to launch the new website for NLDRURS. We hope to populate this with content and information over the coming weeks, so we thank you in advance for your patience.

If you have any questions, please use existing email channels to reach out to the committee.