The word 'burnout' describes what happens to athletes when the pressure of training and competition becomes too much for them. But does it also happen to referees and other match officials? To find out, researchers at the University of Wales examined sources of stress, burnout and the intention to stop refereeing among 682 rugby union referees from the rugby unions of Wales, Scotland and England (D.W. Rainey & L. Hardy, 'Sources of stress, burnout and intention to terminate among rugby union referees,' The Journal of Sports Sciences, Vol. 17, No. 10, pp 797-806, 1999).

The subjects completed four sections of a five-section questionnaire. The first asked for demographic information, the second was a modified version of the Ontario football officials survey, the third section was a 16-item burnout inventory, and the fourth enquired as to the subject's intention to stay in refereeing at the end of the season.

The study found that performance concerns, interpersonal conflict and time pressures were common sources of stress for match officials. However, the researchers found that the intention to quit refereeing due to burnout was rare and that most referees taking part in the study intended to continue officiating. Nevertheless, the study team say that more and wider research is needed.

Nick Grantham