For almost 40 straight winters Ian Hull has spent his weekends either refereeing football matches around Nelson, or assessing those who do.
That run will come to an end this year, with his decision to swap a Nelson winter for a summer in Canada and Europe. But his dedication to the sport earned him a surprise life membership of Nelson Bays Football, last week.
Ian began refereeing when he was roped in at the last minute to replace a friend who went down injured.
“I arrived here [from the UK] in 1970 and got involved with Nelson City junior football and then started coaching rep teams. But I got involved with this guy Dennis who was a referee and I used to run the line for him. Then one day he rang me up just a little while before kick-off and said ‘look Ian, I can’t do the game today, I’m injured. Can you do the game?’ That’s how it started.”
And it continued for 38 straight winters.
Ian says he quickly got his local refereeing badge before working towards his New Zealand badge. He refereed National League games in Nelson and Chatham Cup games.
He admits that refereeing isn’t for everyone, but it was something he relished.
“You can never force someone into refereeing. You can twist their arm to play a game because they’re in a team, but you can’t force someone to stand by themselves in the middle of the field. For me it was just one of those things, you have to have a hobby or something, and it just fell into place. I just carried on through the ranks.”
He says there were times when players crossed the line, but it was a rarity. “There has only ever been one player who I genuinely felt crossed the line on a regular basis, we didn’t get on. I think it’s white line fever. Talk to a guy outside the field of play and he’s the nicest guy, cross that field of play and he changes. But most players realise that referees are doing it on a voluntary basis.”
More recently, Ian has stepped off the pitch in his role as referee development officer for Nelson Bays Football. It was a role he enjoyed. “I thoroughly enjoyed the referee development role. My only regret is not geting more young referees into it. It’s probably been the only let-down.”
Ian’s involvement in football isn’t over though. He’s already been asked about helping with the national league games when the competition returns to Nelson this summer. Peter Cobbledick has replaced Ian as referee development officer.
