How to organise a course
Things to consider before organising a Grade 4 Referee course
Before organising a course, please ensure that you have read the Grade 4 Referee course information page. This covers the course content, structure, duration and pre-requisites. It is important that any learners who intend to enrol onto the course are also familiar with this information.
Have you identified demand for a Grade 4 Referee course in your club or area? This may involve speaking to other local clubs within your county and region to assess demand. Access the Volleyball England Club Finder to find the contact details of clubs in your local area. This is important to consider as there will need to be at least 14 learners booked onto the course by the booking deadline for it to go ahead. You may also want to think about how this will feed into your club, county or regions overall workforce plan and how you might support learners’ development following completion of their qualification.
Please ensure that you notify your regional association of your plans to organise a course if you haven’t done so prior.
Step 1
Decide whether you would like to organise your course as open or closed.
Open means that the course will be added to VolleyZone and available public bookings. Please note that if you plan on organising an open course, Volleyball England cannot save spaces. We would recommend sharing details of the course well in advance of bookings opening with those you would like to secure a space.
Closed means that the course is invitation only. Please see the further information around organising a closed course below.
If you are organising a closed course, payment for the minimum number of spaces required to run the course will need to be made upfront. The course organiser will also need to provide VolleyZone details for the learners that they would like to be allocated a space on the course.
The Volleyball England course administrator will then provide the course organiser with a discount code for learners to apply at checkout when booking on, to claim their space. It is important that learners book themselves on individually via VolleyZone so that Volleyball England have their contact details and can award their qualification following successful completion of the course.
The payment process for closed courses
Payment can be made in two ways.
- Purchase 14 spaces via your club admin account on VolleyZone. For support on how to complete this, please email volleyzone@volleyballengland.org.
- Invoice payment, subject to a 10% admin surcharge. Please send invoice details (and PO number if applicable) to refereeing@volleyballengland.org. Invoice details include the order contact, email address and invoice address.
Step 2
Download the booking form below and send a completed copy to refereeing@volleyballengland.org. Please ensure all fields are completed, this includes confirming that your proposed facility meets the requirements listed.
Please ensure that if you are organising a closed course, that the course organiser has signed the closed course waiver within the booking form prior to returning it.
All booking forms must be received at least six weeks before the proposed start date of the course. This lead time is required to source a course tutor and complete the pre-course administration.
Step 3
Once your booking form has been received, you will receive acknowledgement from Volleyball England. If there are any questions or queries about your booking form, you will be contacted by an appropriate member of staff.
We will then check our tutors’ availability to deliver the proposed course. We will get back in contact with you once we have heard back from our tutor’s. If a tutor is available, then you will be given further information on how you/your learners can book onto the course.
If a tutor is unavailable on the proposed dates on your booking form, we will get back to you to try to arrange the course on an alternative date.
Step 4
Once we have confirmed a tutor for your course, it will be added to VolleyZone for bookings.
Open courses
To book onto the course, learners will need an account on VolleyZone with an active membership for the current season. Please see our full step-by-step guide under ‘individuals’ for full booking information and support.
Closed courses
If you have organised a closed course, please request a step-by-step guide from the Volleyball England Workforce Team to share with your learners.
Additional Information
Please do not book any non-refundable facility hire unless approval has been given by Volleyball England.
Volleyball England can offer up to £200 reimbursement for facility hire fees. For reimbursement purposes, proof of venue cost will be required. Alternatively, for a venue offered free of charge, we can offer two free spaces on the course in return.
A minimum of 14 learners are required for the course to go ahead. The course maximum is 18.
Learners must be at least 16 years of age on the first day of the course.
For information on course cancellations, please view our full Education Course terms and conditions here. Learners will be required to read and accept these at the point of booking onto the course.