University staff member wins prestigious Match Official of the Year Award

University of Edinburgh Sport & Exercise, Business Development Manager, Ollie Cruickshank has been awarded the Wheelchair Rugby Match Official of the Year Award.

This month Sport & Exercise team member, Ollie Cruickshank was awarded the Wheelchair Rugby Match Official of the Year award for the 2022 season. Throughout the 2022 season Ollie took charge of 35 fixtures including being the lead referee for the Challenge cup final and a referee for the Super League Grand Final.

Following the conclusion of the domestic season Ollie travelled to the Rugby League World Cup where he was the Lead referee in 4 matches including the World Cup Final between England and France. Ollie commented on his achievement saying:

“It is great to be recognised for my performances last season. The standard of officiating is going up each year so I was delighted just to be nominated for this award. To pick up the award is a great way to draw the 2022 season to a close.”

Ollie began refereeing for Wheelchair Rugby League back in 2015 and moved into international refereeing when stepping up to cover an absence during the Celtic Cup held in Stirling in 2017. Since then Ollie has become an established referee within the community. Speaking of Ollie’s success, Martin Coyd OBE, Chair of the Wheelchair Rugby League said:

“Ollie has had an exceptional year as a Match Official in Wheelchair Rugby League.  This variant of the game is exceptionally quick and has three times as many play the balls as the running variant over the 80 minutes.  Ollie has been officiating for only a few short years but has established himself at the top of the game in the British Isles”.

Congratulations to Ollie on this wonderful achievement and we wish him the best as he continues his career as a referee for Wheelchair Rugby League.