MTA REFEREE COMMUNICATIONS

MTA is the leading supplier of Referee and Umpire Communications Systems.  Combining years of experience in wireless audio with the latest in technology, Murray Tregonning & Associates have provided these services globally, over the last 27 years to numerous sporting codes, across all grade levels from the professional leagues to the amateur leagues.

Microphone / Earpiece options

DigiRef Comms Micro Lavalier Microphone & Eartube Earpiece

DigiRef Comms Micro In-Ear Headset, Single Ear, Left Only.

SUPPLY & MANUFACTURE OF CUSTOM Referee & UMPIRE EARPIECES

We have been supplying our custom Referee & Umpire earpieces for the last 27 years.  They are individually moulded to the impression of the customer’s ear.  MT&A with our Audiologist partners have been manufacturing custom earpieces for the last 25 years to all sporting codes, across all grade levels from the professional leagues to the amateur leagues. Please contact us for more info.

MATCHCOM™

• High-end Professional Solution

• Designed for TV Broadcast

• Fully scalable

• Extremely flexible routing capabilities

• Ability to record any combination of communications

• Easy integration with Video Review Official

• Easy integration with offsite Bunker.

• Rock solid performance, proven over 20 years of operation.

The MatchCom® Referee Talkback System is our flagship system. Its development started back in 1995, and it was introduced to the Australian sports and TV broadcast industry landscape in 1996. Through the years, the original modular design has allowed for expandability, and the ability to keep up with the latest in audio and wireless technologies. The system has been put through all the paces over its 27 year history, and the system provides the stable reliability that is required for the demanding live-broadcast industry – there are no second takes.

It is a high end, professional communications system.  MatchCom’s function is to allow for all on-field match officials to have easy communication with each other and can be used in any sporting code. MatchCom® is expandable, if required, to allow for any number of match officials and to allow a video referee / umpire, coaches and timekeepers to communicate with all on-field match officials. The system further facilitates this communication for the video referee, by allowing for direct communication between the television broadcaster and the video referee to help direct the video replays for video decisions, and now even to a match official remote bunker, or VAR. 

MatchCom® allows for referee / umpire assessors (and trainee referees) off the field to listen to all the match officials' verbal communications.  A further facility allows any of the on-field match official’s microphones to be fed to the television broadcaster as “clean feeds” if required. It is also possible for the complete mixed audio feed of all the match officials’ microphones to be recorded on a USB Video drive along with the television pictures for training, assessment and judiciary purposes.

MatchCom® is a service that is provided by Murray Tregonning & Associates for the big leagues. After discussing the requirements of your sporting code, we arrive on site, setup and operate MatchCom®, providing the umpires / referees the communications required.

Enquiries regarding MatchCom should be sent to murray@murraytregonning.com.au

reftalk

• High Quality Referee Comms

• Stand-alone system for lower grade sporting leagues

• Easy to use and operate

• Same high-end audio quality as MatchCom

• Fully scalable, allowing for any number of match officials

In 2003, after combining all the knowledge and expertise that Murray Tregonning & Associates had learned throughout the development of MatchCom®, we introduced RefTalk™ - a slimmed down, budget version of our flagship MatchCom® system.  It’s designed for the lower grade sporting competitions that require the same high-quality audio communications that your officials need, but without the television broadcast requirements. 

Unlike our MatchCom® service, which requires our staff to operate it at all games, RefTalk™ is a stand-alone system that we offer as a rental for a single game to a full season. Utilising the same vests and wireless technology found in MatchCom®, RefTalk™ allows for the main official to have an open-microphone at all times, with all other officials in the system only functioning on a Push-To-Talk basis.

Its simple design allows for easy operation for the user, who after a short familiarization period will be able to put together and maintain the vests, and get the system operating.

RefTalk™ offers no facilities for a video referee (T.M.O), or integration of audio feeds to a TV Broadcaster, just rock solid communications for the officials on the field, with the ability for an assessor or referee coach to have “listen only” receivers. Like MatchCom®, RefTalk™ is scalable, with any number of Push-To-Talk vests able to link in with the main referee.

The pricing of RefTalk™ varies depending on how many receivers are required for your needs. The system is totally flexible and can meet the specific needs on a game by game basis.

Enquiries for renting a RefTalk system should be sent to murray@murraytregonning.com.au

THE HISTORY OF REFEREE COMMUNICATIONS

Written by Murray Tregonning, September 2022.

A young referee recently asked me how my company became involved in Referee Communications.  So, I explained the history to him and I thought that others may also wish to know the evolution of referee communications, as I believe I am the “foundering father” of referee / umpire communications.

 I opened an office of Murray Tregonning & Associates in Sydney late in 1995.  We were originally a Melbourne based company that I established in 1978 after working in television audio at both Channel 7 and 9 Melbourne from 1970 onwards.

In 1996 / 1997 I was approached and contracted to provide audio and video production facilities at all the venues for Rupert Murdoch’s break away Rugby League Competition “Super League”. 

It was at this time I was introduced to the head rugby league referee, Graham Annesley.

Graham had a desire and plan to introduce a Video Referee into the game.  A world first. He asked if I could come up with a solution, in the way of a communication system.  First, I asked him, with me being from Melbourne, if he could teach me about rugby league and tell me the requirements that he needed, I in return would teach him about TV audio and communications.

 At that time in 1995, the only Referee Communications system that was available and in use was a system called “talking flags”.  This consisted of a microphone being built in the top of the handle and a radio microphone transmitter with a Push to Talk button mounted in the bottom of the handle of the Touch Judge’s flag.  Then the Referee wore a radio receiver with an earpiece.  I thought great, I will combine that “talking flags” system and add to it. 

So, I asked Graham how reliable was this “talking flags” communication system?

And as I remember it, the initial conversation went something like this.

GA, “Not very.”

MT “So if you miss a call from one of your Touch Judges you ask them to repeat their message?”

GA, “No.”

MT “Why not?”

GA, “They can’t hear me!!!”

MT, “But obviously you wear a radio microphone, as I hear you giving the players

instructions on the TV coverage?”

GA. “Yes, but the TJ’s can’t hear that radio microphone and TV Station cannot give us a feed of that microphone.”

Out of this relationship, with Graham, the MatchCom® Referee Communication System was born in 1997.

The MatchCom® System also allowed for the first time the Referee and his Touch Judges and a Video Referee, sitting in room or box at the back of the grandstand to have full two way radio communications with each other.  The MatchCom® System also allowed for the first time, a coach and referee assessors off the field to listen to all the match officials verbal communications, and because I employed broadcast quality radio microphones a further facility allowed all the on-field match official’s microphones to be fed to the television and radio broadcaster if required.  I was told by an ABC Radio Rugby League Commentator that I have change the way the ABC would call Rugby League for ever more.  Why?  Simply because they could hear and broadcast the referee’s microphone.

That MatchCom® System, although modified and re-built 5 times over the last 23 years, is still in use today for every NRL game across Australia and New Zealand.  Our relationship and contract continues with the NRL and has just been renewed for another 3 years.

Once I had perfected it for Rugby League of course Rugby (Union) was also interested in obtaining my services as they wanted to introduce a TMO (Television Match Official).

Finally in 2000, I commenced a contract to supply MatchCom® to all Super Rugby Matches and International Tests in Australia.  Then New Zealand Rugby followed two weeks later.

We then provided MatchCom® for Scottish Rugby 2000 - 2004 and Welsh Rugby 2007 – 2011 for all their Six Nations games and International Tests.  MatchCom® was adopted by the International Rugby Board (Now called World Rugby) for the 2003 & 2011 Rugby World Cup.  The 2003 Rugby World Cup because of MatchCom® was the first World Cup that was able to use a TMO.  MatchCom® was also used by the ERC (European Rugby) for their Challenge Cup Final at Reading, UK and the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham, in London in May 2004.

MatchCom® has also been successfully used in International Cricket by the ICC (International Cricket Council) at the 2002 Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka and the 2004 Champion’s Trophy in the UK.  For ICC 2004 Champions Trophy, the MatchCom® system was expanded to include “Stump Microphone / Earpiece Assist”. For the first time, this allowed the two on field cricket umpires to hear the stump microphone of the facing batsman so they could hear all of the bat’s noises for caught behind decisions.  It was further trialled during the ICC Johnnie Walker Super Series in October 2005 in Australia and then in ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in March / April 2007.

In September 2005, we conducted a series of trials with MatchCom® for the NHL (the National Hockey League) in Canada and the US, and in 2007, we introduced Umpire Communications into the AFL, another first with that contract running for 10 years until 2017.

Rugby Australia in 2018 decided that they would go with an alternative supplier that could supply a version of a Referee Communications system, but the supplier had the advantage of also being able to supply a Head Injury Video package.

Of course, there will always be imitators, but our MatchCom® system and the service we provide at MT&A speaks for itself.

NZ Rugby and the All Blacks have used MatchCom® since 2000 and we have been contracted for the Woman’s Rugby World Cup 2022 in NZ this October and November.

It is not only MatchCom® that we supply but also our “cut down versions” being RefTalk® and now our newly developed DigiRef Comms® that we offer to referees to operate themselves for second and third tier Rugby.  An example of DigiRef Comms is the roll out this season to the W-League and the NSWRU.

With RefTalk® we commenced supply to the IRB for the World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong in 2004.  We have then supplied Hong Kong Rugby Union RetTalk® for every Hong Kong Sevens ever since.

We have also supplied RefTalk® for every NZ Sevens since 2005 and the Australian Sevens

2005 to 2018 as well as two Commonwealth Games, Melbourne in 2006 and Brisbane in 2018, as well as NZ Rugby’s NPC for 2005 until the present season.

We also continue to supply World Rugby and Oceania Rugby across the Pacific Islands.