Birmingham based ACME Whistles is known across the refereeing world as the whistle of choice for referees in grass roots sport and the elite game.
However, as every ACME Whistle is made in the UK, the business distributes its whistles to referees around the world, and some of those countries can be more challenging than others logistically.
With a thriving rugby community in South Africa, referees were frustrated that it wasn’t easy to source an ACME Whistle – and getting one direct from the UK was expensive due to shipping – something that is set to change with a new partnership between ACME and Blue Bulls Rugby Referee Society (BBRRS).
Ben McFarlane explains; “We’d tried everything to help South African referees access whistles, however kept on having issues, mainly around logistics and shipping.
“We were then contacted by the team at Blue Bulls to supply a number of whistles for an award ceremony back in December – since which the new partnership was born.
“The partnership launched in January will help connect referees and ACME whistles, circumventing the issues we’ve historically experienced.
“One of the top clubs in the country, Blue Bulls will now act as a hub for ACME Whistles where referees can have confidence in not only knowing they are available but can pick them up when they are next at the ground.
“Referees are essential for the sport. Without the control and management of a game by the referee there’d be chaos.
“We are therefore on a mission to help every referee wanting the best tools for the job to access them wherever that might be.”
If this new model is successful, ACME may engage further club partners in a similar way supporting referees in other areas of South Africa and beyond.
To find out more about ACME Whistles, visit www.acmewhistles.co.uk