The Derek Cook Memorial Trophy was donated by Kelvin Harding in 1981, following the death of Derek Cook. Both Cook and Harding were A grade players from the Wellington district (Harding lived in Masterton), were good mates, and renowned for their fun-loving approach to life. When he died, Cook had also become a leading contributor to refereeing in New Zealand - one of few top players to contribute in this way.

Joseph Romanos, author of Long or Short, had this to say about Cook: "Cook had taken up squash in 1963 when growing up in Oamaru. He moved to Wellington in 1969, on a job transfer with Shell Oil.  However, he soon found the job rather tedious. The challenges of running an escort agency and then being a private detective were more to his liking".

This trophy focuses on the contribution to others in refereeing through training, assessment, encouragement, promotion or rules knowledge.

Awarded for one or more of, but not limited to:

• Significant contribution to referee training
• Significant contribution to referee assessment
• Significant contribution to local referee improvement
• Significant contribution through rules advice and interpretation
• Significant contribution through voluntary referee administration
• Significant effort in referee recruitment or advancement
• Significant effort in mentoring referees
• Significant promotion of refereeing
• Commitment to enhancing referee reputation and status through behaviour modelling
• Commitment to sharing knowledge and experience
• Exceptional and appropriate interaction with players and other referees

The Referees Trophy for Personal Endeavour

This trophy focuses on a referee’s own achievement, improvement, effort, knowledge or ability.

Awarded for one or more of, but not limited to:

• An exceptional achievement
• The most improved referee over a season
• Significant improvement or achievement beyond current level
• Significant effort to improve own competency
• Significant appointment to referee internationally beyond current level (either within or outside of New Zealand)
• Significant improvement in status
• Exceptional assessment record
• Exceptional knowledge gained or displayed

Judging Criteria

Referees will be judged on the criteria listed above. The recipients are selected by the National Referee Management Panel (or other panel if deemed necessary) and the award is presented at the National Awards Dinner.

2023 Winner

The Derek Cook Memorial Trophy Recipient: Mike Jack 

Previous Winners

2023 Winner

The Referees Trophy for Personal Endeavour: Janet Udy

Previous Winners