A consistent, observant and fair ref is worth his/her weight in gold!! :-)

They don't need to be current players, but if they don't currently play, then it's important that they have plenty of regular and recent reffing experience in the relevant division (mens/womens etc) and level.

Fitness is a must. There is a fitness test for referees but I suspect that it is not always enforced when there is a shortage of refs.

I imagine that the top 10 is based on feedback (from players and other refs) from previous worlds.

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