John Kurtis Weaver (born March 8, 1979) is a

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

match official for

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

and

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...

competitions. He has refereed men's and women's international matches for

and professional and top-level club matches and National Championships for

Early life

Weaver, was born in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, and grew up in

Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, Fairfield and Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin counties in the central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1815 as Jacksonville, named after Andrew Jackson. Pickerington was known a ...

. He started swimming and playing

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, as well as

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. In school he found a love for music and participated in

Marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

and chorus. He began his rugby career in high school at age 17, playing for

Saint Charles Preparatory School Saint Charles Preparatory School is a four-year Catholic college preparatory school (a type of high school) in Columbus, Ohio, US. It was founded in 1923 by the fourth bishop of Columbus, James Joseph Hartley, James J. Hartley, as a Roman Catholic ...

Cardinals. He attended and played rugby at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, earning a double

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. Between political campaigns, Weaver served as president of BGSU's rugby club for two years, and was part of the 2001 team that advanced to the

National Championship Round of 16. After college he played for Scioto Valley Rugby Club in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, while starting a career in political campaign management and fundraising. His campaign experience included several federal government congressional campaigns, state-wide campaigns throughout

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, and local state house and senate campaigns. Moving to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Weaver joined Cleveland Rovers Rugby Club. After sustaining an

Anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

, he temporarily hung up his playing boots and began coaching and refereeing. He coached locally in Ohio and eventually served as an assistant coach with the

United States national under-20 rugby union team The United States national under-20 rugby union team, for sponsorship reasons known as the AIG Men's Junior All-Americans, is the United States' junior rugby team at the national level. The U-20 team has competed at the IRB Junior World Championsh ...

. Weaver became a full-time referee following a brief playing return with Scioto Valley Rugby Club.

Refereeing career

Receiving his first appointments as a member of Ohio Rugby Referees Society in 2009, Weaver was named to the

National Panel in 2011, the Elite Panel in 2014, and the Pro Panel in 2016. His first international appointment came in a

Test match (rugby union) A test match in rugby union is an international match, usually played between two senior national teams, that is recognised as such by at least one of the teams' national governing bodies. Some teams do not represent a single country but their int ...

between

Jamaica national rugby union team The Jamaica national rugby union team represents Jamaica in the sport of rugby union. The team has thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup but has participated in qualifying tournaments. The national side is ranked 67th in the world (as of 2 ...

and

Bahamas national rugby union team The Bahamas national rugby union team represent the Bahamas in the sport of rugby union. The team have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournament. The nation is classified as tier three by the Int ...

in 2012. Weaver became a

referee in 2015, receiving multiple appointments to the

Africa Cup The Rugby Africa Cup is a two-year men's rugby union tournament involving the top 16 African nations based on their World Rugby rankings, it is organised by Rugby Africa. The tournament was first held in 2000. It was renamed the Rugby Africa Cup i ...

Americas Rugby Championship The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Uruguay. Origin ...

World Rugby Under 20 Trophy The World Rugby Under 20 Trophy (known as the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 8 men's junior national tea ...

, and World Rugby Nations Cup 2017, in addition to Assistant Referee appointments. He was one of the first contracted referees for the inaugural

PRO Rugby Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired ...

season – the first professional

competition in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He refereed

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

against the Maori All Blacks in November 2017.

Career

Weaver founded non-profit Rugby Ohio in 2007, an organisation focused on developing youth through rugby in The Buckeye State. Rugby Ohio helped support the growth of youth rugby to 50 boys high school teams, 16 girls high school teams, and 11 youth teams in setting a precedent and model structure for growing youth rugby in the

. In 2011 Weaver was hired as Youth & High School director at

, developing 45 functioning State Rugby Organizations and launching the award-winning Rookie Rugby program, as well as Try on Rugby. He developed coaching and refereeing education for the youth levels, and helped systemize the competition structure around the country for high school rugby. Weaver is also a World Rugby educator, delivering certification courses for coaches and referees around the United States. Weaver also helped his brother found a business in Ohio called The Candle Lab in 2007. The Candle Lab is a community retail chain that sells organic, soy candles in the greater Columbus area. His first career was directing political campaigns from 2005 to 2007 for the LNE Group and was a partner and associate at Sisk & Associates from 2000 to 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Kurt 1979 births Living people American rugby union referees Bowling Green State University alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni