FIE REFEREEING COMMISSION GUESTS JOIN SEMINARS
For immediate release: 11 January 2021
The EFC’s referee training seminar series, which began in September last year, resumed yesterday. The initial phase of the project was very successful and the President of the FIE’s Refereeing Commission, Mohamed El Motawakel, involved his members in the continuing phase.
FIE Secretary General, Emmanuel Katsiadakis. Mohamed El Motawakel, Irina Knysch and Evgeny Tsoukhlo were amongst a number of high-profile guests last night.
EFC Vice President, Nikolay Mateev and General Secretary, Jacek Slupski led the first seminar of the New Year. EFC Referee Commission Members and FIE Referees, Vasil Milenchev and Vladislav Shamis continued to lead mentoring for the sabre delegates.
After wishing everyone a Happy New Year, Knysch highlighted her three pillars of refereeing – Competence, Personality and Feeling. “Referees must know and apply the rules correctly as well as staying up-to-date on any changes. Along with that, you have to make yourself accepted by coaches and athletes and have strong self-confidence, which is where your personality comes in. Teamwork is also a key character that we are looking for. The final ingredient is your feeling. It is not just about applying the rules and using your hand signals correctly but also feeling conventions and fencing-time, communicating clearly and concisely and making sure that you analyze the actions and give this information to the athletes.”
The amended format included a shortened technical quiz which was followed by the new lecture-element of the project. As always, the session ended with a lively debate whilst reviewing hits made at major championships.
In closing Knysch added, “I look forward to seeing you all in person soon. In the meantime, this is a great way to utilize our time so that we can practice and improve our skills and be ready when the competitions resume.”
END
The EFC continues to provide full support to the FIE in these challenging times.