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Bulgaria hosts Grappling referee educator course

Tuesday, August 23, 2022 - 12:31 By United World Wrestling Press

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Sofia, Bulgaria (August 22) – United World Wrestling hosted the first-ever Grappling Referee Educator Course in Sofia, Bulgaria.  The course was held from 12-16 August at the Ramada Hotel in Sofia.  The course was conducted prior to the start of the U20 World Championships which was hosted by the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation.

The course was attended by 5 expert Grappling referees.  They included Mr. Vito PAOLILLO (ITA), Mr. Richard TADO (USA), Mr. Hrant KOTANJYAN (ARM), Mr. Akim ABDRAKHMANOV (KAZ), and Mr. Gary BIRD (CAN).  At the course, they learned various techniques and adult learning principles to help deliver more effective courses.  The educators were able to practice and improve those skills directly during the course.  “The Educator course was an outstanding experience of Learning. It totally changed my view on how you should run a course to make the participants interested and engaged in the topics.  It worked well because being a student in this you see in real time how this new method is working on you during the course and how Zach manage to keep you always active and never bored during the 3 days.” said Vito PAOLILLO. “The UWW Educator Course this week in Sofia, Bulgaria was an amazing experience. Not only from a student’s perspective but it also excelled from educators’ point of view. Our instructor, Zach Errett brought a plethora of knowledge to the course and instructed our class with the highest level of today’s information and respect.” said Richard TADO. “The skills that I got on how to conduct my future courses was important knowledge on how to make people interested and engaged in session.” said Hrant KOTANJYAN.

TextParticipants from the first-ever Grappling Referee Educator Course gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

This educator course was conducted on the first 3 days and was led by Zach Errett, UWW Education Manager. “I was very impressed with this group.  They were very open and willing to learn new skills to help them as educators.  It was amazing watching them improve each session and apply the principles that were taught during the course.  I see great things in the future for the Grappling referees.”  Said Zach Errett.

After the educator course completed, the Grappling Referee Educators stayed for 2 additional days to develop materials for their upcoming courses.  They were able to discuss best practices and the content that should be covered.  This group also had the opportunity to attend part of the U20 World Championships.  While there, they observed how the Olympic styles referees work at the competition.  This provided a chance to look for ways to improve the referees in Grappling.  “I appreciate the continued support from UWW and I’m looking forward to working with all the UWW Federations as we all grow the sport of UWW Grappling across the world.” said Richard Tado.

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In Southeast Asia, boost in referee numbers

Thursday, May 25, 2023 - 05:51 By United World Wrestling Press

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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (May 25) -- In a bid to improve the skills of referees in the region, an Introduction to Refereeing course was hosted by the Cambodian Wrestling Federation prior to the South East Asian Games.

The course was conducted between May 8-12 and organized by the President of Southeast Asia and Vice President of CWF Casey BARNETT.

Conducted by United World Wrestling Educator and IS Olympic referee Ashok KUMAR (IND), the course allowed referees from Southeast Asia to improve their skills prior to being evaluated at SEA Games for a potential UWW referee license.

There were 17 participants that took part in the course. This included referees from Cambodia, Indonesia, and Ukraine.

“Most of the candidates were young referees in their twenties. They were extremely enthusiastic and excited to learn about referee skills," Kumar said.

During the course, participants learned the foundations of what it takes to be a great referee. The areas covered during the course included: the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout.

The five-day course gave the participants extra practice because of the limited wrestling activities in the region.

Cambodia

Each day, they conducted theoretical sessions in the morning at the CamEd International Business School. Then in the afternoon, the participants had practical sessions at the training hall.

"The extra practice and longer course were perfect for the candidates. This was evident with the amount of improvement they showed on the final day of the course,” Kumar added.

At the conclusion of the course, the referee candidates completed the UWW Level 1 course and practical during the SEA Games. With their performance, they hope to see an increase in the number of UWW-licensed referees.

“The training course was a wonderful success with the excellent class instruction of Kumar and the amazing mentoring and supervision of Jang. The skills developed by our referees will make a long-lasting impact on the sport of wrestling in Southeast Asia by improving the standard of refereeing and competitions in the region," Barnett said.

Even the participants of the course expressed their satisfaction and hailed the course as transformative.

"Throughout the SEA Games in Cambodia, I had the opportunity to participate in Referee Training Course which was educated by an expert educator from UWW. I used to doubt and ask myself if I can make it or not. As a result [of the course], I was able to successfully achieve it,” Huy LYSIENG, a Cambodian referee, said.

Another referee added that the emphasis was put on the right areas and the course will help them perform their duty in the right manner. 

“I particularly enjoyed the structure of the course," Mykyta SHYMKO, a referee from Ukraine, said. "It managed to strike a balance between theoretical knowledge and practical skills, allowing us not only to understand the rules of wrestling but also to apply them in practice. It was also wonderful to see that you placed special emphasis on ethics and fairness in refereeing, making our sessions even more valuable.”