Referees play key role in the transition of Volleyball as No. 1 Family Sport

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 22, 2018 – The Refereeing Commission of NORCECA held its annual meeting in Santo Domingo on Thursday with the presence of Cristobal Marte Hoffiz and Jose Ramon Perez Vento, president of the confederation and the commission, respectively.

One important item of the meeting was the emphasis on the importance of the referees in the transition to make volleyball the number one Family Sport.

Guy Bradbury of Canada, one of the three representatives of NORCECA in the new joint FIVB commission of Rules of the Game and Refereeing consisting in 14 persons, presented a complete report of the recent meeting held in Lausanne, Switzerland. The other two members are Andre Trottier of Canada and Pat Powers of United States.

Bradbury explained the comments made by FIVB President Dr. Ary Graca regarding the importance of use of technology and the use of tools put within their reach to correct situations.

Also, the initiatives related to categorization of the referees (A, B1, B2, C), the need to improve the capacity of the referee delegates and at a continental level the review of the criteria for the Continental International Referee Courses and pre- event seminars and clinics.

He also informed that there will be no immediate change to the rules of the game which potentially can be reviewed after the inaugural season of the new Nations League.

Perez Vento presented a complete report on the Continental Beach Volleyball Referee Course held in Tijuana, Mexico with nine participants including four women. It was the first time in the history of the NORCECA that such important course was organized.

He informed that 25 NORCECA Referees (89%) officiated matches in nine FIVB Beach Volleyball events in the region –five in Florida and four in California.

NORCECA has 28 international referees –seven women- besides four international candidates officiated 561 matches and 15 referees from NORCECA took part in FIVB events.

During the meeting, Dr, Victor Figueroa, member of the FIVB Medical Commission, participated with a report on the participation of NORCECA referees in the Health Management Plan while presenting comparative stats with the other confederations.

President Marte Hoffiz presented a complete report of activities corresponding to 2017 and explained the continuation of the development plan and the use of new resources in order to keep the program working for good.

Perez Vento, Bradbury and Willy Paredes of Argentina will direct of Refreshment Course for Referees starting on Friday and closing of Sunday with the support of NORCECA.