OFC – ELITE REFEREES COURSE CONCLUDES
Sore bodies to sore minds as the participants at the OFC Elite Referees and Assistant Referees course were put to the practical test at the OFC Academy in Ellerslie today.
A host of practical sessions designed to test the application of the game’s laws were run with the interpretation of offside and misconduct examined by Massimo Raveino, Ken Wallace, Alejo Leguizamon and Segran Chandra.
Technical elements of Refereeing and Assistant Refereeing such as body position and uniformity of flag signals were watched closely. Tahitian Referee Instructor, Massimo Raveino, said it was critical to develop uniformity in these techniques because there were so many newcomers to the course.
“We have new candidates from Vanuatu, Tonga and Solomon Islands so we need to make sure they are able to apply FIFA instructions to the same high standards as those elsewhere. It is important they develop more professional standards.”
Overall the practical test achieved good standards but Ken Wallace said there was room for improvement in many areas.
“The course demonstrated a need for candidates to be better prepared. We examined them in three ways; a video test on the laws of the game, a written test and, of course, a physical test. The results in the physical test were very pleasing. Others have work to do.”
Wallace said there were 3 or 4 candidates from the Referees and Assistant Referees that did particularly well during the course but would not be drawn on names.
2007 would be a very busy year for officials with a raft of tournaments scheduled. With that in mind, Wallace said, the course had provided participants with a valuable networking platform.
Alejo Leguizamon said candidates had learned more about structured physical fitness programmes during the course. He said it was logical to expect to see a steady improvement across all refereeing skill-sets next year with so much activity planned.
A second OFC Elite Referees and Assistant Referees course has been planned for 2007.