September 3, 2024.- As many as 26 international referees from all over the world not only whistled the matches of the 2024 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship in Sofia, from Aug. 25-31, but also successfully underwent an extensive course to be confirmed as FIVB referees, following their successful examination and practical performance.
Five candidates came from the NORCECA Confederation: Krystian Krzyzak (United States), José Beltré (Dominican Republic), Jason Dodd (Canda), Yamil Gómez (Puerto Rico) and Kenia Nieves (Puerto Rico).
FIVB Rules of the Game and Refereeing Commission President Guillermo Paredes from Argentina was the Course Director, joined by Commission members Alexander Steel from Scotland, Frans Loderus from the Netherlands and Guy Bradbury from Canada as course instructors.
The course was organized by the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation (BFV). It included three days of theory, which covered various topics like the different referee roles, decision making, game technology with a focus on the Video Challenge system, physical and mental readiness, training attention and focus, and concluded with a written examination before the beginning of the U17 World Championship.
It was followed by practical on-court experience and assessment during the matches with the candidates taking on different referee roles. On the last three days of the competition, the referees received hands-on experience with the Video Challenge system, with Bolt6 experts offering them their extensive knowledge.
All five NORCECA referees concluded the course successfully and are a valuable addition to improve the refereeing level in our region.
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