The training of professionals in various fields of sport is one of the greatest legacies of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Refereeing is no different. In partnership with the international federations and national sport confederations, the Rio 2016 Organising Committee works in the development of a qualified workforce, through training as well as improving the skills of professional referees. Based on London 2012 numbers, it is expected that more than 2 thousand Brazilians work as referees in the Games, including 1350 in Olympic and 730 in Paralympic competitions.

 

“The work that Rio 2016 is doing together with the Brazilian Confederations will leave a legacy of trained professionals in each Olympic and Paralympic Games discipline. Not so well-known sports in Brazil have in the Games a great opportunity for development”, Rio 2016 Specialist in Technical Officials Services Katie Ribeiro dos Santos said.

 

Preparatory training sessions for sports such as Badminton, Canoe, Rowing and Sailing have already been carried out. Last week, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has brought two of today’s greatest umpires to Brazil. Spanish Enric Molina and Portuguese Carlos Ramos gave a preparatory course for line umpire in three Brazilian cities (Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), with 280 people enrolled in total. Around 64 line umpires will be needed for the Olympic and 48 for the Paralympic Games. Information on new courses will be released soon.

 

“I started refereeing at the age of 14 in the Barcelona 1992 Games and, for me, it was like a dream come true. That is why my experience here in Brazil is being so enriching. It's interesting to see so many people motivated to do this job”, said Spanish Molina, who last year worked as chair umpire in the Wimbledon Grand Slam final.

 

For Carlos Ramos, who worked in the London 2012 Games Tennis final between British Andy Murray and Swiss Roger Federer, working in an event like the Olympic Games sends chills down the spine, in a nice way.

 

“The London final was not the best match I have ever worked, but there was a British national vying for the title and the atmosphere was the best possible. Lots of fun, a good vibe, just like the Davis Cup atmosphere, but much bigger. It was really an amazing time”, he commented.

 

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Technical Manual on Sport, the international federations for each sport nominate the Technical Delegates (TD) and International Technical Officials (ITO). The Brazilian confederations of each sport define, in consultation with the Rio 2016 Committee, the National Technical Officials who will work at the event.